Ghana Promotes Domestic Tourism to Defy Ebola

Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Elizabeth Ofosu Agyare

By Lawrence Adjei in Accra, Ghana

MID dropping international arrivals owing to a deadly outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, Ghana is promoting domestic tourism to keep the industry viable.

The disease has killed thousands since it broke out in the region earlier this year, with tourism among the worst affected industries.

To retain viability in the sector, Ghana’s Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Elizabeth Ofosu Agyare said the ministry had launched the “Explore Ghana” tourism project, which seeks to promote domestic tourism.

Although we are slightly challenged by international tourism because of the Ebola scare which has caused the ban on international conferences, we will continue to put up programmes that will make the domestic tourism more attractive to Ghanaians,” she said.

“The Ministry of Tourism Culture and Creative Arts even though it is interested in international Tourism and will continue to promote it, will rather focus on growing the domestic tourism market.”

Some hotel and restaurant owners as well as airline companies told CAJ News that the Ebola outbreak was having toll effects on their businesses as their revenues had dropped significantly due to cancellation of conferences.

The situation led to the closure of some shuttle services for tourists, while others have put some projects that they were executing with regards to promotion of domestic tourism on hold.

Nonetheless, Ofosu Agyare maintained although international tourist visits had gone done significantly in West Africa, her ministry was focusing on promoting domestic tourism to fill up the country’s hotels and restaurants.

‘We think our restaurants, hotels, guest houses and leisure centres will get the necessary patronage to make up for the numbers we are missing during this Ebola outbreak or scare if we promote domestic tourism well.”

Ghana has not recorded any cases of the Ebola virus that has killed more than 1 500 people in neighbouring countries.

African Eye News

 

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