Several Ghanaians including tourists participated in an ‘Afadjato Hiking Challenge’ as part of events marking the 2021 World Tourism Day celebration. About 61 of the hikers registered to participate in the challenge for prizes.
Mr. Ekow Sampson, Deputy Chief Executive Officer in charge of Operations at the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) noted that tourism has been affected globally, including tourists’ arrival and revenue generation.
He noted that there was a need to look at domestic tourism since UNWTO projected that tourism was not going to recover from the pandemic till 2023.
“Government has come out with so many interventions to promote domestic tourism. You hear: see Ghana, eat Ghana, wear Ghana and feel Ghana campaigns geared towards making Ghanaians participate in the attraction sites nationwide.”
Mr. Ekow further mentioned that the Volta Region was one of the key tourist destinations in the country. According to him, the GTA has plans to identify communities that have telecommunication network problems and work with service providers to improve on services that will, in turn, improve tourism activities.
Madam Mabel Awuku, Public Relations Officer, Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, noted that World Tourism Day celebration over the years had sought to promote tourism, especially domestic tourism. She stated that it is important that tourism is endeared to the people of Ghana since it generates revenue for the development of the country.
She urged the people of Hohoe Municipality to be welcoming, loving, and entertaining to attract more tourists into the region.
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Togbega Homatekpor V, who is the Paramount Chief of Gbledi Traditional Area, said the area was excited to host the hiking challenge. He expressed hope that the theme for the celebration “Tourism for inclusive growth” would offer Gbledi a transformational growth in the local economy, improve education and skills development.
Togbega Homatekpor noted that Gbledi had not only carved a niche as the face of Afadjato, but one of the few communities nationwide committed to forest conservation.
He said activities of illegal chainsaw operators have become a threat to the conservation and called on the Tourism Ministry to assist the Area in curtailing the menace and to pay attention to some unearthed tourist attractions sites in the Area to derive the desired benefits.
Madam Yesutor Tengey, a participant after conquering the Mountain, said it was an exciting journey since it was her first time.
The GTA started an initiative in the Volta Region to redirect tourist traffic to the Region. ‘Visit Volta’ is a joint initiative of the Volta Regional Coordinating Council, the Ghana Tourism Authority, and the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI).
The initiative coincides with the Fifth Volta Trade and Investment Fair coming up in November 2021, and a series of tours are being undertaken to herald the event. Afadjato, Afadjato
Mr. Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, Minister for Information, has commended the official tourism promotion program of the Volta Region, ‘Visit Volta’.
He said the initiative, which has renowned media personalities who hail from the Region as ambassadors, was already influencing visitor numbers.
The ambassadors, which includes Journalist of the year, Bernard Avle, and media practitioner Kafui Dey, is stimulating interest in the tourism sector in the Region with media activity.
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