Africa Hospitality Show launched
The Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Mrs Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, yesterday launched the Africa Hospitality Show in Accra.
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The event is scheduled to take place at the Accra International Conference Centre in Accra from September 12 to 14, 2013.
It will feature activities such as conferences and exhibitions to showcase the artistic wares, operations and services of the various players in the hospitality and tourism industries in Ghana and other African countries.
Performing the launch, Mrs Ofosu-Adjare pledged the government’s support towards the local hospitality industry.
She said the hospitality industry had great potential for economic growth, job creation and showcasing the country positively to the global community and it was for that reason that the government was redoubling its support for the industry.
“There are huge businesses and social benefits to be gained by continuing to make progress through the efforts of everyone in the industry,” the minister said.
Mrs Ofosu-Adjare expressed the hope that the initiative would mark the beginning of an epoch for useful networking and exchange of ideas, dialogue for confronting challenges and bottlenecks facing the industry.
For his part, Mr Stephen Owusu, representative of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), called on the government and stakeholders to come up with a well-defined road map for tourism development in the country.
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Mr Owusu said tourism was Ghana’s third largest foreign exchange earner with a projected growth rate of about 4.1 per cent per annum.
Chief Executive Officer of Litina Travel and Tours Limited, Ms Ernestina Abroquah, said the Africa Hospitality Show would give players in the industry the exposure and opportunity for networking that would translate into businesses.
Dr Joseph Mensah-Ansah, lecturer at GIMPA, said tourism played a central role in the econom and, therefore, the industry needed to be strengthened to sustain economic growth.
By Mary Ampeh