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Ghana and Malta deepen Diplomatic relations through Tourism
Ghana and Malta have expressed their commitment to deepen relations in the fields of tourism and culture as well as trade and investment.
To this end, the two countries would establish special committees to work out the modalities for the attainment of this objective.
This was the outcome of a meeting between the President of Malta, Mr. George Vella and the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Awal when they later paid a courtesy call on Mr. Vella at his office in Malta last Monday.
Dr Awal was in Malta to attend a Mediterranean Tourism Investment forum organized by the Mediterranean Tourism Foundation.
The President described the relationship between Malta and Ghana as very cordial and express the need for both countries to step up cooperation particularly in the areas of tourism, culture, trade and investment.
He disclosed that tourism accounted for over 40 % of Malta’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and said the two countries could share knowledge and experience on tourism development as window for trade and investment.
Mr. Vella said Malta could be the gateway for Ghana to attract tourists and investment from the over 23 Mediterranean countries such as Turkey, Libya, Algeria, Egypt, Croatia, France, Italy, Spain, Greece.
Dr. Awal told the Maltese President that the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo’s government was implementing a number of initiatives aimed at transforming the Ghanaian economy and improving upon the lives of the people.
He said in the area of tourism for instance, forts, castles and heritage sites were being renovated and modernized to attract more tourists to the country.
The Minister said the government was ensuring that tourism and the creative arts contribute significantly to the country’s GDP and job creation, adding that Ghana was ready to share experiences with Malta in these fields.
He said that since tourism was a global economic activity without borders, it is imperative that no country is left behind in efforts to achieve sustainable tourism that protects the environment and the people.
Dr. Awal urged businesses and investors from Malta and the Mediterranean in general to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCTA) to deepen trade relations with Africa.
The Minister who was accompanied by Ghana’s Ambassador to Malta, Her Excellency Barbara Akuorkor Benisa also paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister of Malta, Mr. Robert Abela as well as the Minister of Tourism, Mr. Clayton Bartolo and Minister of Justice, Culture and local government, Mr. Owen Bonnici.
Minister For Tourism Engages Agency Heads To Strategise To Make Sector Number One GDP Contributor
As part of the the unwavering commitment by the Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture ( MoTAC), Hon. Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim Awal, to make Ghana’s tourism hub a game changer in the economic transformation of H. E. President Akufo Addo’s vision for Ghana’s “Beyond Aid” agenda, a two 2-day retreat was organized for the Management Staff and the Heads of Agencies under the Ministry, at Akosombo in the Eastern Region, from 25-26th March, 2021.
He observed that the Tourism industry was not doing well as expected and indicated his resolve to turn the economic fortunes of the Sector by creating massive employment opportunities for the Ghanian citizenry.
He further expressed his desire to generate 5-Billion Dollars from the Tourism industry by December, 2022.
Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim Awal, intimated that upon his assumption of office, H E President Akufo Addo indicated to him to use his business acumen and entrepreneural skills to change the face of Ghana’s Tourism industry.
The Sector Minister emphasized that he would infuse business perspectives and Strategic Policy direction that would rake in huge financial gains for the Tourism arena.
He further expressed his commitment to make Ghana’s Tourism Sector number one contributor to the country’s GDP from it’s current third place ranking from the economic performance in Ghana.
He further expressed his preparedness to make Ghana an attractive Tourism destination by boosting Tourism, Culture and the Creative Arts segment, given that it is a multi billion dollar industry, which needed to be given an utmost attention it deserved.
He also expressed his resolve to make Domestic Tourism his top-most priority Agenda to attract about One Million local Tourists visitation annually.
Dr. Awal, further entreated the Heads of Agencies under the Ministry to endeavour to always, as a matter of Policy direction have a recouse to him before undertaking any Policy execution of their operations.
The Chief Director of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr. John Yao Agbeko, earlier in his welcome remarks officially welcome Hon. Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim Awal, for his appointment to the Ministry, adding that the meeting was to also afford the Policy Makers an opportunity to have a deeper knowledge of the Sector-wide performance from the Agency Heads briefings of their activities.
Meanwhile, eleven (11) Heads of Agencies under the Ministry took turns to deliver their presentations on their respective Agencies’ Policy interventions.
Gov’t targets $5bn Tourism revenue in 2 yrs – Dr Awal reveals at vetting
The Minister designate for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr Mohammed Ibrahim Awal, has outlined plans to increase revenue from the sector to $6 billion within the next three years.
Currently, data from the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) indicate that the sector contributed $1 billion to the economy last year, with global projections indicating that the figure could increase to $1.2 billion by the close of the year.
The Minister designate, who made an ambitious $5-billion projection of inflow within his first two years in office when given the nod, insisted that it was very possible, considering the fact that the country raked in $3.3 billion in 2019 due to the Year of Return initiative.
Dr Awal was, therefore, confident that initiatives such as the Year of Return and Beyond the Return, a further improvement of tourist sites and Ghana’s arts and culture would help achieve that target.
Leading foreign exchange earner
He said his plan was to make the tourism sector the number one foreign exchange earner for the country in the next four years.
Ghana’s tourism industry is currently the fourth foreign exchange earner, with gold, oil and cocoa occupying the number one to three positions, respectively.
“Tourism everywhere contributes significantly to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In Ghana, it is the number four foreign exchange earner, but we are determined to make it the number one,” he stated.
Measures to achieve targets
Dr Awal said the targets would be achieved by boosting both domestic and international tourism in the country.
“We are going to boost both domestic and foreign tourism. Ghana has the best in terms of tourist sites; Ghanaian people are warm, have very rich arts and culture and good heritage sites, and we think that when we put our heads together, we can do a lot there, especially internal tourism,” the minister designate said.
He said internal tourism was not much patronised and called on Parliament to champion that cause.
“We want to institute corporate tourism, school tourism, religious tourism, among others,” he noted.
To do that, Dr Awal said, the country would have to improve its arts and culture offerings, since that was the foundation for a strong tourism sector for any country.
“Our national festivals on arts and culture will have to come back. You cannot have a good tourism sector without a good arts and culture background,” he stated.
$20-million studio
Dr Awal also revealed plans by the ministry, under his supervision, to build a $20-million world-class music and film studio, with the support of the private sector.
That, he said, would help position the country as a film production hub in West Africa.
“This is one element that can bring increased tourism into the country. We currently don’t have any serious studio in this country. In Nigeria, the film industry, two years ago, generated $590 million. In Hollywood, the industry generated over $4.1 billion.
“Ghana can do it if we have a studio that produces movies,” he stated.
Promoting festivals
The minister designate also outlined his plans to promote Ghanaian festivals and make them more attractive to the international community.
“Marketing and promotion are very important in promoting Ghanaian festivals. We want to have a comprehensive calendar and programme, worked out with the chiefs and traditional authorities, to market Ghanaian festivals in and outside Ghana and also seek to get sponsorship for these festivals,” Dr Awal noted.
$50-million industry support
The minister designate for Tourism also pointed out that the sector had been the most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said statistics available to the ministry indicated that the Ghanaian tourism industry had lost GH¢6 billion since the outbreak of the pandemic.
The former Minister of Business Development said although the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) had provided some support for the industry, it was still not enough.
He said the ministry was, therefore, working on a $50-million fund to support the industry.
“What we intend doing is carry out a proper impact assessment, which the GTA is already doing, to look at what we can do. We intend to build the capacities of the players in the sector, give them business ideas and provide funding for them,” he stated.
Dr Awal stressed that anytime a pandemic was over, there was a surge in tourism, saying: “We, therefore, want to use the downtime.”
Marine drive project
The former Business Development Minister also said he would ensure massive participation of the private sector in the Marine Drive Tourism project.
“The Marine Drive Project is very important and a game changer project in Ghana. When I am given the nod, I will look at the details; I am a business development person and I will ensure that the project is accelerated to create jobs for Ghanaians.
“We expect to invest between $8 billion and $10 billion to ensure the project gets underway and I will ensure that the private sector is encouraged to participate,” he said.
Source: GraphicOnline