Mr Mark Okraku Mantey, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, has described the Volta Region as an incredible epitome of a tourism enclave.

He said the region hosted the largest community-based ecotourism sites and offered outdoor enthusiasts and a superb touristic experience.

Mr Mantey speaking during the 2021 United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Tourism Day celebration at Wli, said the high pitch of Afadjato and Dzibobo were ideal reserves for hiking and bird watching.He said the spectacular waterfalls of Wli and Tagbo were among several others to be found in the region.

He said the celebration of World Tourism Day heralded the socio-economic, political, and cultural importance of tourism to national and global development.

Mr Mantey said tourism for inclusive growth meant creating decent employment through inclusive economic growth, a skilled and vibrant workforce to support an inclusive growth path.

“It also means unlocking the potential of tourism ecosystem, the value chain and investments facilitation for more inclusive and sustainable growth in traditional, marginalised communities with huge and other tourism resources.”

The Deputy Minister said expanding access to tourism education and delivering sector-specific training would give everybody the chance to benefit from tourism future growth.

The celebration was on the theme: ” Tourism for inclusive growth.”Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, Volta Regional Minister noted that the choice of the region as a host for the celebration was a well-thought-out decision.He said the region was a microcosm of the nation as it contained visibly everything that other regions had to offer in terms of ecology and weather.

Dr Letsa said the region was blessed with many tourists sites including ancient European forts, bio-diverse forests, prestigious beaches, number of waterfalls and unique monkey sanctuaries.

He said the sites together constituted a very rich attraction for tourism development and promotion.
“It is therefore important to note that Volta Region is the tourism hub of Ghana.”

The Regional Minister said the development of the country and region could be accelerated if tourism like agriculture was given the needed attention.

“Tourism indeed continue to contribute substantially to the Gross Domestic Product of Ghana, creating jobs and work for many.” The Regional Minister said it was however unfortunate that the development of tourism in the region had been relatively slow and must change through collaborative efforts between stakeholders.

Dr Letsa used the platform to extend invitations to all to the Volta Regional Coordinating Council’s “Volta Trade and Investment Fair” scheduled for Monday, November 15 to Sunday, November 28, 2021 which focused on agribusiness, tourism, and Information and Communication Technology.

Mr John-Peter Amewu, Minister of Railway Development and Hohoe Constituency Member of Parliament said the celebration was on an agenda aimed at the socio-economic and political, the cultural importance of the tourism sector to the national and international economies.

He said tourism played a vital role in the GDP of every country and for a country to develop from a point to the other, important attention must be given to tourism.

Mr Amewu said a lot of attention had been given to tourist sites in the Municipality under the Tourism Ministry.

He expressed appreciation to the GTA for donations made in the upliftment of the tourist facilities in the Area while appealing to protect and advance resources to the benefits of tourism since there were many more unearthed sites in the Municipality.

“Tourism sites in Hohoe have over the years brought many visitors from across the world with positive economic effects on the growth and development of the communities.”

He called on all to support the government’s tree planting exercise to deal with issues of climate change, keep their environment clean to help tourism grow.

Mr Ekow Sampson, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, in-charge of Operations, Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), on behalf of Mr Akwasi Agyeman GTA CEO, said the Authority was committed to sustainable and
responsible tourism development.

“We pledge our continuous support for the initiative of the Volta Regional Minister and his hard-working team to promote tourism in the Region.”

He said there was the need to support the government’s effort to vaccinate a targeted 20 million of the population by the end of the year.

“Some of the measures outlined will a long way to aid in the recovery of the tourism industry for inclusive growth.”