CEDECOM to promote first class tourism in central region
The Acting Executive Director of Central Regional Development Commission (CEDCOM), Mr. Spencer Taylor has stated categorically that his outfit was gearing up to promote first class tourism in the region, as one of the tools to reduce poverty.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of a one-week training organized for some selected craftsmen and women last Friday at Abrafo Craft Village in the Twifu Hemang Lower Denkiyira District (THLD), Mr Taylor told the participants that everything possible was being done by the Commission to develop Cape Coast Fosu Lagoon into a first class tourism site while decisions were being taken to make Abrafo Craft Village the best village in Ghana.
He mentioned that CEDECOM was developing a plan that will ensure that tourists spend more time in the village and other tourist sites in the region, and a good transport system to enhance smooth movement from Cape Coast to Kakum National Park and the craft village, which would soon be implemented.
He announced that the Business Department Centre, a public and private oriented company, was collaborating with CEDECOM to improve tourism potentials in the region.
He therefore appealed to the craftsmen and women to position themselves for the opportunities that abound in the region by forming associations that would help them to secure financial support from the Commission.
Earlier, Mrs. Ama Abraham, Head of Tourism Department of CEDECOM, pledged to organize continuous training for them so as to improve their creative skills. She was impressed about the dexterity of the participants who were taken through beads making, carving, dressmaking and kente weaving, among others.
For his part, a consultant for the training, Mr. Daniel Quanu called on craftsmen and women in the country to improve on the quality of their products because they were competing with the likes of China, Kenya and Malaysia on the world market.
Quanu observed that high prices, lack of trust and disrespect for customers were some of the things that resulted in low patronage for Ghanaian artefacts.