Tourism Information Centre inaugurated in Accra

By Hafsa Obeng, GNA
Accra Oct. 21, GNA - Mrs Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, the Minister of Tourism Culture and Creative Arts on Thursday inaugurated the Accra Tourist Information Centre (ATIC), in Accra.

The centre, which is the first of its kind in the country, is expected to fill a gap in the provision of information to travellers, tourists, investors, donors, ministries, departments, agencies and the public.

Mrs Ofosu Adjare said the GH₵ 1.3m project is as a result of an initiative arising from the relationship between the then Ministry of Tourism and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) since 2006.

She said the ATIC would help create awareness and promotion of Ghana as a competitive tourist destination and in general make an enormous impact on the tourism industry.

She noted that research had proven that tourist information centres in other parts of the world had influenced tourist travels and their expenditures, and investor decision-making processes.

The centre is, therefore, a policy strategy that the Ministry and the private sector have adopted to help increase employment and wealth creation as part of the government's agenda to achieve the Ghana poverty reduction strategy and the sustainable development goals (SDGs), Mrs Ofosu Adjare said.

'Indeed, to boost tourism and make the sector play its expected role in the transformation of the economy of Ghana particularly in foreign exchange generation, employment creation and poverty reduction, the ministry of tourism, culture and creative arts is poised to initiate other similar projects of interest to both local and foreign tourists.'

She said the centre which would be a one-stop shop for tourists and travelers alike to access reliable tourism information and services such as booking and ticketing, tour guiding, forex bureau services, good and decent eating places and the like would be replicated in the other regional and district capitals to provide such services to tourists, investors and other end-users.

Mrs Ofosu Adjare expressed appreciation to stakeholders, including Ghana, Japan, and the consultants for their tremendous co-operation and effort towards the commissioning of the beautiful edifice which stands as a testament to the strong commitment and unwavering support for the tourism, culture and creative arts sector in Ghana.

Mr Karou Yushimura, Ambassador to Japan said Japan had put significant emphasis on the promotion of tourism and for many years had supported Ghana's tourism sector and ATIC was one of the projects.

He said the centre would facilitate easy information dissemination to travelers from all over the world to Ghana and accelerate the development of the tourism sector in Ghana.

He expressed gratitude to stakeholders for their contribution to the success of the project, saying it was the hope that Japan that the collaboration between both countries would deepen as the facility would be well maintained with the view to preserving for future use.

GNA