Mrs Elizabeth Ofosu Adjare on her arrival at the featival
The Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Elizabeth Ofosu-Agyare, has indicated that the realigning of the Tourism Ministry by incorporating culture and creative arts in 2013 is a well-thought out decision as Ghana’s tourism depends mainly on its culture and creative arts in addition to its natural and historic heritage.
She mentioned that the realignment has expanded the ministry’s mandate to provide a firm and stable policy environment for the effective mainstreaming of the Ghanaian culture into all aspects of national life and to ensure the emergence of a vibrant and creative economy to improve and advance the tourism industry.
According to the minister, the creation of the ‘Explore Ghana Domestic Tourism Programme’ which was launched in 2014 for instance, is aimed at popularising domestic tourism among ordinary Ghanaians and available statics show that more Ghanaians and foreign residents in Ghana are visiting tourism sites today than before.
Madam Ofosu-Agyare was speaking at a durbar to climax this year’s Kente Festival by the chiefs and people of the Agortime Traditional Area in the Volta Region.
The minister said domestic tourism would improve local communities and improve livelihood, especially in the rural areas, and, therefore, called on all to support the ‘Explore Ghana’ initiative.
She added that the Agortime Traditional Area has one of the highest concentrations of weavers in Ghana and beyond and, therefore, urged all stakeholders to preserve the uniqueness of the kente cloth to ensure the sustainability of the kente weaving industry in the area and its surroundings.
The Volta Regional Minister, Helen Adwoa Ntoso, called on the Agortime Traditional Area and the Ghana Tourism Authority to dialogue and find ways of facilitating the development of the tourism industry in the area.
The Paramount Chief of Agortime Traditional Area, Nene Nuer Keteku, drew government’s attention to the ‘Kente Village Project’ as captured in the 2014 national budget, saying it is an important venture that will create a lot of ancillary jobs and preserve the cultural heritage of kente.