Wendy Shay performing at the concert. INSET: Daniel Kenneth
District Chief Executive (DCE) of Okere, Daniel Kenneth, has called on stakeholders in the tourism industry to invest in domestic tourism to encourage and boost patronage at the various tourist sites.
He was speaking at the 2019 edition of the annual Okere Mountain Fest, which was used to officially open the Asenema Waterfalls over the weekend at Okere.
The event was organised by the Okere District Assembly, in partnership with Destination Management Company (DMC) and Kaya Tours, to promote tourism potentials in the district.
Mr. Kenneth explained that the Okere Mountain Fest is one of the activities he has instituted to drive the local economy of Okere and to promote the various tourist sites of the district.
He said the district also has historical sites such as the Asenema Waterfalls, the birth place of Okomfo Anokye at Awukugua, among others.
The DCE pointed out that though some investments have been made in some of the tourist sites in the district, there is still the need for partnership with the private sector to develop them further in order to attract more tourists.
He indicated the assembly’s readiness to partner with the private sector to develop the district’s tourist sites.
According to him, the assembly would continue to work closely with some of the stakeholders in the industry to support the initiatives put in place to promote tourism.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Okere and Minister for Regional Reorganisation & Development, Dan Botwe, expressed how happy he was to see collaboration between the district assembly and tour operators to promote tourism in the district.
Broadcast journalist and CEO of Kaya Tours, Gilbert Abeiku Santana, added, “I’m very much happy that our pursuit to promote responsible and sustainable tourism has taken us to the Eastern Region, Okere District, one of the newly created district assemblies in Ghana. The destination has in abundance heritage cultural flora and fauna attractions worth experiencing.”
A musical concert was held at the Asenema Waterfalls, which witnessed performances from Wendy Shay, Eno Barony, Article Wan, Tulenkey and a host of others.
By George Clifford Owusu