The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) is deploying renewed efforts that can help the country to meet the one million tourism arrival target by the end of this year.
Consequently,
the authority said it was taking steps to improve confidence, track new market
trends and commit to build a more resilient and inclusive tourism sector.
This is after the sector received a
little below 500,000 international tourists in the first half of the year.
The
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GTA, Akwasi Agyeman, who made this known in an
interview with the Graphic Business at a forum in Accra on August 1, said the
renewed efforts would enable the country to achieve its one million
international tourism arrivals.
The forum
The forum was to welcome a 40-member
delegation of student leaders on a transformative journey to Ghana as part of
the Amos C. Brown Fellowship, from July 31 to August 10.
The
fully funded 10-day experience will lead 40 young scholars ages 18 and 25 from
the United States to Ghana.
The
students will be immersed in Ghanaian culture, gain deep insights into their
ancestral heritage, learn about the historical connections between
decolonization and the civil rights movement and discuss current global social
justice movements.
The
programme is the first of its kind to be powered by the NAACP, a black civil
right organisation (CRO). Selected from a highly competitive pool of
applicants, the fellows, current college students and recent college graduates
come from communities across the country from New York, Georgia, and California
to Michigan, Utah, and Texas.
For
many, this journey is their first visit to the African continent. The
experience will prepare them to be global-minded social change agents on issues
such as health equity, legal advocacy, education, and economic empowerment.
It is in collaboration with The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Marketing and collaboration
Mr
Agyeman said the recent visits in international arrivals seen was a direct
product of enhanced marketing and collaboration in the sector by the government
through GTA.
“We
started our conversations with Adinkra Group in 2016 and eventually signed a
memorandum of understanding (MoU) to promote Ghana across the African diaspora.
“Beyond the numbers, the caliber of
people arriving are of diverse skills and influential to help support the
country’s agenda to develop its economy,” he said.
Connecting people
The
Founder of the Adinkra Group and a Ghana Tourism Ambassador, Diallo Sumbry,
expressed his excitement to have worked with the NAACP again on another
historic trip to Ghana after successfully conceiving and executing Jamestown to
Jamestown with the single largest delegation to Ghana in 2019.
He said the Adinkra Group was
committed to connecting people of African descent, especially young people such
as the Amos C. Brown Fellows, and has only strengthened and resolved more since
the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
He
said building on relationships formed during that journey, the NAACP continues
to strengthen its ties with Ghana, and the African diaspora at large.
Social uprisings
The
President of NAACP, Derrick Johnson, said since the Year of Return and the
social uprisings in 2020, it has become ever more apparent that the global
black community must use its collective strength, power, and resilience to
fight against oppression at every level, and at every corner of the world.
He
said NAACP remains committed to leading that charge and will do so by providing
more opportunities for business investments, diaspora partnerships, and
cultural experiences such as the Amos C. Brown Fellowship.
Over
the past three years, the NAACP has become increasingly invested in the African
community, highlighting its music and culture through the NAACP Image Awards,
and advocating for immigrant rights through its landmark supreme court win in
NAACP verses Trump, which solidified the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
programme.
Source:Graphic.com.gh