Accra, Oct. 17, GNA - Dr. Marius Haas, German Ambassador to Ghana, on Wednesday urged the Ministry of Tourism and Diasporan Relations to attract more German tourists to Ghana.

He said it was important that the Ministry created an office in Germany so that the personnel could contact tourists directly and convince them about the tourism products in Ghana.

Dr Haas made the suggestion when he paid a courtesy call on Mr Stephen Asamoah Boateng, Minister of Tourism and Diasporan Relations. He said the tourism ministry could also reach out to the German tourists by designing a website particularly for the German community to attract more tourists since about half of the German population travelled out of the country every year for tourism.

Dr Haas also suggested that the Ministry should facilitate the creation of more restaurants along the beachfronts and noted that a lot of foreigners had complained about the lack of restaurants along the beach.

Mr Asamoah Boateng noted that in Ghana tourism was one of the growth sectors that could help reduce poverty especially in rural areas. He said the Ministry's priority was on human resource development within the tourism industry and suggested an exchange programme between the German tourism sector and the Ministry of Tourism.

Mr Asamoah Boateng mentioned marketing of the tourism products and the need for more hotel rooms as other priority areas of the ministry and expressed the hope that the relationship between the Ministry and the German government would be further strengthened.