Sunyani (Brong Ahafo), 31st May 99 ?

The executive Director of the Ghana Tourist Board (GTB), Mrs. Owusu Fianko, has stated that for the nation to effectively realise its projection of one million tourist arrivals by the year 2010, there must be a dramatic improvement in the quality of service in the hospitality industry and an increase in hotel accommodation.

She said at the moment, the quality of service in the tourism sector is low with only 20 per cent of the 12,040 hotel rooms in the country being of international standard.

Mrs. Fianko called on the private sector to take advantage of the situation by instituting quality-training programmes for personnel in the industry and putting up tourism facilities and accommodation units of international standard.

She was addressing the third Brong Ahafo regional tourism awards night held at Sunyani on Saturday to honour a number of organisations and individuals that have contributed to the development of tourism in the region.

Berekum was adjudged the cleanest town in the region while Eusbett Hotel emerged as the best hotel in the three to five star category with Mr Uthman Mamamoud of the Tropical Hotel getting the nod as the best chef in the one to two star Hotel bracket.

Mrs. Owusu-Fianko appealed to prospective tourism developers to contact the board so that they could be assisted to bring their plans in line with laid down requirements demanded by the tourism laws of the country.

She said Ghana is emerging as a major tourist destination on the global tourism map and it was pertinent tourist operators considered investment in human resources as equally important as financial capital.

Mrs. Owusu-Fianko announced that as part of efforts to improve the quality of human resources in the tourism industry, GTB is setting up a data bank on human resource needs of the industry.

She urged the region to fully participate in the inter-tourism fair 99 scheduled for Accra later in the year to afford it the opportunity to showcase her vast tourism potentials.

The regional minister, Mr Donald Adabre listed a number of tourist sites in the region and appealed to investors to develop them and deplored the tendency of Ghanaians visiting foreign countries on sightseeing without knowing their own country.

He said for the country's tourism sector to record appreciable growth, domestic tourism must be encouraged to promote social harmony and afford Ghanaians the opportunity to know their country better.