Cape Coast, Jan. 10, GNA - The Cape Coast Castle recorded a total of 89,018 tourists, as against 80,000 last year, Mr Robert Morgan Mensah, a Museum and Monuments Education Officer at the Cape Coast Castle told the GNA on Monday.

Out Of the figure, 67,862 were Ghanaians whilst the rest were foreigners.

A breakdown of the figure shows that 43,451 were students, 14,679 undergraduates, 9,415 workers and 317 diplomatic visitors. Mr Morgan Mensah said there has been a tremendous increase in the number of both foreign and local tourists to the castle after, President Obama's visit in 2009.

He also attributed the increase to the consistent media coverage of th= e activities of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board (GMMB), which has whipped up interest in most people.

He however regretted that only 21,156 foreign tourists visited the castle and described it as relatively low. Mr Mensah said most of the local tourists complained about the charge of GHC9.00 per adults and GHC5.00 per students with Identity cards, which they claim was too high.

The museums officer said a large number of domestic visitors tour the dungeons of the castle during public holidays, and this was a major challenge to them because it does not have enough tour-guides to handle them. He said in such situations the tourists are taken around in batches, wasting a lot of time in the process. 10 Jan. 11

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