The Eastern Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) is to promote internal tourism, in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service (GES) as part of its tourism expansion drive.

The move, according to the Regional Minister, Mr Antwi-Boasiako Sekyere, is to use internal tourism, as a tool to expand and develop all tourist sites in the various districts in the region, to increase revenue generation.

Under the programme, the RCC would facilitate excursions to tourist locations in the various districts in the region by Senior High School students, during vacation, as an extracurricular activity, to open up the tourism industry in the region.

The Regional Minister who disclosed this in an interview with the GNA, said the RCC wants to give practical meaning to its quests to develop the tourist industry, and indicated that the RCC was in serious talks with the Regional Directorate of the GES, to materialize the move.

Mr Antwi-Boasiako noted that despite the many tourist sites in the region, many people did not know about them, and said the move would also serve as advertisement to the unknown but attractive sites.

He said the RCC wants to position the region as the next destination to Accra and the Central Region, in terms of tourism, to attract tourists, and added that under the programme, most of the tourist sites would be improved.

The Regional Minister indicated that the RCC would also look at other factors that facilitate tourism, such as the hospitality industry, especially the area of competent training, to ensure that tourists received good services.