Mr Baba Jamal, Deputy Minister of Tourism and Culture said at the weekend that, the Third Ghana Policy Fair has provided a unique platform for Ghanaians to dialogue with Government officials on new ideas and submit inputs on how the various sectors should approach issues.

He said this will impact positively on the way Government formulates policies, plans and programmes which are critical to national development and the achievement of the Government's Better Ghana Agenda.

Mr Jamal was speaking at the climax of the Ghana Policy Fair under the theme: “Building Together in a Better Ghana” organized by the Ministry of Information in Accra.

He said under the guidance of Government, a lot of gains had been made in terms of contribution to national revenue generation, employment generation, tourism, infrastructural development, as well as preservation of Ghana’s culture and conservation of the environment.

Mr Jamal reiterated the Ministry of Tourism and Culture's readiness to work closely with agencies for the attainment of the Ministry’s vision, and to realize the sector’s full potential in contributing to economic growth, poverty reduction, national cohesion and an increase in the GDP growth.

He said the Ministry had embarked on an initiative with the Cable News Network (CNN) dubbed “Eye on Ghana Project” which aimed at the massive re-branding and re-marketing of Ghana’s tourism to attract more patronage and enhance revenue generation in the country through CNN which had over one billion viewers worldwide.

Mr Jamal, said the project was expected to bring much dividend to the country in terms of widening the range of investment opportunities and jobs, increasing international tourist arrivals and receipts, increase tourism contribution to GDP as well as strengthen Public-Private Partnerships and institutional collaboration amongst all stakeholders.

He said Ghanaians had galvanized a collective resolve to promote active participation of the citizenry in domestic tourism programmes and events during public holidays and vacations as it brought many dividends to people in the communities.

“Our success in the domestic tourism drive will not only help promote the health of the citizenry and improve productivity, but will also help Ghanaians to know their country better and appreciate the environment and cultures of various communities.”

Mr Jamal said it was important to add that, people's appreciation of various cultures resulting from travels to different parts of the country will go a long way to foster national cohesion, which was critical for national development.**