Koforidua, June, 19, GNA - Mr Kwabena O. Acheampong, the Deputy Minister for Tourism, on Friday reiterated the commitment of the government to develop tourism potentials in order to attract more tourists to the country.

He appealed to stakeholders in the tourism industry to team up with government to develop all tourism sites to meet the 29th United Nations World Tourism Day scheduled to take place in Ghana on September 27. Mr Acheampong said this when he launched the Miss Tourism Beauty Pageant in Koforidua, which seeks to use the beauty of Ghanaian women to portray the beauty of the economic benefits of a well- developed tourism industry.

Mr Acheampong said the Tourism Ministry was very much excited about the pageant which aimed not only to expose how much knowledge Ghanaian women had about their homeland, but also to promote and market "our products" in terms of tourist attractions more especially the natural sites, historical, heritage sites and culture. He said beauty pageants in Ghana had come of age since no one looks at just the physical appearance but also the intellectual ability of contestants.

The deputy minister said beauty pageants had also become a promotional and marketing tool to sell Ghana to both local and foreigners at large. He called on Ghanaians to be more interested in their local fabrics and ornaments in order to promote the Ghanaian culture to help preserve the country's culture for posterity as well as boost tourism. Mr Acheampong lauded organizers of the event and said it would provide a unique platform not only to showcase local products and ladies but also to challenge the youth to know much more about their environment. Mrs Delphine J. Brew Hammond, the event organizer of Miss Tourism Ghana, said the beauty pageant would be organized in all the 10 regions to select people to compete for the national beauty queen on the World Tourism Day.

She said Africa was the fastest growing tourism destination on the planet and the selection of Ghana as the venue for the celebration of the World Tourism Day gave the country the opportunity to showcase and promote the majestic and magnificent tourist destinations. She said the primary target groups were young beautiful Ghanaians between the ages of 18 and 30 with sound mind and who had minimum qualification of Senior High School Certificate. 19 June 09