Mr John Adams, the Upper East Regional Principal Marketing Officer, Ghana Tourism Authority has called on the media to project the beautiful scenes and tourists’ attractions doted in the region.

He said the media had a very critical role to play in ensuring that the abundant tourist sites in the region were projected to encourage domestic tourism and attract potential tourists to generate revenue for development.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Bolgatanga, the Principal Marketing Officer indicated that the beautiful scenes in the region described the unique history and culture of the people and needed to be promoted and preserved.

“We have a number of tourists’ centres such as the Paga Crocodile Pond, the Paga Slave Camp, the Sirigu Women’s Organisation for Pottery and Arts (SWOPA), the Minor Basilca in Navrongo which was built by the first missionaries who came to region through Burkina Faso in 1906,” he said.

“We also have the Craft Village in Bolgatanga, the Traditional Smock Market, the Tongo Hills and the Tenzug Shrines, the Whispering Rocks in Tongo and many others, including the Historical Kulungugu Bomb Site, where there was a bomb attempt on the life of Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana.”

The Principal Marketing Officer therefore tasked the media and other individuals to market the region and its potential through write ups and other forms of publications to promote and develop the region.

Mr Adams explained that cultural activities such as the Feok, Foe and Fire festivals brought members of communities together to undertake development projects and needed to be promoted.

He said there were a number of hotels and restaurants in the region that provided high standard services to visitors and urged communities that have tourists’ potential to collaborate effectively with the Ghana Tourism Authority to acquire the necessary technical advice and support to develop such sites to increase patronage.

This, he indicated, would boost economic activities and create employment for the youth and also generate revenue for development purposes.

Mr Adams said “the core mandate of our office is to provide technical support to communities to improve on tourist sites and attract high patronage. We urge communities to cooperate with officers and receive training especially from tourists’ guards on hospitality and care.”