Eighty-two thousand tourists visited the Kakum National Park in the Central Region last year, Mr. Cletus Nateg, Senior Wildlife Officer in-charge, said on Monday. Mr. Nateg who did not disclose the amount accrued, was briefing the Minister for Tourism and Modernization of the Capital City, Mr. Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, at Cape Coast as part of his three-day familiarization tour of the region. He said the Park serves as an entertainment and educational centre and also helps in creating awareness on the need to save the environment, especially the forest.

Mr. Nateg said most communities around the Park have had their transportation problems solved with the construction of good roads. Earlier, the Regional Coordinating Director, Mr. Roger Angsomwine, had briefed the Minister and his entourage about tourism attractions in the Cape Coast and Elmina areas and their problems.

Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey later called on the Omanhene of the Oguaa Traditional Area, Osabarimba Kwesi Atta 11, at Cape Coast and Nana Kwadwo Conduah V1, Omanhene of the Edina Traditional Area, at Elmina. The Minister appealed to the chiefs and elders to support the Government to achieve its aim to develop tourism in the two areas.

Osabarimba Kwesi Atta appealed to the Government to ensure that a percentage of revenue generated from the castles at Elmina and Cape Coast were given to the people for development.

The Minister visited the Cape Coast and Elmina Castles and the Gramophone Museum Centre at Cape Coast. Traditional Councils and District Assemblies responsible for the administration of coastal towns and villages in the Central Region have been urged to take steps to stop beggars, mostly children, from demanding alms from tourists.

Mr. Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Minister for Tourism and Modernisation of the Capital City, made the call when he met officials of the Awutu-Effutu-Senya District Assembly and the Omanhene of the Effutu Traditional Area, Neenyi Ghartey VII, at separate meetings at Winneba on Monday.

The interactions formed part of Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey's nation-wide tour of the various districts to assess their tourism potentials for the evangelization of tourism activities in the country.

According to Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey, the outcome of the tour, which would be implemented in phases, would assist his Ministry to device effective means of helping the district assemblies to promote tourism in their respective areas of jurisdiction, to create adequate jobs for the unemployed in the rural communities, and also generate substantial revenue to support their operations.

He expressed regret over the increasing reports about the disturbing activities of beggars in some coastal towns and villages in the Central Region in recent times which is frightening tourists who visit various tourist attractions in the region, particularly Cape Coast and Elmina.

The sector Minister therefore, charged chiefs, district assemblies and other opinion leaders in the region to initiate effective measures to stem the practice once and for all to give the region and the nation an excellent picture about tourism to foreigners who troop to the region from time to time to view tourist centres.

Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey also talked about sanitation and appealed to the district assemblies, unit committees, churches, town and area councils and traditional authorities to collaborate efforts to keep their towns and villages tidy all the time to make them highly attractive for the promotion of tourism.

Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey was optimistic that if the country's vast tourism potentials were effectively developed and maintained, it would create thousands of employment continued drift of the jobless youth to the capital and other big cities for employment which does not exist.

He announced his ministry's plan to make the annual "Aboakyer Festival" of the chiefs and people of the Effutu Traditional Area a major international event to attract more tourists to the country periodically.

According to Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey, a group of investors in Holland have already declared their intention to help Ghana Government implement the idea and strongly appealed to factions in the protracted Effutu chieftaincy dispute to endeavour to thrashout the misunderstanding once and for all, for the planned deal to manifest.

Mr. G.B.L. Siilo, District Co-ordinating Director for Awutu-Effutu-Senya, told the Minister that the Awutu-Effutu-Senya District Assembly had already initiated moves to improve sanitary conditions in Winneba and promised to intensify the action.

Mr. Siilo also accepted the challenge to form tourism development and promotion committees in all the towns and villages in the district, which are endowed with tourism potentials.

On his part Neenyi Ghartey, the Omanhene of the area, expressed his appreciation to the Minister for the visit and appealed to the Government and private sector developers to construct adequate modern hotels to support the promotion of tourism in the area. According to the Omanhene, accommodation had been the main hindrance to the effective development of tourism in the traditional set up.

Earlier, Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey and his entourage had visited White Sands Beach Resort, and Tills Hotel both at Gomoa-Fetteh to familiarise themselves with the operations of the two centres. At Winneba, Mr. Siilo and Neenyi Ghartey jointly led the group to Sir Charles Tourist Resort Centre and the Muni Lagoon at Akosoa Village, near the Police Training Depot. Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey had since left for Cape Coast.