Agona Swedru (C/R) Feb. 2, GNA - Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Minister of Tourism and Modernization of the Capital City on Thursday urged Directors of the Ministry and its agencies to work properly and help project Ghana as the preferred tourist destination by December this year.

He said: "Put in a 150 percent effort in an attempt to help the tourism industry grow, have an agreed work plan and a to do list for the year, identify our real priorities and use this year to prepare for the one million tourist arrival target next year." Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey was speaking at a two-day conference to review the Ministry and its agencies performances in the past year and plan ahead for this year.

He noted that every single person in an organization was as important as everybody else and urged the participants to respect the abilities of everybody in the industry towards the building of the tourism sector in the country.

Tourism is a driving force and the key to poverty reduction, he said, adding that the industry should be the biggest in the country within five years.

The Minister suggested the introduction of catering rest houses nation-wide, especially around tourist sites to enable every visitor who come to the country have a place to sleep.

Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey acknowledged the fact that salaries were low for the participants but said people could look at it the other way round that if they were more productive then government would get more money to pay higher salaries.

He commended the staff of the Ministry and its departments for a good work done in the past year and urged them to work harder to enable them to reach the set target this year.