Accra (Greater Accra) 18 March '99

A Tourism Development Fund is to be established to provide the required resources for tourism development in the country.

Mr Mike Gizo, Minister of Tourism, who announced this in Parliament on Wednesday, said a bill to this effect is currently under consideration by Cabinet.

Mr Gizo was putting the ministry's request for 5.06 billion cedis for its operations for the 1999 financial year before Parliament.

He said the Ministry was set up to create an enabling environment for the sustainable development, marketing and promotion of tourism in the country.

The ministry does this through the improvement of institutional capacity for quality service delivery and the evaluation and monitoring of community involvement in tourism development, in order to spread the socio-economic benefits of the industry.

Mr Gizo said other objectives of the ministry is to ensure sustainable tourism increase public understanding of tourism and encourage greater participation in the sector, as well as promote Ghana as a competitive and

quality destination to increase tourist arrivals and receipts.

Mr Gizo furnished the House with highlights of the ministry's programmes

for the year and mentioned that, in partnership with other collaborating

agencies, the Tourism Ministry will host the second celebration of "Emancipation

Day" from July 25 to August two.

Other events are a meeting of the Joint 33rd World Tourism Organisation

(WTO) Commission for Africa, the 24th Africa Travel Association (ATA) Congress,

a trade show and a Convocation of African Ministers of Tourism and Transport.

There will also be the African/African-American summit, the Second

Inter-Tourism Fair and the implementation of the Slave Route Project.

Out of the estimates, the Ministry's headquarters will spend 1.34 billion

cedis to cater for personnel emoluments, administration and services, and

investment expenditure.

The two subvented agencies of the ministry, the Ghana Tourist Board (GTB)

and the Hotel, Catering and Tourism Training Institute (HOTCATT), will receive

3.25 billion cedis and 468 million cedis respectively.

Mr Gizo said since tourism is the "world's fastest-growing sector", it must

be accorded the appropriate priority in funding.

He said to enable the ministry to fully implement its programmes and

achieve targets set for the year, the ministry has been allocated a total

budgetary appropriation of 5.06 billion cedis, which represents an increase of

28.3 per cent over last year's.

"We recognise that this low level of funding will constitute a serious

constraint on the effective implementation of the sector's programmes."

The Minister told the House that Cabinet approved a 15- year Integrated

Tourism Development Plan last year and expressed optimism that Cabinet will soon

convey its endorsement to Parliament for the relevant legislation to be passed

for the establishment of the Tourism Development Fund.

He said in view of the benefits the country derives from her membership of

the WTO, it cannot default in its financial obligations to the

organisation.

He said at the end of the 1998 fiscal year, Ghana was in payment arrears of

about 50,000 dollars, adding that this year only 48.0 million cedis has been

provided and this can only pay the subscription for the 1999 fiscal year.

In its report, the Select Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism, noted

that the growth of the sector has been phenomenal over the years.

The Committee said international tourist arrivals have increased from

300,000 in 1996 to 325,438 in 1997, generating 266.0 million dollars in foreign

exchange and showing a growth rate of about 12 per cent.

The report said it is estimated that if the current rate is sustained,

projected tourist arrivals of one million will be achieved by the year 2010,

with corresponding foreign exchange receipts of about 1.5 billion dollars to

make tourism the leading socio-economic activity in the country.

The Committee noted that the budgetary allocation of 468 million cedis to

HOTCATT is woefully inadequate, considering that the institution is tasked to

provide the necessary manpower support to the growing tourism industry.

The report, therefore, recommended to the Ministry of Finance to take a

second look at the allocations to the Tourism Ministry, if the country wants to

achieve the targets set out for the tourism industry.

Members, who contributed to the debate, supported the motion for the

approval of the estimates for the Ministry of Tourism.

They agreed with the Committee that the ministry is under- funded and said

every effort should be made to ensure that the sector is well resourced, since

it has the potential to solve the problem of unemployment and enhance the

country's foreign exchange earnings.

They said Ghana is endowed with an "enormous tourism potential" and

expressed the hope that with the appropriately trained human support and

adequate funding to provide the requisite infrastructure, the country can have a

comparative advantage over other international competitors in the industry.

The House unanimously approved the estimates when the Speaker, Mr Daniel

Francis Annan, put the question.