Business News of Wednesday, 24 March 2004

Source: GNA

LCCI urges attention to Tourism Sector

Accra, March 24, GNA - The visiting Head of Mission of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has charged Ghana to focus serious attention on its tourism potential in order to derive the most benefit from the industry.

Mrs Clair Pover, Head of LCCI, urged the authorities to provide the requisite infrastructure and legal framework within which both local and foreign investors could take advantage to help to transform the economy. Mrs Pover, who is on a week-long visit to the country, told the Ghana News Agency that the Mission would explore avenues of collaborating with Ghanaian businesses and industry while expanding existing linkages.

The Mission, which is on its second leg tour after visiting Nigeria, covers transport; business development consultants; export sales advisors; corporate trainers and laboratory developers.

Mrs Povers said Ghana stood to gain immensely "from tourists, who will fly in on Friday, stay at a hotel somewhere along the beach and enjoy the country and the area and fly back on Monday.

"Currently, some of these facilities though in existence, lack the finesse and quality that will attract such tourists."

She complained that some of the facilities are sited outside the capital, "which is good", but they do not have facilities that are worth the travel.

She said going by the trends of the visits, the Mission was hopeful of making good their objective of creating a smooth path between the United Kingdom (UK) and Ghanaian markets.

Two companies, Utopia UK Limited has struck a contract to import one container of pawpaw a week to the UK while Orion Construction is in the process of striking a deal in the construction and agro-processing industry.