Accra, Aug. 29, GNA - Mr Martin Mireku, Executive Director of the Ghana Tourist Board (GTB), on Friday called for the development of beaches as they could generate a lot of foreign exchange.

He said Ghana had about 450 kilometres of "golden beaches", which are being wasted because they are yet to be developed. Mr Mireku said this at an orientation course for members of the Tourism Press Corps.

He said the tourism industry sought to develop areas that could contribute to the development of eco-tourism as tourists always looked for new experience.

Mr Mireku said the beaches were among Ghana's tour products that needed to be marketed to the outside world and Ghanaians. Mr Kwabena Asante-Donkor, Deputy Director at the Ghana Tourist Development Company (GTDC), said plans were far advanced to get investors to develop the beaches.

"A scheme to identify usable beaches to hook them up to investors so that we could get a maximum benefit from our beaches is currently on going."

Mr Asante-Donkor said the beaches at the moment could be best described as eyesore because many people did not know how important they were.

Mrs Wilhemina Apenteng, Corporate Marketing Officer, of La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, said the hotel would start a nightclub and casino by the end of this year.

She said the operation of a nightclub and casino was an added interest that most of their clients asked for. 29 Aug. 03