JULIANA Azumah-Mensah, Minister for Tourism has observed that the only way to make the tourism industry triumph is by sustaining the collective commitment in the work of the Public-Private Partnership Forum (PPPF) which began in 2006, and that by so doing the tourism industry would play its rightful role in creating wealth, reducing poverty and creating jobs, especially for the unemployed youth.

The Minister, who said this at the first post-PPPF, maintained that this would be a major contribution in addressing rural-urban migration and its attendant social problems.

Mrs. Azumah-Mensah assured that her Ministry would continue to strengthen her collaboration with relevant stakeholders such as the Ministries, Departments and Agencies; Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies; Non-governmental Organisations; Traditional Authorities and others to ensure that tourism is given the necessary boost in Ghana.

The PPPF Project which began in February 2006 and lasted till January 2009 by the government of Ghana in cooperation with the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), aimed at assisting in developing the tourism sector with the overall goal of strengthening public-private partnership by means of capacity development.

The Ministry of Tourism implemented the Project in partnership with the JICA Project Team, which consists of experts from PADECO Company Limited commissioned by JICA.

The PPPF members were comprised of both public and private sector representatives, and they worked on pilot activities in five areas: Finance and Investment, Human Resource Development, Marketing and Promotion, Policy and Product Development.

Various training programmes were also conducted for members of the Forum, the Ministry of Tourism, Ghana Tourist Board and Ghana Tourism Federation (GHATOF).

The Minister noted that the establishment of the Forum has brought key stakeholders of the industry together to discuss crucial issues relevant to the promotion and growth of tourism in the country.

“This initiative is a novelty, the first of its kind in the tourism industry in Ghana. We should therefore sustain it and make it a good example for others to emulate. I want to assure you that my doors are open anytime for new ideas, inputs and constructive counsel. I hope to count on your continuous cooperation for the development of an enviable tourism industry in Ghana,” she stated

The President of GHATOF, Stella Appenteng said that the Project which has come to stay has been able to bridge the gab between the public and private sector, and that the mistrust and the lack of cohesion are easing, saying that the private sector has a major role to play in the sustenance of the PPPF.

She noted that in the first phase of the Project, most of them showed a lot of enthusiasm and commitment, and that during the second phase they need even greater commitment to ensure the attainment of their objectives and goals and to manage projects that will be identified.

The Chief Director of the Ministry, Bridget Katsriku who commended members of the Forum, called on all to put their heads together to propel the tourism industry forward, stressing that despite these achievements, there are still some debilitating problems that need to be addressed.

Alhaji Amadu Sorogo, Member of Parliament for Abokobi Madina, and Chairman of the Parliamentary-Select Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism, said the tourism industry is an area Ghana can make a lot of strides, but wondered whether tourism practitioners were exploiting the potentials that the country has.

He, however, assured members of the Forum that the Select-Committee would continue to support the industry in Parliament, especially to expedite action on the passage of the Tourism Bill currently before Parliament.