Kumasi, Sept 28, GNA - The Ghana Tourist Authority (GTA) has ended a day's symposium on tourism in Kumasi with a call for the establishment of= an inter-ministerial agency to coordinate the activities of all pro-tourism institutions. Dr Alex Segbefia, Lecturer of the Department of Geography and Rural Development, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), said such an agency would help to harmonize activities of institutions in the tourism industry. These institutions include the Department of Game and Wildlife, Museum and Monuments Board and Forestry Commission.

The fragmentation of those bodies, he said, had made it difficult to identify and fully harness the nation's tourism potentials as the Tourism Ministry was limited in its ability and capacity to superintend over touris= m issues. The symposium formed part of activities marking World Tourism Day and aimed at promoting awareness about Ghana's tourism resources and how to develop them. Dr Segbefia recounted how some East African countries had over the years' streamlined activities in the industry and succeeded in bringing i= n huge revenue through domestic and international visits to national parks, safaris, monumental and historical sites. He said there was no doubt that Ghana is gifted with unique cultural diversity and that there was the need to brainstorm and work tirelessly to make the country a major tourist destination.