10-Member delegation from Barbados calls on Tourism Minister

A 10-Member delegation from Barbados has paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Tourism and Creative Arts, Mrs Barbara Oteng-Gyasi, to strengthen the ties between the two countries, particularly in the area of tourism.

The call on Mrs Oteng-Gyasi formed part of the delegation’s five-day visit to Ghana to have an insight into Ghanaian culture and develop strategies to boost the tourism potential of both countries.

The itinerary of the delegation includes an interaction with Ghanaian authorities in aviation and the creative arts, such as film actors, music producers and event organisers.

They will also visit cultural, eco-tourism and leisure sites, such as the Shai Hills and Senchi.
Members of the Barbados delegation are from the ministries of Tourism and International Transport and Creative Economy, Culture and Sports of Barbados.

Importance

At the meeting in Accra yesterday, Mrs Oteng-Gyasi said the visit was crucial, as Ghana was currently implementing programmes to forge closer bonds with the African Diaspora and the Caribbean.

She said the government’s Year of Return programme, an initiative launched in September 2018 to mark the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in the United States of America (USA), had contributed to opening the bonds of friendship and collaboration with Diasporans.

She added that the government had also initiated the ‘Beyond the Return’ programme, a 10-year project aimed at building on the dividends chalked up by the Year of Return in 2019.

She said discussions with members of the delegation would centre on how to facilitate quick direct travel between Ghana and Barbados and how Barbadians could obtain citizenship of or residency in Ghana.

Shared culture

For his part, the Minister of Tourism and International Transport of Barbados, Mr Kerrie Symmonds, noted the similarities in the cultures of the two countries and stressed the need for them to develop strategic ways to build and sustain their relations.

“We have a lot in common and we have really shared that among ourselves. I think it is important for us to find a way of building that bridge across the generations,” he said.

He also emphasised the need to have an airline that would do direct flights from Accra to Barbados, and vice versa, to facilitate their relationship, business and commerce, while urging investors from Barbados to invest more in Ghana.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Mr Akwasi Agyeman, said a Ghanaian delegation which had earlier visited Barbados had had fruitful discussions on creative arts and tourism with the authorities of that country.

He described tourism as a two-way street and called for a new road map in areas such as sports, culture, film, music, creative arts, among others, to boost tourism in both countries.

Background

In November last year, the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Amor Motley, led a delegation to Ghana on a three-day working visit as part of the Year of Return programme.

Her visit was at the instance of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, following his earlier visit to Barbados in June last year.

Mia Motley, who is also the Leader of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP), explained that her visit to Ghana stemmed from the historical links the people of Barbados had with Ghana and Africa in general.

During her visit, Mia Motley, together with her delegation, addressed Ghana’s Parliament and toured the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, the Cape Coast Castle, the Assin Manso slave river, among other engagements.