25 Tourism operators in V/R honoured
Twenty-five operators of tourist facilities in the Volta Region have been honoured. Out of the number, 18 received awards in the Competitive Division and seven in the Honorary Division.
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The owner and Managing Director of Villa Cisneros Resort and Spa at Sogakope in the South Tongu District, Dr Bernard Glover, was adjudged the Tourism Personality of the Year. In addition, Hotel Cisneros, was acclaimed the Three Star Hotel of the Year.
Other awards were: Sky+Plus Hotel, Ho, which was awarded as the Two Star Hotel of the year; Hotel Valley Palacio at Peki Dzake, the One Star Hotel of the Year; Rocklyne Guest House in Ho, the Best Guest House of the Year; Bishop Konings Hotel in Ho, Budget Hotel of the Year, and Bigfoot Safari at Wli-Afegame, Newcomer of the Year.
The Restaurant of the Year with International Repute award went to Goldfinger Restaurant in Ho, while the CEPS Canteen at Aflao was awarded the Local Restaurant of the Year. Mabel Chopbar at Sokode-Gbogame won the Traditional Catering House of the Year award, while the Drinking Spot of the Year award went to Rabazey Spot at Ho, while YesuKo Guest House at Anfoega was awarded the Consistent Tourism Levy Remunerator of the Year.
On the media front, Hope FM 93.1 in Ho was adjudged the Tourism-oriented Media (radio) in the year under review. Mr Felix Agbenyo of Business and Financial Times was crowned the Tourism Writer of the Year in the print media category, with Mr Kafui Gati of the Ghanaian Times office in Ho receiving the Travel Writer of the Year award.
Other awardees were: Mr Nelson Agbavor of Modav Ho, Host of the Year; Ghana Hotels Association won the Tourism Trade Association of the Year award; Wli Waterfalls, Visitor Attraction of the Year, while Ketu South District Assembly won the District Support for Tourism Development award.
A number of personalities and institutions received awards in the Honorary Division. They included: The Development Institute of Ho, Reverend Dr Elias K. Asiama of the Akrofo Ecological Resource Centre at Jasikan; Mr Emmanuel Chance of Chances Hotel in Ho; Mr Bob Cofie-Dusu of Freedom Hotel in Ho, the Japanese International Cooperation Agency(JICA) and the Volta Regional Coordinating Council (VRCC).
In an address read on her behalf, the Volta Regional Minister, Ms Helen Adjoa Ntoso, said VRCC was mandated to make the tourism sector a driving force for development in the region. She also said the council’s activities in that sector would be decentralised to ensure participation at the grassroots level.
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She urged the youth to not imbibe the negative aspects of tourism in order not to ruin their lives.
The Deputy Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Ms Dzifa Gomashie, urged tourism operators to create a platform for the participation of people in creative arts. She said a marriage between tourism and creative arts added value to the industry so that had to be promoted.
According to her, even though the art and craft industry was booming, products from the sector were not utilised by tourism operators in Ghana. She, therefore, urged owners of tourism facilities to exploit the sector, cautioning that failure to include local culture in the industry might see their fortunes dwindling.
The Executive Director of Villa Cisneros Resort and Spa, Dr Glover, said the mode of collecting levies must be streamlined to avoid leakages and abuse.
Dr Glover suggested to the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) to consider establishing its own bank to be called the Tourism Development Bank, and float shares on the stock exchange to attract international tourism organisations that are interested in raising capital for the proposed bank.
In her address, the Deputy Executive Director of Operations of GTA,Ms Abigail Tagoe, asked operators to ensure that they delivered quality service in order to earn handsome returns and also ensure repeated visits by clients.
She said tourism was now a catalyst for many economies around the world. “As such, it was necessary to get the youth interested in its related activities,” she added.
The Volta Regional Manager of the Ghana Tourism Authority, Mr Kwame Gyasi, disclosed that the ‘home stay concept’ introduced sometime ago would be adopted in rural communities to enhance tourism opportunities in the region.
He, however, decried the poor quality of roads in the region, which he said was affecting service delivery in the sector.