Tour Operators Union of Ghana launches newsletter
Tour Operators Union of Ghana (TOUGHA) has launched a newsletter to help rebrand the sector.
The newsletter, which will cover activities of the sector, will also provide tourists and would-be tourists the needed information on the Ghanaian tourism sector.
Advertisement
TOUGHA was incorporated in the year 2000 as an umbrella body for all traveling and tourism operators in the country.
It was established among others to influence tourism legislation, create awareness for domestic tourism, and to liaise with international institutions for the development of the country’s tourism.
Speaking at the launch last Friday, the President of the union, Mrs Alisa Osei-Asamoah, said the launching of the newsletter marked a new milestone in the affairs of the union in serving their patrons with all the needed information they would want to know about the Ghanaian tourism sector.
She said the newsletter would contribute to the development of the country’s tourism sector by bringing in more revenue.
She noted further that the newsletter would help to create awareness about the Ghanaian tourism sector—internally and externally.
Mrs Osei-Asamoah said the newsletter, which will be available in both hardcopy and digital versions, would help the industry players to build relationship with their stakeholders.
“This (newsletter) will make valuable industry news, programmes and strategies in addition to relevant updates, analysis of industry trends, offer reliable predictions and industry information to our stakeholders” she explained.
Other Trending Stories
For her, the newsletter is also expected to serve as an effective marketing tool that will lead their brand to the next level.
She noted that the newsletter would also help to bring back the sector on track as it has been severely impacted by the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mrs Osei-Asamoah said “COVID-19 has had deep impact on the private sectors, especially the travel and tour industry and the hospitality industry through several channels.”
She observed that the shock and devastating impacts of COVID-19 has compelled many tourism and tour businesses to cut cost, reduce staff‘s working hours, wages as well as laying off some workers.
She, however, commended the sector ministry, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, for providing the necessary interventions to cushion the sector, saying “We are Thankful to the Ministry of Tourism and Ghana Tourism Authority for pushing us through various intervention through this difficulty times.”
The Vice President of TOUGHA, Mr Michael Orleans, for his part, said the newsletter would provide vital information to revelers and tourism value-chain players.
“The newsletter is very important as it’s going to rebrand us to share significant information with the stakeholders and also contribute our part though we have done a lot,” he said.
The Deputy Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr Mark Okraku Mantey, praised TOUGHA for its key role in marketing the country to the rest of the world.
For him, TOUGHA is a key player to the Tourism Ministry, stressing that “The agenda to sell Ghana, eat Ghana, is visible with the help of TOUGHA.”
He said the various initiatives of TOUGHA would help the Ministry to achieve its set objective of becoming one of the most resourceful ministries in the country.
Mr Mantey said the Ministry of Tourism has set a target of generating US$ 5 billion from the tourism sector, pointing out that such a target could only be achieved if all players and stakeholders put their hands on deck.
The Deputy Tourism Minister added that government has signed an agreement with Spain to facilitate the training of more than 120,000 people in the tourism sector.
Advertisement
He explained that as part of the agreement, the Spanish government, through Incyde Foundation, the umbrella body of Chambers of Commerce in Spain, will build a hi-tech smart tourist incubator hub to support the development of tourism in Ghana.
The overall objective of the agreement is to enable Ghana to tap into the tourism expertise of Spain, which is the second most popular tourist destination in the world, with more than 80 million visitors to that country annually.
Manwerehene of Asantehene Nana Baffuor Bretuo VI, commended TOUGHA for their contributions toward the development of the country’s tourism and arts sector.