Mr Kwamena Bartels, outgoing Acting Minister of Tourism, on Tuesday described budgetary allocation to the Ministry as “peanuts” saying, the amount is not capable of developing the industry to competitive levels in the Sub-Region.
He said the budget allocated to the Ministry was limited and was a serious constraint to raising the standards in the tourism industry.
Mr Bartels, who was addressing the Meet-The-Press Series in Accra, said he was, however, optimistic that programmes, projects and effective collaborative efforts by the Ministry and its agencies – Ghana Tourist Board, Ghana Tourist Development Company and the Hotel Catering and Tourism Training Institute (HOTTCAT) – would work to bridge the financing gap.
The Minister of Finance in the 2003 budget allocated 13.6 billion cedis to the Ministry of Tourism with 1.6 billion cedis going for investment and development purposes.
Mr Bartels said poor and inadequate infrastructural facilities at tourism sites across the country had suffered because of a continued low budgetary allocation to the sector
He expressed the hope that the private sector would aid the ministry and government to realise the changing tastes and expectations of tourists, who visit the country and bring Ghana to the new heights of international tourism.
Tourism is the nation’s fourth largest foreign exchange earner after cocoa, gold and timber, earning more than a billion cedis in the past year alone.
Source: GhanaWeb
