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Hearing impaired wins domestic tourism
competition
Accra, Nov. 23, Ghanadot/GNA - Miss Jessica Nortey, a
15-year old hearing impaired student from the Cape-Coast
School for the Deaf was on Friday adjudged the winner of a
Domestic Tourism Awareness Essay Contest.
She wrote an essay on the topic: "A Festival in my Town or
Village" which was keenly contested by 766 students in the
Central Region.
The Domestic Tourism Awareness Essay Contest is organized by
the Tour Operators Union of Ghana (TOUGA) to promote
domestic tourism among school children with the objective of
making them cultivate the habit of touring and knowing their
country.
Miss Nortey for her award received a cheque for 500 Ghana
Cedis, a half piece of Ghana @50 cloth, mathematical sets, a
T' Shirt and Cup from Nestle Ghana Limited. She also had a
certificate and would participate in a tour of the Greater
Accra Region and other selected tourists sites.
Thirty-nine other students from selected schools in the
Central Region also received various prizes for writing good
essays on domestic tourism.
The pupils wrote on the following topics: "A Festival in my
Town or Village, A Tourists Attraction in my District and A
Visit to a Cocoa farm."
Mr Stephen Asamoah-Boateng, Minister of Tourism and
Diasporan Relations said the ministry would work closely
with TOUGA to create awareness on the domestic front on the
importance of tourism and its benefits to the large, medium,
small and micro enterprises and the communities.
He said the Ghana CAN 2008 provided an opportunity for Ghana
to reposition herself onto the global tourists map and
assert her resolve as the preferred destination in Africa.
"Major strides in the tourism sector cannot be made without
the express involvement of our local people, not only by
providing requisite services, but more importantly the
reception we accord to our guest who patronize our services
and visit the communities."
Mr Asamoah-Boateng, commending TOUGA for the awards ceremony
urged members to use the contest as a platform to help the
youth appreciate Ghana's heritage, learn more about the
country and support community tourism development
initiatives.
Mrs Stella Appenteng, President of TOUGA, said her
organization's theme was; "Experience our Tourism Dream" and
said the dream of the tour operators was for every Ghanaian
to know the country well through tourism.
She said the involvement of the physically challenged in the
domestic tourism essay competition was important.
Mr Solomon Kyere, Official at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel
stated that effective promotion and patronage of tourists'
sites could generate a substantial amount of revenue for the
country annually.
"We need to catch the interest of the youth at their
formative years so that their generation could have the
requisite interest in domestic tourism," Mr Kyere said.
Dr. Siedu Daana, a visually impaired legal practitioner who
chaired the function, noted that for seven years TOUGA had
sustained the domestic tourism essay contest with the drive
to promote domestic tourism.
He commended TOUGA for involving the physically challenged
in the essay competition and said disability was not
inability as demonstrated by the winner of the contest.
GNA
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