RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE 2013-2027 PLAN
Although Act 817 makes provision for a Public Private Partnership Forum to meet at regular intervals, until now these meetings have been sporadic. It is recommended that these are organised every three months as prescribed in the Act bringing together tourism stakeholders, representatives from other sectors that impact on tourism and that joint initiatives are agreed and acted upon. Private sector associations must be strengthened and the support of traditional rulers for tourism development in their areas must be garnered. It is recommended that a new Inter-Ministerial Committee be formed to replace the ineffective current Committee bringing together the same Ministries as well as the National Development Planning Commission. The Committee should be chaired by the Vice-President, who will also call the meetings to ensure that Directors and above attend. Policy and regulatory framework: A tourism policy was formulated in 2006 with stakeholders in the sector
but never presented for ratification to Parliament. The policy document needs to be redrafted and updated in a more concise paper, which Parliamentarians would be more likely to absorb, accept and ratify.
There is poor understanding of the tourism sector by other government institutions in Ghana, which is affecting Tourism’s credibility as a productive sector generating income and jobs and benefiting other sectors of the economy. An educational campaign aimed at the Presidency, the Cabinet, the Economic Advisory Council, the Budget Division of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and the Parliamentary Committees on both Finance and Tourism must be carried out, supported by an international conference on the impact of tourism on the economy of selected countries. Invitations to attend should be extended to all senior personnel at Ministries in Ghana (Chief Directors and above), important personalities and stakeholders in the country but also in the region, and to the Press Corp, both nationally and internationally to generate TV and newspaper coverage, explaining the uniqueness, economic power and how Ghana can develop international competitiveness based on a visitor economy.Wording in the Tourism
Act 817, 2011 is in places confusing and could be open to misinterpretation; for instance, the functions of the GTA are not comprehensively spelt out. These issues should be addressed and the Act reworded or amended in an addendum.
The private sector must be involved in regulating and monitoring their industry rather than having rules imposed on them. For instance it could play an active role in the running of Plan (2013-2027) are not
self-executing but require considerable political will power to implement. It is the considered opinion of the Ghanalinks Directory that the aforementioned – poor understanding of the tourism sector by other government institutions in Ghana, which is affecting tourism’s credibility as a productive sector generating income and jobs and benefiting other sectors of the economy – is the most crucial of the recommendations, because it requires the machinery of government and the public sector to fulfil the vision of the 2013-2027 National Tourism Development Plan.