IN many parts of the world, tourism is becoming serious business and countries which have committed resources to its development are reaping immense benefits.
Increasingly, the era when tourism was considered a form of entertaining travel or tour, with no commercial input, is gradually fading away.
Now it has attained the status of a commercial colossus, with countries such as the United States and Spain recording international tourism receipts of $94.2 billion and $53.2 billion, respectively, in 2009.
In many countries, well-crafted policies have driven revenue from tourism to record highs. Other countries such as China, Malaysia, The Gambia, Kenya and Mexico have made some phenomenal gains from tourism and many more countries are beginning to recognise the immense economic benefits the sector can offer.
Today, tourism has attained some level of sophistication, with some people embarking on medical tourism, educational tourism, sports tourism, among other forms.
In Ghana, efforts to make tourism more economically vibrant are continuously being made and in the past few years the country has recorded an increase in the number of visits and an increase in revenue.
Currently, tourism is the fourth highest foreign exchange earner in the country and contributes 6.2 per cent of the country’s GDP.
According to statistics, revenue generated from tourism increased from $1,403.1 million in 2008 to $1,615.2 million in 2009. During that same period, tourist arrivals in the country increased from 698,069 to 802,779.
With the approval by the Cabinet of the first ever Tourism Bill, tourism in the country is going to receive a further boost to help the country rake in more revenue from the sector.
The new bill spells out the government’s vision for and direction on the development and utilisation of the tourism industry to enhance national socio-economic transformation.
The DAILY GRAPHIC believes that this is a step in the right direction, considering the increasing relevance of tourism to modern economies across the world.
Indeed, this is a bill which is long overdue and it is hoped that once it is laid before Parliament when it resumes in October, it will be dealt with expeditiously.
The country has immense tourism potential and although the Ghana Tourist Board and the Ministry of Tourism have contributed a lot over the years to improve tourism in the country, there is still a lot that needs to be done.
According to the Minister of Tourism, Mrs Zita Okaikoi, the new bill seeks to address the discrepancies in the industry, including the control and management of tourist sites in the country.
Certainly, this is a move that will help improve revenue mobilisation in the industry and ensure that money from tourism goes into the right agencies.
Additionally, the bill will seek to change the Ghana Tourist Board from its present state to the National Tourism Authority, with additional powers and responsibilities.
The DAILY GRAPHIC urges the government to improve budgetary support to the ministry, especially against the background of concerns raised by the minister in respect of the fact that the ministry is the sector that receives the lowest budgetary allocation.
It is also our hope that the establishment of a Tourism Fund, as proposed in the bill, will serve a very useful purpose to help develop tourism sites in the country and to increase revenue from the sector.
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