Kumasi, June 16, GNA - The Ghana Tourist Board (GTB) has appealed t= o the Museums and Monuments Board to act firmly to halt the destruction of monumental buildings across the country. Those building, it noted, were relevant not only to the preservation of the nation's cultural heritage, traditional architectural designs but als= o served as important tourist attraction sites.

Mr Ekow Sampson, Ashanti Regional Manager of the Board, said this at the opening session of a two-day workshop organized for selected journalists in Kumasi. It is part of their efforts at helping to build the capacity of the media to enable them to report accurately on tourism and its related issues= .. He urged journalists to support the GTB to highlight the advantages o= f

those buildings and their importance to the architectural industry. The Regional Manager described as unfortunate the way some leaders, motivated by greed and in the name of modernity, were recklessly levelling cherished historic buildings. Mr Sampson said it should not be lost on anyone that the tourism industry could make significant impact on the socio-economic development of rural areas, less developed and remote but endowed with huge resources.