Tourism Ministry To Mobilise 900mC

Kumasi, 5 June - The Ministry of Tourism is to organise an international donors' conference to mobilise 900 million dollars from both external and internal sources to start the implementation of the country's 15-year Integrated National Tourism Development Programme. The conference is being organised with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Tourism Organisation (WTO). The money will go into the implementation of the first five years of the programme. It will be used to support selected projects in all the 10 regions and help meet infrastructural requirements. Mr Abraham S. Bekoe, Director of Research, Statistics and Information at the ministry, announced this during a one-day technical seminar held to discuss the draft Ashanti Regional Tourism Development Plan in Kumasi today. It was attended by the traditional councils, district assemblies, tour operators, non-governmental organisations (NGO's) and investors. Mr Bekoe explained that draft financial plans to pave the way for the holding of the conference would soon be laid before the government for approval.