Traditional Authorities have been urged to find innovative ways of generating revenue to accelerate the development of their traditional areas. One of the sustainable ways of doing this is to identify and develop tourism potentials that will attract investors and visitors.

The Minister of Tourism, Hon. Akua Sena Dansua, made the call when she led a team from the Ministry and the Media to pay a working visit to some tourist sites in the Osudoku Traditional Area.

Welcoming the Minister and her entourage, the Paramount Chief and President of the Osudoku Traditional Council, Nene Kla Gbordjor Animle V, mentioned the Volta River at Akuse, the ancestral home of the Osudoku people with a well that is believed to have medicinal properties, and their annual cultural festival celebrated in May every year, as some of the tourist attractions of the area. He also mentioned the geography of the area as ideal for paragliding.

At the Volta Riverside, the team was informed that the area was currently being used for canoe racing during festivals and talks were on-going between the Traditional Authorities and the Volta River Authority to demarcate areas that could be developed into a tourist attraction.

The entourage was also shown a potential paragliding site currently being used as training grounds for pilots who participate in the annual Okwahu Paragliding Festival.

The entourage also visited Golden Exotics, a Company under the Free Zones enclave that produces pineapples and banana on a large scale for export to North Africa and Europe. The 1,200 hectare farm provides employment to the youth in the catchment area. At peak production, about 2, 400 workers are employed.

Hon. Akua Sena Dansua and her team were taken through the various stages of production and packaging processes. She expressed the hope that the farm could be used to promote agro-tourism, especially at a time when the Ministry of Tourism was collaborating with the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service to promote domestic tourism through excursions.

BOAKYE-BOATENG PRINCE DIRECTOR, PUBLIC RELATIONS 020-8071161 princebb1@gmail.com