As part of efforts to promote tourism and create sustainable businesses within the sector, the Men in Business and Tourism (MBT) organisation has been launched in Accra on Thursday.
Speaking at the launch, the President of MBT, Mr Bernard Adum said, the move was to bring men together to explore opportunities within the sector, build capacity and promote Ghana as a tourism destination.
“Across the globe, the tourism sector has become a critical pillar within national development planning and policies and one of the fastest growing sectors of our times. MBT seek to bring men together to harness the investment opportunities in this sector to create decent and new additional jobs for men,” he stated.
He said “we are inspired to achieve these by building strong social relationships and networks, a solid basis for collaborative activity that allow quick accomplishments of tasks.”
He said, they would also train and build capacity, organise cultural exchange programmes, organise summer boot camps, embark on impactful advocacy projects and develop policies to support government initiatives on tourism.
“We would equip more men to promote tourism businesses in Ghana through continuous collaboration with the government agencies and other related organizations,” he stressed.
“It is time to promote sustainable tourism, to create income opportunities for local populations, enhance understanding and friendship among men, increase environmental awareness and protect the natural cultural heritages of Ghana,” he stated.
He assured that they would work together with the government tomaximise the potential of tourism to eradicate poverty by developing appropriate sustainable tourism strategies in cooperation with other stakeholders.
The Chief Executive Officer(GTA) Mr Akwesi Agyeman in a speech read on his behalf by the Director for Corperate Affairs, GTA, Jones Aruna Nelson, commended the organisation for the foresight as their objectives would be tailored towards sustainable tourism.
He said, tourism remained one of the most resilient industries across the globe and it was important to create an enabling environment for businesses to strive.
“Training and capacity building is very key to the promotion of the sector. It is also imperative to drive the agenda of promoting tourism through partnership with government and private sector,” he stated.
Launching the organisation, the Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of the Ghana Tourism Development Company(GTDC) MrKwadjoAntwi commended leaders of the MBT for the initiative adding that the sector needed more people and more of such organisations to develop.
“It is important for men to avail themselves to take advantage of the opportunities available in the tourism value chain especially with regards to leveraging on technology to support tourism and avoid some leakages within the sector,” he stated.
He said, private sector must take advantage of the opportunities within the industry and also pledge government support to helping MBT achieve their objectives.
Chairperson for the occasion, Okatakyie Nana Animsaid, the industry had a lot of potential and urged players to be focused and tap into the available opportunities.
BY MICHAEL D.ABAYATEYE
