A three-city tourism training programme to help enhance the capabilities of various players in the nation’s tourism sector will be held from April 23 to April 29 in Kumasi, Ada and Cape Coast.
Organised by Nasoa Services, the programme is in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism, Art and Culture; Ghana Tourism Federation (GHATOF), Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) and the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) with support from the United States Embassy in Ghana.
Tourism is the fourth highest foreign exchange earner in Ghana with a huge potential of overtaking gold, cocoa, foreign remittances and oil. This is against the backdrop of a relatively low level of investment flow into the sector.
According to the National Tourism Development Plan (2013 – 2027), development of human resource in the tourism business is a key requirement for the transformation of the sector in this country.
Speakers at the training sessions will include two specialists from the United States of America. They are Yuri Horowitz, a lecturer at Georgetown University and co-founder and partner at Navigo International and Andrew Dumaine from United States.
Yuri Horowitz has over 19 years of experience in the travel and tourism industry, with expertise across the entire value chain – from front-end hospitality to high-level tourism planning and policy.
Specialising in community engagement, emerging destinations and sustainable tourism, he focuses on developing a shared vision among stakeholders and implementing programmes that have far-reaching social benefits.
Organisations he has worked with include the World Bank, Clinton Foundation, U.S. Peace Corps and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Andrew Dumaine is president and founder of shrinkingfootprint, a company that specialises in transforming tourism into an efficient tool for community development.
He has worked in advertising for more than 20 years as a writer, creative director and agency co-owner. More than 60 of the campaigns he created for clients earned national and international awards for effectiveness and creative appeal.
Another speaker at the training sessions is Akunu Dake, a cultural activist and CEO of Heritage Development, a culture and tourism development and event management consultancy.
Also billed to bring his vast experience in the tourism area to bear at the sessions is Oscar Yao Doe, Executive Chairman of Eurostar Global Limousines, a Pan-African luxury car rental company. He is also the founder of the award-winning Doscar Travel and Tours and Euro Tours which have interests across the world.
The final speaker is Nana Kweku Nduom, Vice President in charge of Business Development and Finance at Group Nduom, whose responsibilities include hotel chains across Ghana.
