The Ga Mantse, King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, has appealed to the Government to take the bull by the horns and deal with waste in Ghana, especially the plastic waste menace in Accra, by either imposing heavy taxes on importation of plastics or invest in biodegradable materials as an alternative.
The overlord of Accra made the appeal when a Japanese envoy, Dr. Itaru Ishii, Advisor to the Office of the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan called on him at his residence in Accra.
“We cannot have a tourism appeal if we still continue to do things the way we do them in the past because we haven’t found our foot in cleaning up our plastic waste”, the King said.
King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, highlighting the beautiful heritage and history of the Ga Dangme people suggested the formation of a committee in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism to begin a research that will help maximize the full tourism potential of the Ga Dangme people.
The Japanese envoy who is also a member of the Japan/ Ghana Friendship League suggested innovative ways to boost tourism in Ghana. He said, within a year, Japan was able to increase the number of tourists from six (6) million to thirty-eight 38 million when they invited journalists from all over the world to find out the expectations of potential tourists from their specific countries.
According to him, the outcome of the this research showed that visitors from different countries had different expectations and wanted to do different things during their visits. He said, armed with this information, the Japanese government established tourism offices in different countries with different missions to promote Japanese tourism tailored to the specific needs of different countries.
Mrs Gifty Quansah, a retired Director of Ghana Tourism Authority, who was at the meeting emphasized the importance of tourism to Ghana and commended the government for establishing the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture. She appealed to the government to invest more on community based eco-tourism to create jobs, preserve incomes and as well as preserve the history and culture of the communities.
Dr. Itaru Ishii, who was in Ghana to explore the tourism potential of the country, and also, create a new channel for Japanese tourists and investors to visit Ghana, was accompanied by Ambassador Jude Sylvester Parker-Allotey, Ghana’s former Ambassador of Ghana Plenipotentiary of Ghana to Japan and High Commissioner Singapore.
