The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) in partnership with the Car Rental Association (CRA) on Thursday held a training programme for drivers of the Association on their role as industry players.

The training formed part of the, "Ghana Cares Obaatanpa Project" which was outdoored last year by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for the COVID-19 revitalisation programme.

Mr Akwasi Agyeman, Chief Executive Officer, GTA, said the training programme had already started with service training, quality assurance, expatriates division, products developments and now, frontline workers - drivers.

He said the drivers could not be left out because of the important role they played as frontline people.

Mr Agyeman said they would be taken through products knowledge, customer service 'do's and don'ts,' etiquettes of the profession and self-grooming.

The Chief Executive said it was a day's training but in different sections and batches after, which the drivers would be issued with certificates, adding that learning would also continue on theghanagurus.com platform after, which participants would be examined.

"Participants who excel in the exams would become members of the guru platform leading the Authority to the realisation of its objective of making drivers, gurus and ambassadors of Ghana's tourism."

Mr Agyemang said "we would train the driver associations under the tourism fraternity who had registered first, and then move to the other driver unions in our local languages so that language would not become a barrier to tourism," he added.

Mr Seth Yeboah Ocran, President, CRA, said tourism went beyond renting of cars or drivers, because it was an everyday life and that people received visitors on daily basis, thus the need for drivers to know more about Ghana to be able to make visitors and customers happy.

He said the Association had 75 car rental operators in four regions- Greater Accra, Ashanti, Western and Northern Regions and that the training would get to other regions.