“Tourists’ sites in this part of Ghana are not well-developed and roads leading to the few tourists’ sites are also not accessible making it difficult for tourists to get to their destinations. Tokali-Naa Dayamgiri said this at the recent Upper West Regional Tourism Awards Night held in Wa, where 14 outstanding stakeholders of the industry were honoured for their various roles.

He said accommodation facilities at tourists’ sites are not available and cited the Wechiau Community Hippo Sanctuary as an example. Tokali-Naa Dayamgiri said the lack of modern facilities and accessible roads often served as a hindrance to the growth of the tourism industry in the region which is home to several tourists sites.

He commended Calgary Zoological Society for providing a lodge at Wechiau, the Wa-West District capital for tourists visiting the Hippo Sanctuary, which is one of the flagship tourism sites in the country, and appealed for more aid for the struggling Sanctuary. Alhaji Amidu Sulemana, Upper West Regional Minister, said tourism contributes massively to Ghana’s economy and also serves as a major source of employment.

He said government would do everything possible to develop the sector.

“Road network in the region is being tackled and government is working assiduously to eliminate all bottlenecks hindering the progress of the sector”, he said. Alhaji Sulemana urged stakeholders in the industry to improve on supervision to make them more competitive and enhance quality services to attract tourists to the region.

Mr Henry Yeleduor, Upper West Regional Manager of the Ghana Tourism Authority, reminded service providers on the need to respect and care for their customers. In all 14 best service providers within the tourism industry were honoured for their dedication to service and product excellence with Nuoyong Empire Hotel wining the ultimate award as hotel of the year.