Mr Michael Konadu, Public Relations Officer, KIT said the visit was to introduce the KIT Ambassador and some members of the club from various basic schools to the Deputy minister.

They were also to seek motivation and advice from the Deputy Minister concerning the industry and the importance and benefits of tourism to kids.

The club started in February 2015, but was officially launched in 2019 with the aim of educating young people on tourism, help them develop their creativity, expose and instill in them the rich tourism and cultural resources of Ghana.

He said it was also to create a channel for the kids to showcase the rich culture and tourism of Ghana to the global market.

Mr Konadu appealed to the Deputy Minister to find space in the ministry's budget to include the club in order to help it achieve its purpose.

Dr Iddi congratulated the kids for taking the courage to join a tourism club, saying: the Government and the ministry were keen on developing youth tourism since it was something if that could generate into a profession, if properly adopted and harnessed.

He said the youth were the future and was hopeful that tourism in Ghana would not end but give an opportunity to the youth to pick up the pieces in future.

He said tourism was about pleasure, leisure, jobs, wealth creation, culture, creative arts and everything.

He added: "There is no way you will join this club and will not find something that would make you happy or be meaningful and impact your life. There is so much you can learn and benefit from."

Dr Iddi explained that tourism was about travelling to visit another place for a day or two just to learn about the place, entertain oneself and enjoy the culture and everything about the place, and that it could be domestic or international.

"Ghana is rich in echo and heritage tourism," he added. "We have a beautiful country and all the beautiful things you aspire to see".

"We have beautiful beaches, safari, forest reserves, fatter falls, forts and castles, canopy walks, among others."

He said the Ministry was currently paying more attention to festival tourism "as our culture is mostly demonstrated through festivals".

Ghana has two national festivals, the Pan African Festival and National Festival of Arts and Culture, which is mostly used to promote festivals in Ghana.

Since independence, according to Dr Iddi, 2019 was the only year that Ghana recorded the highest number of tourists into the country because of the declaration of 2019 as the year of return.

He advised the kids that the club was not just a fun club, but was one they should learn from and build a profession which would go a long way to benefit them, their families and community.

He called on other schools to form similar groups that would enable the kids to have a feel of Ghana's tourism.

He also urged school authorities to find time in their academic calendar to take the kids to the various tourist sites across the country.