Story: Nana Yaw TAKYI
The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture has signed an agreement with the Incyde Foundation of Spain to build synergies in tourism.
The partnership estimated at $120 million will from November 2021 see the training of about 150 Ghanaians in the Tourism Value Chain on ways and means of wooing tourists into Ghana.
The Spanish Ambassador to Ghana, Javier Gutierrez who witnessed the signing in Accra, said his country sees Ghana as a strategic partner for being at the forefront of democracy on the Continent.
The Spanish government, he said, was prepared to deepen the existing relationship between the 2 countries by venturing into new areas of collaboration, starting with the Tourism industry.
Tourism Minister, Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Awal noted that the investment would enable Ghana to achieve its target of $5 billion annually from the Tourism Sector.
“We think tourism is a very dynamic economic sector that has the potential to create jobs and revenue for Ghanaians that is why we have teamed up with Spain. We believe we can learn from the experiences of Spain which is noted as a major tourism destination. One in every four jobs in Ghana is created from the tourism sector. We want to ensure that 2 out of every job in the country is from tourism”, he said.
The Spanish Ambassador to Ghana, Javier Gutiérrez, stated that signing the MOU represents a step to reinforcing Spain’s partnership with Ghana.
“Spanish government gives priority to Ghana as a strategic partner. We have collaborated with Ghana in the areas of security, economics and governance. We share common values on democracy and human rights. We are determined to deepen the collaboration and extend it to other areas”, he said. “We have been creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem all over Spain and abroad so, once we met the Minister we realized, we were both working towards the same direction trying to support entrepreneurs.” We have already developed a trainer of trainer’s courses with the Minister which has proven successful. This agreement is multi-faceted with different working area”, according to the Spanish Ambassador
