2nd edition of Women in Tourism Summit launched

The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) yesterday launched the second edition of the Women in Tourism Summit in Accra.

The event which is slated for June 27 is being organised by the Ghana Tourism Authority in partnership with the Women in Tourism secretariat and African Tourism Partners.

Themed, ‘Empowering women in Ghana’s tourism industry,’ the summit sought to promote the economic empowerment of women in tourism through partnerships with key stakeholders across the entire travel, tourism and hospitality value chain as well as transform the tourism economy to become a fundamental pillar in nation building.

Some speakers for this year’s edition would include the sector minister, Ms Babara Oteng-Gyasi, Chief Executive Officer of the GTA, Mr Akwasi Agyeman and the International Operation, Dubai Tourism (Africa Market), Ms Stella Fubara-Obinwa among others.

Additionally, the authority would host the fifth edition of the Accra Weizor fair, which would be held from June 28 to 29 of this year.

This year’s event themed, ‘Seamless travel in West Africa’, would be geared towards creating a seamless travel environment in West Africa and bring together travel professionals to the country.

In an address, Mr Isaac Adomako-Mensah, Deputy Executive Director, Finance and Administration at the authority, said the programmes since its inception had become major events in the sector.

He said women constituted the majority of tourism workforce worldwide and offered greater opportunities for women entrepreneurs than the wider economy, hence, the need to bring together women game-changers, mission driven companies and individuals to network on issues relating to funds, branding, leadership and running of business and stressed the need to collaborate with other African countries.

Citing a global report from ITB Berlin, Mr Adomako-Mensah said across the private and public sectors women had over the years harnessed the potential of the industry to become financially independent, challenge stereotypes and start their own business.

The Accra representative for this year’s Weizor fair, Mr Collins Udolu, said the fair would among other things change the narrative of West Africa collaborations and the ease of doing business in the sector.

Mrs Bella Ahu, President of the Ghana Tourism Federation (GHATOF), on her part commended the GTA for their efforts in empowering women in the sector.

BY ALLIA NOSHIE AND MALISA TETTEH