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GTDC engages media on key achievements; updates public on performance
The Ghana Tourism Development Company (GTDC) has held a press conference in Accra to brief the media on its achievements for the year and update the public on ongoing projects.
The engagement brought together journalists, management and stakeholders to discuss progress made within the tourism sector.
The event formed part of the company’s commitment to maintaining transparency and strengthening collaboration with the media as key partners in promoting tourism.
Addressing the media, the Chief Executive Officer Prof Kobby Mensah explained that Ghana is home to rare amphibious wildlife species found in only a few countries.
He noted that these animals mostly appear at night which presents an opportunity for tourism investment through observatory facilities and eco adventure projects.
The CEO mentioned that GTDC is working to attract both local and foreign investors to support wildlife based tourism and to boost the country’s visibility as a preferred destination.
He indicated that the company has introduced the Invest in Tourism platform with more than 12 tourism profiles already uploaded for investors to explore.
Prof Mensah highlighted that the Ghana Tourism Marketplace platform was developed to improve the digital image of Ghana.
He explained that many online reports focus on conflict, flooding and corruption which affects how the world views the country.
He noted that GTM is helping to promote culture events and attractions through curated content for global audiences.
He revealed that the platform currently has over 240 users and more than 50 vendors.
He add that It has also generated over 20 thousand cedis in a month which he described as a promising start for long term revenue growth.
He stated that 57 tickets for Accra by Night tours have been purchased from cities including Lisbon Paris and Bronx through the platform.
Prof Mensah added that artificial intelligence features are being built locally to support marketing and data management.
He mentioned that young people will be trained in tourism product development and customer service through a partnership with the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme.
According to him, the trained groups will later list their businesses on the tourism marketplace.
He further announced that the platform will soon help the ministry and the presidency access real time tourism revenue figures.
He expressed confidence in the GTDC team and commended young creatives who are supporting the project despite limited resources.
Prof. Kobby Mensah urged the public to take advantage of tourism platforms and participate in activities that support the industry.
He expressed commitment to promoting Ghana as a top African destination while building a digital system that improves communication marketing and business growth within the sector.
The acting Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Finance and Administration at the Ghana Tourism Development Company (GTDC), Naomi Borley Alabi highlighted that the company is committed to improving tourism products across the country to make the sector more attractive.
She mentioned that the team has been working with local communities to help develop tourist sites and boost domestic tourism.
She noted that GTDC has managed several projects successfully this year, including upgrades to selected tourist facilities and the rollout of promotional activities to attract more visitors.
Naomi Alabi stressed that such efforts are helping to strengthen Ghana’s tourism brand both locally and internationally.
She encouraged Ghanaians and private stakeholders to partner actively with GTDC to grow the tourism economy.
She assured the public that the company will continue to introduce new ideas to support job creation and increase revenue in the sector.
Deputy CEO for Operations at the Ghana Tourism Development Company (GTDC), Felicity Nelson explained that the press conference was organised to brief journalists on progress made and future plans for the tourism industry.
She shared that it was important for the public to know how far GTDC has come with various projects that were started during the year.
She noted that the company has recorded achievements in product development, partnerships and investment attraction.
According to her, tourism has great economic potential, and GTDC is working hard to tap into it for national development.
Felicity further stated that the company is open to feedback from the media and the public as it continues to work to improve services.
She assured stakeholders that GTDC will maintain transparency and keep the public updated regularly.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The 30th Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Media Awards has celebrated three decades of recognising excellence and contributions to journalism and national development, while highlighting the media’s role in Ghana’s democracy.
Marking the milestone, Philip Osei Bonsu of the Multimedia Group emerged as the GJA/P.A.V. Ansah Journalist of the Year.
The Ghanaian Times’ Benedicta Gyimah Foley won the Best Feature Reporting, Print category, alongside other journalists recognised across various media platforms.
Other winners included Nathaniel Attoh, Best in Sports Reporting; and Godwin Asediba of Media General, Best in TV Documentary; Doreen Ampofo of GBC, Best in Radio Documentary; and freelance journalist Nii Adjei Mensahfio, Best in Online Documentary.
Daniel Kwabena Mantey was adjudged Best in TV Feature, while Clinton Yeboah of Luv FM won Best in Radio Feature, with Gilbert Azeem Tiroog of GNA taking Best in Online Features.
For news reporting, Mohammed Fugu of the Daily Graphic won Best in Print News Reporting, Nabil Ahmed Rufai, a freelance journalist, Best in TV News Reporting; Ridwan Karim Dini-Osman of EIB Network, Best in Radio News Reporting; and Timothy Ngnenbe of the Daily Graphic, Best in Online News.
The ceremony, held in Accra last Saturday on the theme, “Celebrating Excellence, Advancing Media Freedom and Combating Hate Speech in the Digital Age”, was attended by President John Dramani Mahama as the special guest of honour.
Also in attendance were the Ga Mantse, King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, and the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Christian Tetteh Yohuno, among others.
In his address, President Mahama announced a GH₵10 million allocation in the 2027 national budget as seed capital for the reactivated Media Development Fund to support journalists’ welfare, professional development, investigative reporting and safety training, with additional corporate contributions expected.
Mr Mahama, also urged media practitioners to uphold professionalism and accuracy by avoiding sensationalism, unsubstantiated allegations and the deliberate pursuit of scandals, while promptly correcting inaccurate reports and apologising when necessary to maintain public trust and professional standards.
On journalists’ safety, he assured that the government would continue to act against attacks on them.
By Stephanie Birikorang
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Today, I focus on the theme of Ghanaian/African migrants in Finland and economic empowerment, a move away from the topic of personalities or groups and their accomplishments within the Ghanaian community in Finland that I have been writing on.
In recent times, African migrant associations and Finnish institutions are organising meetings or forums and help people seeking employment to meet employers or build professional networks to achieve economic empowerment.
Such forums are usually open to their members and anyone of African descent.to get into the Finnish job market.
Competences
Researchers and experts say entrepreneurship or self-employment has great potential to offer a route for migrants, including highly-educated ones, to participate in and contribute to the local economy.
Competences, including knowledge and knowhow, opportunities, and social capital such as family support, language, etc., are necessary to boost the entrepreneurship endeavour.
Competence in the official Finnish or Swedish languages is undoubtedly a key quality to improve employment prospects, especially for migrants since the overall unemployment among migrants could be higher than in the mainstream Finnish population.
There could also be particular privileges which may be the provision of the right information for potential entrepreneurs or job seekers.
Barriers and stress factors
Although language has a huge potential to contribute positively to entrepreneurship possibilities, studies have shown that some of the major stress factors are language problems, finances or economic capital among African migrants.
Other barriers or challenges may be how to grow the business venture or its sustainability.
Thus, migrant communities can generally be highly vulnerable to language barrier, lack of information, the nature of the work of migrants in professions where working from home is not possible.
Migrant associations, social networks, and information
By their activities, migrant associations are doing much to educate and create awareness as well as enhance economic empowerment through migrants’ entrepreneurship or self-employment and enhance opportunities.
Such associations and institutions become networks that create an important social capital as well as outlets for sharing and gaining information or knowledge. Also, it will all be for societal good if such activities are able to help reduce stress and anxiety in the migrants’ entrepreneurship endeavours.
As I keep pointing out, Finland is committed to the integration of migrants into the Finnish society. A number of research studies from surveys and other in-depth enquiries have shown a trend of increasing efforts to integrate African and other migrants into the Finnish society.
Public agencies, migrant associations and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Finland have been publishing information to help educate people, which is also good for their wellbeing.
Generally, migrant associations formally create awareness among their members and other migrants usually in collaboration with some Finnish institutions, and are thus an important tool for several migrants to be positively active and to get their interests and claims heard.
As I wrote previously, the role of migrant associations acting as bridge-builders for the integration and inclusion of migrants through participation in the decision making process and by acting as a representative voice is highly appreciated in Finland. Thank you!
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