Andrew Egyapa Mercer, the Minister-designate for the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture, has emphasized the need for increased investment in Ghana’s castles and forts to enhance tourism.
During his appearance before the Parliament’s Appointment Committee on March 5, he pledged to restore deteriorating castles and forts.
Mercer recognized the World Bank’s contribution to the improvement of the forts and castles but stressed that additional resources were needed.
“I believe that a lot has already been done. There has been some work that the government has done to ensure that our forts and castles are improved, and reception facilities are improved, restrooms and other service provisions that enrich the sector are done.”
“I know the World Bank is supporting the government in making improvements at some forts and castles, but that may not be enough. So, we have to acquire more resources to ensure that whoever visits our forts and castles has experiences that will stay with them for a lifetime.”
He promised to establish a connection between the experiences of people who were transported to the Western world and the period they were shipped to attract more visitors to the forts and castles.
“The linkage between the forts and the experiences of people had who had the misfortune of being shipped to the new world is crucial. That is something that currently does not exist. Therefore, I believe that if we can establish something that bridges that gap of what the experience was when our brothers and sisters were being shipped to the new world, it will help in ensuring that we have much more visitor traffic at our forts and castles.”
He also expressed his commitment to organizing training for service providers in the hospitality industry to enhance the quality of services they offer to their clients.
“Training is a key component of our tourism sector. Many times, the services and experiences provided by service providers lack excitement. Therefore, it is my intention to focus on training for providers within the hospitality sector to enrich the tourism experience even further.
“It is also my intention to ensure that the creative arts industry is resourced to leverage what the private sector can do in that space, thereby building an environment conducive to the tourism sector of our country.”
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