National Tourism Awards comes off 6 November

The 2019 National Tourism Awards will be held on Friday, 6 November 2020 at the National Theatre in Accra.

The awards ceremony, which is the fifteenth in the series is under the theme, “Growing Tourism Beyond the Return, Beyond COVID-19”, and it is being organised by the Ghana Tourism Authority under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.

The National Tourism Awards was instituted by the Ghana Tourism Authority in 1997 to reward excellent performance in the tourism sector.

It is also to raise standards and encourage healthy competition among tourism industry practitioners with a view to firmly positioning tourism as a vibrant economic sector and to consolidate the country’s position as a preferred tourist destination.

In 2019, Ghana’s tourism became a great success as the ‘Year of Return‘ sparked a global movement by projecting Ghana on a higher pedestal. A follow up of the successful ‘Year of Return’, “Beyond the Return” was launched recently.

It is a 10-year project under the theme, “A decade of African Renaissance – 2020-2030” which hinges on these seven pillars: Experience Ghana, Promote Pan African Heritage and Innovation, Invest in Ghana and Diaspora Pathway to Ghana. The rest are; Give Back Ghana, Celebrate Ghana and Brand Ghana.

The tourism industry has been hit hard by the COVID-19 Pandemic, which led to the closure of borders by air, land and sea among other things. Consequently, given the re-opening of Ghana’s airspace and the tourist sites, the tourism sector is expected to significantly bounce back, which would invariably boost on the country’s GDP for the well-meaning of the Ghanaian citizenry countrywide.

A total of 43 awards would be presented to deserving tourism establishments and personalities during the awards ceremony. These include 32 competitive awards and 11 honorary awards. The competitive awards include accommodation category (serviced apartment, hostel, budget hotel, guest house, 1- 5 star hotel and consistent payment of tourism levy (accommodation).

Categories

Catering service category (offshore/airline catering establishment, night club/pub, drinking bar, fast food establishment, traditional caterer (chop bar), restaurant of the year (grade 1 to 3) and consistent payment of tourism levy (catering)

Travel service category (visitor attraction, site guide, tour guide, car rental service, travel agency, tour operator and airline of the year)

Media (Tourism broadcast programme, Tourism writer, Tourism oriented media (Television, Radio, Print, Online)

The honorary award is based on a special recognition for outstanding contribution to the tourism industry.

Meanwhile, sponsors for this forthcoming event are catalogued as follows: GIHOC Distilleries, Aunty Aku system, Prudential Bank Gh Ltd, Joy Industries Ltd, Akosombo Textiles Limited, and Ecobank.

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