The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture on Thursday, April 27, 2023, organized a training programme for 3,000 drivers at the KNUST Commercial area in Kumasi.
The programme which was organized to equip the drivers with the skills needed to improve the tourism sector was executed by the Ghana Tourism Development Company (GTDC), an agency under the ministry tasked with the development of tourism in the country.
Speaking to the drivers, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mark Okraku-Mantey said: “We all know the important roles drivers play in this country so the President, as a way of developing tourism in the country, has decided to equip drivers with training programmes because they are the first to get into contact with tourists who usually visit the country, so they can sell Ghana fitly to these tourists when they pick them”.
The Projects Manager for GTDC, Lauretta Kuadey, also told the media the rationale behind the program: “We decided to train drivers within the tourism sector as we have identified their role in promoting tourism,” she said.
“They are the front liners who meet tourists when they arrive in the country and so this programme will help propagate the good news of the tourism sector, prospects and everything. If tourists arrive, they can tell them potential places to visit.”
Ms. Kuadey disclosed that a total of 3000 drivers have been trained for the first phase and “we hope to make it bigger in the future”. Aside from the training the drivers received, they were given “certificates for participation, bumper stickers and some T-shirts” as a reward for making themselves available for the exercise.
