Minister Launches Paragliding Festival (Center Spread, 20 Feb)

The Minister for Tourism, Mrs Sabah Zita Okaikoi, has said the promotion of domestic tourism would be her major pursuit in the tourism sector.
She said her vision was to enable the sector to move from its current position as the fourth major foreign exchange earner to become the prime source of public revenue.
She was speaking at the launch of the Paragliding Festival to be held in Kwahu in the Eastern Region from April 2-5, 2010.
The festival, dubbed ”Okwahu 2010”, will attract to the Kwahu community an influx of visitors and tourists.
The festival this year takes on a new look from previous editions with the inclusion of a marathon walk, adventure hikes and health walks.
Mrs Okaikoi said the festival had established itself on the international schedule of Paragliding and would receive experienced pilots from Austria, Germany, South Africa, United State of America, Togo and Switzerland.
She said Ghana’s Paragliding Festival was one of the most adventurous, unique and exciting in the world, adding that the event would go a long way to enrich tourism in the country.
She encouraged the organisers to nurture and promote the festival to attract the desired international attention and participation.
The tourism minister appealed to corporate Ghana to support the Paragliding event and all other such events.
The Obohene and Nifahene of the Kwahu Traditional Area, Nana Yeboah Afari Obuagyan II, said the festival had added a new dimension to the celebration of festivals in the Eastern Region.
He said the festival would bring about economic and social values through the exchange of cultural values among participants.
It would also bring new employment opportunities to the citizens of Kwahu for the benefit of the country as a whole.
Nana Obuagyan said festivals must be promoted through all the media in order to boost their participation.
He called on business entities to explore other activities in the area for the benefit of the tourism sector and the country.
The Executive Director of the Ghana Tourist Board, Mr Julius Debrah, said the festival would be the best Paragliding event on the continent.
He said preparations had been made to broadcast the festival on international broadcasting stations, including China and South Africa.
He encouraged indigenous businesses in the area to advertise their products through the mounting of flags at the Paragliding site.