The Western North Regional branch of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) has called on stakeholders, to collaborate and ensure that the Juaboso District gains the recognition for its vast tourism potential.
Mr Michael Kpingbi, the Western North Regional GTA Director, was speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at the climaxed of this year’s World Tourism Day, at Sefwi-Bonzain water falls in the Juaboso District of the Western North Region.
He said Bonzain where a new waterfall had been discovered, had the potential for boosting tourism and improving the economic fortunes of the people of the area.
He stated that sustainable tourism helped to create opportunities for local communities of which Bonzain and its environs were part, by helping to preserve biodiversity and fostering cross cultural understanding.
Mr Kpingbi, therefore, called on residents in and around the Juaboso District to adopt good tourism practices that would inure to the benefits of all by joining the crusade of fighting illegal mining, and control and regulate all other human activities that posed threats to the environment.
“Tourism cannot thrive in an environment which is heavily polluted with hazardous chemicals and metals so we must all join hands and fight this illegal mining canker,” he added.
Nana Affum Panin II, the Atipemhene of Bonzain, on behalf of the Chief of Bonzain emphasised on the importance of tourism, saying it could improve upon the local economy, and pledged to collaborate with the GTA to ensure that the Bonzain waterfall reached its full potential.
The chief disclosed that they had identified other potential natural tourist sites, which they intended to engage the appropriate institutions in order to bring them to the limelight.
Mr Samuel Kwabena Sarfo, Acting Coordinating Director for the Juaboso District Assembly, on behalf of the Juaboso District Chief Executive pledged to give the Bonzain waterfalls and other tourist sites in the district the needed attention to help improve upon the economy.
Some residents in an interview with the Ghana News Agency lauded the attention being given to the waterfalls by the GTA and appealed to the government to improve upon the road leading to the site.