SPEECH DELIVERED BY HON. MRS. SABAH ZITA OKAIKOI, MINISTER OF TOURISM ON THE OCASSION OF THE 5TH PARAGLIDING FESTIVAL, AT ATIBIE, KWAHU ON FRIDAY
 2ND APRIL, 2010

Hon. Ministers of State,
Hon. Deputy Minister of Tourism,
Hon. Members of Parliament,
Your Excellencies and Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Our Chief Director, Staff of Min. of Tourism and Ghana Tourist Board,
Municipal and District Chief Executives of Kwahu South, Kwahu West and Kwahu East Districts,
Nananom,
Our Esteemed Sponsors and Media Partners,
Distinguished Guests,
Media,
Ladies and Gentlemen.

It gives me great joy to present our compliments and warmest felicitations to all of you who have travelled from far and near to Atibie, Kwahu, for the 5th Paragliding Festival.
May I extend a special ‘Akwaaba’ to our tourists who are visiting this beautiful and serene Kwahu environment for the first time.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, the development and promotion of the paragliding flying sport in Kwahu South District, and Atibie is in line with the policy of the Ministry of Tourism to diversify and add value to our tourist products, for increased patronage.
It is also, to satisfy one of the wildest fantasies of man since creation, which is man’s desire to fly freely like a bird in the limitless and boundless sky. The organization of this recreational flying sport you would agree with me, has made it possible for man’s dream of flying to come true.
Distinguished guests, it is gratifying to see you today in Atibie which is the right place to be at this time. I say this because this year’s Paragliding Festival is  well packaged to have  a new look from previous ones, with the inclusion of side attractions such as a health walk, adventure hikes, musical shows, dances, street carnivals and other activities. This is to raise the profile of the event to provide spectators and participants an exhilarating experience and value for their money.

I am happy to observe that the annual paragliding festival is growing in leaps and bounds and assuming international dimensions, thanks to the multimedia publicity and your support. This is very encouraging. The inclusion of pilots from Austria, Germany, South Africa, USA, France, UK, Switzerland, Australia, who are participating in this year’s festival, gives credence to this assertion.
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to stress that the Ministry is poised to promote the paragliding festival and all other tourist products in the country in order to promote domestic tourism. This is part of the vision of the Ministry of Tourism to generate interest of our people to cherish and participate in activities planned to enable you enjoy your heritage.
I call on all our social partners including Corporate Ghana, the Private Sector, Development Partners, Individual Business Entities to rally round the Ministry and support massively the various tourism programmes and activities planned for your relaxation and engagement across the country.
I believe with your support we can collectively use tourism as a viable option to transform the lives of Ghanaians to generate revenue for community development and provide employment to the people especially the youth.

I must stress that the Ministry would not relent in its efforts by using the paragliding and other events on our annual calendar to promote domestic tourism in view of its far reaching dividends. It is refreshing to mention that apart from reaping economic benefits as mentioned earlier, the promotion of domestic tourism can be used as an effective tool to foster social harmony, understanding and peace among Ghanaians which is vital for national development. I am sure many of you who are visiting Kwahu for the first time would attest to this fact, since your interactions with the people of this area and the many visitors around would help you appreciate their culture. I am sure that you will make new friends before you leave these beautiful mountains.

Distinguished Guests, it is our strong conviction that the promotion of domestic tourism would help boost the development of micro, small and medium scale enterprises in our communities and thus contribute significantly in the transformation process of our local communities and Districts. As I speak now, I am reliably informed that all the hotels are fully booked and the local transport operators and food service and entertainment providers are doing good business. This is the vision behind our determination and motivation to promote domestic tourism in the country.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to conclude by calling once again on all the key stakeholders including the Kwahu South, Kwahu West and East District Assemblies, the Kwahu Business Community, Traditional Authorities, the Media and the Private Sector to partner the Ministry and the Ghana Tourist Board to support massively the 5th Paragliding Festival and subsequent ones and make the annual celebrations a grand success.
I say Ayekoo to the National & Local Planning Committee for a good work done.
I would also like to highly commend all the sponsors for supporting a worthy cause. I hope many more sponsors would come on board to support the Tourism sector to deliver on our desired goal of making tourism become a leading industry in Ghana.
On this note, Distinguished Participants and Spectators, I would like to declare the 5th Paragliding festival officially open.

THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS US ALL.

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