Twenty-five stakeholders of the tourism sector have received various awards at the 2023 edition of the National Tourism Awards.

It was a night of arts, culture and entertainment when the players of the tourism value chain met on Wednesday, November 29, 2023 at the Accra International Conference Centre.

The event also marked the 50th anniversary of the Ghana Tourism Authority. 

Dubbed the honorary edition, the awards ceremony recognised and appreciated the sterling contributions of people in the tourism sector. 

Various awards were presented to people in areas such as tourism investments, arts, tour guiding, tour operation and academia. 

Some of the awardees were musician Okyeame Kwame (Artistic Support to Tourism Industry), Kojo Bentum (Active Promotion of Tourism), Kwaku Passah (Contribution to Tourism Development), Wode Maya (Social Media Marketing), and Ibrahim Mahama (Artistic Support to Tourism).

Others were Lucas Candid Mensah (Tourism Promotion - Cape Coast Oguaa), Enimil Ashon (Tourism Promotion), Bryan Acheampong (Tourism Investment), among others.

The special guest of honor, Neenyi Ghartey VII, the Paramount Chief of the Effutu Traditional Area, commended the Ghana Tourism Authority for making strides in projecting Ghana’s tourism arts and culture. 

The Minister of Tourism Arts and Culture, Dr Mohammed Awal, in his address, charged players in the tourism ecosystem to pay critical attention to customer service. 

"[From] the surveys that have been done over the past one year, poor customer service is the biggest problem.

I therefore want to urge, hotel owners, restaurant owners, hospitality owners, everybody in the tourism value chain to wage a war on poor customer service. And GTA, please next year, you must work together with the private sector to make sure that we improve customer care," he said.

There were musical performances by Naa Amanua of Wulomei fame, Kaakyire Kwame Appiah, Okyeame Kwame and Samini. 

The highlight of the event was the moment the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Tourism Authority, Akwasi Agyemang was honoured for his hard work and dedication towards tourism development in Ghana. 

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

Watch the awards ceremony here: