More than six hundred women in the Ashanti Region have been schooled on ways to take advantage of the opportunities in the hospitality sector.

The training program is also meant to enhance the intensity of activities in the hospitality industry to make it more productive in the wake of the impact of Covid-19.

Being implemented by the Pathway for Sustainable Employment for Women and Youth (PASSEWAY), it targeted females between 18 and 35 years with skills for high performance in their respective businesses in the tourism and hospitality industry.

Officials say women were the targets because females dominate enrollment and employments in the hospitality industry because of its make-up.

However, the industry was and continuous to be the hardest hit in job losses as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The initiative by PASSEWAY is therefore geared towards securing jobs for over 600 women in the hospitality industry as a local empowerment program.

“Five hundred and fifty youth have been trained in both soft and hard skills. Employers, regulators and employees in the hospitality sector have also been trained. To improve working conditions in the hospitality industry, employers were trained to develop advocacy skills,” Project Coordinator, Richard Larbi Asiedu, explained the impact of the initiative.

Tourism is considered a great potential for job creation.

The continuous growth in tourists’ arrival encourages the growth of businesses in the service industry such as hotels, taxis, restaurants and souvenir sales.

CEO of Corporate Vision Consult, Charles Kusi Appiah-Kubi, said the industry provides opportunities for self-employment and creates non-stop services even if the world is in crisis, because of its value chain.

People are attracted to an area of destination through the media. To achieve this, he wants players in the tourism industry to be prioritize professionalism to make their services attractive.

“Tourist sites should be affordable for people to visit. Roads leading to destinations should be in good shape. Amenities must be essentially provided. When all these are met, we can then market our tourist destinations and sites. The world will know what we have as a country,” he said.

Mr Appiah Kubi reiterates the critical role the media must play in collaboration with players in the sector to promote tourism and hospitality services at the local level.

Media Practitioners in the Ashanti Region were engaged in advocacy strategies and action plans for the hospitality industry in the Region.

The PASSEWAY project funded by BMZ in Germany and Plan International started in 2019.