CAPTAIN Joe Afriyie, immediate past Director-General of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), has stressed the need for a downward review of the airport passengers service charge to make it competitive with those of neighbouring airports. He noted that a breakdown of the quantum to indicate portions that go into the provision of security and safety measures, as well as other enhanced services will make the resultant tariff more transparent and acceptable, always bearing in mind the prevailing levels at neighbouring competing airports. Capt Boachie, made the call at the first Ghana Tourism Breakfast meeting and launch of the Tourism Investors and Practitioners Organisation, (TIPO), in Accra. He spoke on ‘The role of aviation in making Ghana an affordable tourist destination’. He said with the separation of the airport operations from the air navigation and regulatory branches of the Civil Aviation Authority, the way is paved for the injection of the needed resources into the operations of the airport through the adoption of one of the several models that are available for attracting foreign direct investment. "In the interim, consideration should be given to putting the entire airport service charge at the use of the Airports Company and GCAA, for it is only when the former takes off with a strong cash-flow forecast that it can pass on certain benefits to the operators and passengers, including tourists," he stated. Capt Boachie said payment of royalties by airlines designated by bilateral air services partners should be discouraged. "Where it becomes necessary to impose such a condition, revenues accruing from the arrangement should be distributed between the Ministry of Aviation, GCAA, the Airports Company and the fully certificated and designated national airlines," he advised. The Minister for Aviation, Ms Gloria Akuffo, decried the situation where air travel in the country is seen as a preserve of the rich, saying that the high cost is making it difficult for a good number of people to travel by air. She said the situation has affected domestic tourism, which is supposed to play a major role in the tourism and hospitality industry. Ms Akuffo therefore stressed the need for investors to come in and compete so that everybody can have access to travel by air to enhance the tourism industry. Foster Joe Nyarko, president of TIPO and immediate president for the Ghana Tourism Federation, said the Breakfast Meeting has been institutionalised to create a forum for the investors and practitioners to share ideas pertinent to the tourism industry. "The things that divide us as tourism practitioners and investors should never override what brings us together as industry players," he said. TIPO is an organisation of influential actors in the tourism industry, which aims at helping to create the needed environment for the enhancement of the business, and serve as a private sector support for the growth of the tourism industry. Its vision is to empower the practitioners and investors, who represent the tourism industry, and members believe that with coordinated efforts and working together, they can strategically pool resources across sub-sector boundaries to create a tourism sector that is increasingly competitive by providing quality service products together. Times