Most people in the tourism business have very little knowledge about the policies and laws in the industry, Mr Quame Kokroh, a consultant to SPEED Ghana, an organization that promotes business development services said on Tuesday. A study conducted by SPEED Ghana to analyze the tourism operating environment and identify improvement opportunities, attributed the low knowledge about the sector by operators to lack of professionalism. "Most people in the tourism business operate it as their second business and are not so serious about development of the industry, "Mr Kokroh said. He shared the findings of the study at a forum dubbed: "Public Private Partnership," where tourism officials from the public and private sectors met to discuss how to move the industry forward. Mr Kokroh, therefore, recommended strong collaboration between various sectors to ensure the growth of the tourism industry. Mrs Zita Okaikoi, Minister of Tourism, said the industry was recognized by government as a key sector which had a crucial role to play in its "Better Ghana" agenda. She explained that the tourism sector had the ability to provide jobs for Ghanaians, especially the unemployed youth and expressed the ministry's readiness to work with all stakeholders to make Ghana a preferred tourism destination. Mr Kwabena Akyeampong, Deputy Minister of Tourism, added that the tourism sector was recovering from the recent global financial crises but noted that Ghana and other developing countries were not affected so much by the recession. "Ghana still has a lot to do to boost tourism and make it the number one foreign exchange earner for our economy," he added. Alhaji Amadu Sorogho, Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Trade and Tourism, said the economic emancipation of the country depended on the tourism sector. He, therefore, urged stakeholders to be serious about efforts to improve on the industry. Alhaji Sorogho pledged parliament's commitment and support to the tourism sector.Source: GNA