THE CLIMAX of the 8th edition of the biennial National Tourism Awards
is scheduled to come off at the State Banquet Hall in Accra tomorrow
Saturday, August 2 with a grand dinner.

The ceremony, aimed at celebrating excellence and professionalism in the tourism industry, began two months ago at the zonal level; that is the Northern, Middle and Coastal zones. At these zones, those who came tops were selected to compete at the national level.

The national awards, comprising 32 awards in different categories, would be given to deserving individuals and companies. Out of this number, 9 are honorary while 23 would go for the competitive category.

Categories here include Hotel of the Year (5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 stars), Guest House of the Year, Cleanest Town of the Year, International Airline of the Year, Tour Guide of the Year, and Tourism Writer of the Year among others.

Winners would walk home with plaques, certificates, hampers, electrical appliances and other souvenirs from sponsors.

Speaking at a media interaction last Wednesday in Accra on the awards, the Ghana Tourist Board Executive Director, Mr. Martin Mireku said the awards “are to make sure that the tourism enterprise gives of its best.” Over the years, he indicated, this was evident as “previous winners of the awards always come back to us to testify that the awards had boosted their clientele level.”

Mr. Mireku anticipated that over 550 participants, including ministers of state, Members of Parliament, Members of the Diplomatic Corps among others are expected to attend this year’s event.

Organized by Global Media Alliance, the event is also expected to witness interesting performances from the Ghana Dance Ensemble and the Abbisa Band.

Sponsors of this year’s prestigious tourism event include Coca Cola, Somovision, Latex Foam, Voltic Mineral Water, Accra Brewery, Kasapreko, Golden Tulip, Fiesta Royal, and others.