The Ghana Tourist Board and the Ghana Police Service are to begin a joint collaboration aimed at enforcing laws that regulate tourism development in the country. As a first step, the two state organizations have agreed to immediately set up a special task force to ensure that all tourism facilities operating in the country do so within the confines of the law regulating the industry in Ghana. The task force is to be headed by the Director General of Police Operations, DCOP John Kudalor. This was the outcome of discussions held between the Board and Management of the Ghana Tourist Board led by Mr. Edem Kpodo, the Chairman and Mr. Julius Debrah, the Executive Director and the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Paul Tawiah Quaye and his management team in Accra. The two sides agreed that beginning next year and at any given time the police could call at any hotel, restaurant, drinking bar, travel & tour outfit or chop bar to inspect their operating licences, failing which the affected unit will be processed for prosecution. Thus the enforcement of legal operations within the tourism sector will from hence become a regular feature instead of the current intermittent nature which allow most recalcitrant operators to flout the law with impunity. The meeting agreed to ensure the safety and security of tourists at attraction sites and at all tourism plants. As a result, the Police Administration has sent a first batch of police personnel to Egypt to study tourism policing. The move, according to the Police Administration, is a co-operation agreement between Ghana and the Egyptian tourism authorities and is to help maintain the security and safety of tourists at Ghana’s attraction sites and facilities. The two state institutions also agreed that tourism is a very delicate and competitive industry which demands strict enforcement of its laws in order to make the country competitive on the world tourism scene. Ghana’s tourism is now making serious inroads into the international arena due to the aggressive marketing efforts initiated by the tourism authorities and the acknowledgement of the country as a peaceful and acceptable conference destination in the West African sub region, thus attracting high profile personalities and international conventions. This special posture has led to a massive improvement in the country external image hence the need for tourism service providers to live up to expectation by improving service delivery and operate within the confines of the law. Source: Asempa FM