The government has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Spanish government to create around 1 million jobs in the tourism industry value chain over the next three years.

The MoU, which is part of strategies adopted by the government through the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, targets around $ 5 billion per year as a product of industry and two millions of tourists as well.

The Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, yesterday signed the memorandum of understanding on behalf of the government in Accra, while MarCassanovaLlorene, in charge of international affairs for the Incyde Foundation, signed for the Spanish people.

At the signing, a delegation from the Embassy of Spain in Ghana, led by the Ambassador, Mr. Javier Gutierrez; the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Mr. Mark Okraku Mantey, and the directors of the ministry.

Dr Awal said tourism is a vibrant economic sector that has the potential to create jobs for the country’s teeming unemployed youth.

He said Spain has a population of 40 million and around 80 million tourists visiting the country each year, adding: “Ghana is committed to learning from its experiences to boost our tourism industry. “.

“About 120,000 people in the food service, hospitality industry, the arts and other services that play a major role in advancing the tourism industry will be trained to enhance their skills and knowledge through workshops and forums.

“The ministry, through some of these strategies, expects to build a dynamic industry to generate income and create jobs,” said Dr Awal.

Ms. Llorene said that the Incyde Foundation was the foundation of all chambers of commerce in Spain, which represent the country’s private sector.

She said the foundation has been working for 20 years to help companies compete in the international market, and expressed the belief that the deal is an opportunity for Ghanaian companies to build their capacity.

“Tourism is a key sector in the development of economic successes. Spain has a lot of expertise to add value to that of Ghana, as Spain is the second country in the world with around 80 million annual visitors.” , she said.