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The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts on Friday organised a day�s tour for the 24 envoys-designate, which took them to important tourism sites in the Greater Accra and Eastern regions. The tour, which lasted for 10 hours, took the envoys-designate to the Shai Hills Resource Reserve in the Greater Accra Region, the Akosombo Dam and the Royal Senchi Resort Hotel in the Eastern Region. Notably among the envoys were Lieutenant General Peter Augustine Blay, former Chief of Defence Staff, Ghana Armed Forces and now Ambassador-designate to Cote d�Ivoire, Dr Joe Tony Aidoo, formally of the Office of the President and now Ambassador-designate to the Netherlands, and Alhaji Abdul-Rahman Harruna Attah, Ghana News Agency's Board Member and now Ambassador-designate to Namibia. Others are Mr Akologu John Tia, former Information Minister, Alhaji Mahmud Khalid, former Upper West Regional Minister, Mr Victor Emmanuel Smith, former Eastern Regional Minister, Mrs Sabath Zita Okaikoi, also a former Information Minister, and Madam Akua Sena Dansoa, former Minister of Tourism. Mrs Elizabeth Ofosu-Agyare, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, who led the entourage, said the tour was meant to give the envoys-designate the opportunity to have firsthand information on Ghana�s Tourism Industry, so as to equip them to market the nation in their respective countries of accreditation. Alhaji Khalid, on behalf of his colleagues, said the tour was an eye-opener and that Ghana had a huge tourism potential which had to be tapped for the nation�s socio-economic development. He gave the assurance that they would do their best to market all facets of the economy; including the tourism industry, so as to attract both investors and tourists for the nation�s socio-economic development. At the Shai Hills Resource Reserve, the entourage was conducted around by Mr Moses Anongura, Park Manager, who said the Reserve, which covered 51 square kilometers was endowed with various wildlife species such as kobs, bushbuck, baboons, 160 species of birds, diverse plant species, and harbours the ancestral homes and religious sites of the Shai people. He said the Reserve receives about 15,000 visitors annually and was ranked third in terms of visitation to protected areas. He appealed to the Government and benevolent organisations to help uplift the image of the park by providing them with garden chairs for visitors, and developing innovative eco-tourism infrastructure to offer a unique nature-based experience to visitors. Mr K. B. Amoako, Volta River Authority (VRA) Director of Hydro, took the Minister and her entourage around the Akosombo Dam. He said the major challenge facing the Authority was the use of fuel to generate electricity, adding that 80 per cent of income generated was being used on their thermal plants to generate electricity. Mr Anato Ocansey, VRA Assistant Chief Technician Engineer, told the entourage that currently, all the six turbines of the dam were generating electricity due to the high demand. At the Royal Senchi Resort Hotel, Mr Roman Kabrel, General Manager, said the hotel was to offer a relaxed environment whilst providing hospitality that befitted a four star establishment.