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The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) and players in the hospitality industry in the Central Region have expressed their preparedness to host the 65th Independence Day anniversary with a promise to give guests “a rich experience”.

They indicated that tourist sites, hotels and guest houses in the region were leveraging and building drive from the success of the National Farmers’ Day celebration held in Cape Coast last year.

 Mr Kwame Gyasi, the Regional Director of GTA touted their readiness at a stakeholder’s meeting with some hoteliers in Cape Coast on Tuesday.

The meeting focused on how the industry could ready itself for the March 6th Celebration and beyond, while identifying and offering solutions to some grey areas in the hospitality sector.

The activities for the two-week Independence celebration as well as some programmes of the GTA aimed at driving domestic tourism during and after the period, were also laid on the table for discussion.

The 65th Independence Day Celebration on the theme: “Working Together, Bouncing Back Better” will be the third to be hosted outside Accra after the Northern and Ashanti Regions.

It will be graced by Her Excellency Mia Mottley, the Prime Minister of Barbados as the Special Guest of Honour, the President of the Central Regional House of Chiefs and other high-profile personalities, representatives of the CSOs and other dignitaries.

Mr Gyasi called on the hoteliers to position themselves to embrace the opportunity in order to attract repeated visits which he added was the engine of the industry.

“For us at GTA, we are responsible for tourism promotion and development that is why we wanted to go the extra mile. I believe all the institutions are doing their part but the ultimate responsibility lies with us. This is just to spur us on,” he said.

Mr Victor Mintah, the Central Regional Vice-Chair of the Ghana Hoteliers Association said the Hungarian President and his delegation were hosted some four weeks ago in the Region.

“We are ready to host any Presidential delegation or head-of-state who will be here for the celebration and give them a rich experience of what the Central Region has to offer in terms of culture, attractions, hospitality and cuisine and let them who we are and where we are coming from,” he said.

Mr Emmanuel Lawer, the Principal Standards and Quality Assurance Officer, GTA, urged hotels train their staff to be on top of business while ensuring a clean environment.

“Without a clean environment, you don't have any business doing in the hospitality sector. As much as possible, let us keep every department clean,” he stressed.