2022 YOTOFEST Launched at UEW
The Sanitation Taskforce of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) in collaboration with the Tourism Society of Ghana and SHAPE Attitude Ghana, has launched the 2022 Youth in Tourism Festival (YOTOFEST).
The launching, its third edition, took place on Friday, 12th November, 2021, at the North Campus Mini-Conference Room of UEW. It was under the theme “The Youth, Tourism and Sanitation”.
The weeklong festival slated for June, 2022, at the Central Region in UEW for the first time, has a range of interactive activities to be undertaken. The event will be the flagship at the regional level, allowing young participants to be part of a unique experience aimed at promoting youth engagement in the tourism sector and empowering younger generations to initiate more sustainable domestic tourism promotions.
The festival, supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, will have aboard top-notch personalities to share their experiences on tourism, creative arts, tourism promotion and education.
The Director of Tourism at the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Nana K. Kankam, who launched the festival on behalf of the Minister, Hon. Ibrahim Awal Mohammed, indicated that tourism could not exist without the environment. He specified that there was a symbiotic relationship between the environment and tourism. “So, in its absence, you cannot operate tourism; therefore, if the environment is not clean, neat or it’s not supportive, life cannot trend.”
Nana Kankam recommended that the North Campus of UEW should be used as a satellite convergence point for all their environmental activities.
The Ag. Dean of Student Affairs, UEW, Dr. Bernard B. B. Bingab, revealed that UEW had invested heavily to ensure that its campuses were litter-free. “We are expecting every Tom, Dick and Harry to be part of ensuring that our immediate environment is clean.”
The Chief Executive Officer of SHAPE Attitude Ghana, Mr. Wonderful Baisie Ghartey, on his part, said that several studies had shown that sanitation is the best investment for tourism adding, attaining hygiene and sanitation was critical for promoting tourism.
There were other addresses by representatives of the Ghana Tourism Authority, Tourism Society of Ghana, Ghana Tourism Development Company and T. T. Brothers Limited.
The 2022 YOTOFEST seeks to implement a comprehensive analysis of the problems and prospects to find ways to develop youth tourism in the country and create a new model for work in that area, as well as ensure active participation in the sustainable development of youth tourism in Ghana.
The festival intends to enhance youth empowerment and engagement in tourism practising sustainable development goal six, create tourism business incubation hubs and partnerships for the youth, participate in the activities of international youth tourism associations, international non-governmental youth organisations among others and promote domestic tourism among the youth.
