The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and in collaborations with its stakeholders at the weekend embarked on a health walk dubbed “Choco walk”.
It was part of the celebration of the 2019 National Chocolate Day to encourage the public to healthy lifestyles.
Some of the stakeholders that took part in the exercise were the Ghana Cocoa Board, Cocoa Processing Company and the Africa Culture and Wellness Festival (ACWF), who all joined in the “Choco walk” to promote the healthy benefits of cocoa and chocolate.
The exercise saw an increase in patronage from the participants as management, staff, and a cross section of the public assembled at the Ayi Mensah toll both in the morning to partake in the walk.
The walk which comprised of over 100 participants walked from the Aburi Mountains which stretches from the Ayi Mensah grounds through to the Peduase Lodge and ended at the Aburi gardens with some aerobic sessions and a health talk on cocoa.
The walk, started at a brisk pace with participants eagerly racing their way to the summit of the Aburi Mountains.
Mr Jones Haruna Nelson, the Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at GTA in an interview with the GNA Sports, said the exercise was to remind the public on the need to exercise and also educate them on the health benefits of chocolate.
He said that, it has been 14 years down the line since the late Minister for Tourism, Jake Obestebi Lamptey declared 14th February, as a National Chocolate Day in 2005, adding that, it was an attempt to boost local consumption of chocolate and has come to stay.
Mr. Nelson said, ahead of the day, it was important to sensitize the public and through such walks as many had come to learn about the importance of chocolate consumption to the economy of the country and the health of individual consumers.
"Fitness is good, healthy living is good, once you exercise your body and eat chocolate, it refreshes the body and energies it," Mr Nelson said.
He noted that there were series of other activities lined up as part of the celebration and also 'The Year of Return, Ghana 2019,' (marking 400 year anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in the United States in 1619).
Among the program lined up are musical concert to launch the 'ACAWF Festival' under the theme "Our land, our sovereignty," and with performance from Jamaican reggae artist Muta Barouka, a tour at the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana at New Tafo in the Eastern region on Monday and an industrial tour at the cocoa processing factory.