After years of lying fallow, the Ho airport will host its first commercial test flight on Thursday afternoon.

The news of the landing of Africa World Airline’s commercial airbus at the Ho airport, according to industry players, will present tremendous opportunities for the local economy and also enhance tourism in the region.

“As the region industrializes, it is necessary to diversify entry routes into the region. With the coming on board of the Ho airport, there should be a boom in business activities in the region”, Dela Gadzanku, Chairman of Association of Ghana Industries for the Volta, Oti and Eastern Regions told Citi Business News.

With the region noted for its cleanliness and rich tourism potential, the tourism authority in the Volta Region says it has begun preparing Volta’s tourist centres for an increased number of visitors.

Director of the Tourism Authority in the Volta Region, Alexander Nketia told Citi Business News that the authority has “helped a number of tourism centres” while training tour guides in anticipation of increased visits.

It’s not just the tourism authority that is getting ready for the boom. The Volta Hoteliers Association has also prepared packages especially for tourists and businessmen and women who will be visiting the Volta Region.

Stevie-Derrick Armah, Manager of Volta Serene Hotel in Ho told Citi Business News that the Hoteliers Association has come together to prepare affordable packages for tourists and business people who will visit the Volta Region henceforth.

For the regular market women, they are hopeful that increased visits to the Volta Region through the Ho Airport will result in increased purchases.