The tourism sector in Ghana is pivoting back to its pre-covid era witnessing tremendous growth with international arrival figures in the country reaching 915,000, in 2022 surpassing its 2020 figures of 355,108, according to the President, His Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo.
The President in his State of the Nation address, said domestic visits to tourist sites are also up by over 55.7% during the period adding that all these have been made possible by deliberate marketing initiatives and upgrades of tourist infrastructure by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and its Agency, the Ghana Tourism Authority.
He stated that both domestic and international tourism are rebounding significantly from the severely disruptive impact of COVID on the travel and tour industry.
He said: “Our decision to prioritize tourism, as a key policy for economic diversification, job creation and growth, is clearly paying off. The World Economic Forum Report 2021 Travel lndex ranks Ghana as the number one tourism destination in West Africa. The potential contribution of tourism and the arts to GDP is, therefore, one that we must nurture.
“In May this year, I will be chairing a Tourism Stakeholder Retreat on “Rethinking Tourism for National Development & Job Creation”. I have tasked the Ministry and its Agency, the Ghana Tourism Authority, to work on the modalities to bring together all the stakeholders within the industry. Over the next couple of years, my government will deepen even further our efforts to make tourism a strong primary source of growth for the economy.
“Beyond The Return” initiative, which I launched in 2019 as a sequel to the Year of Return, has re-ignited excitement about Ghana as the hub and a Mecca for the Global pan-African, a home every person of African descent must visit at least once in their lifetime. A few days ago, at a historic ceremony in Washington DC, we conferred Ghanaian citizenship on Mother Viola Fletcher (108 years) and her brother Uncle Red (102 years), two of the only three living survivors of the Tulsa Massacre of 1921.
“Both domestic and international tourism are rebounding significantly from the severely disruptive impact of COVID on the travel and tour industry. International arrivals nearly trebled last year, from a low of three hundred and fifty-five thousand, one hundred and eight (355,108) in 2020, to over nine hundred and fifteen thousand (915,000). Domestic visits to tourist sites are also up by over 55.7% during the period. All these have been made possible by deliberate marketing initiatives and upgrades of tourist infrastructure by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and its Agency, the Ghana Tourism Authority.”
