President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has promised to revamp the tourism industry to make it a major revenue earner for the country.
He said his government is determined to make the necessary investment and build the needed infrastructure to make Ghana the best tourism destination in Africa.
Delivering his second State of Nation Address in Parliament Thursday, the president said by the end of his four-year term, tourists will be proud to visit the country.
The direct contribution of travel and tourism to the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2016 was GHS4,972.9million, representing 3.0 percent of the total GDP.
Figures by the World Travel and Tourism Council showed the sector’s contribution to GDP rose to 5.2 percent in 2017 with a forecast of 6.6 percent in 2027.
Ghana is ranked 101 out of 185 countries in the world whose economy heavily depends on revenues from the travel and tourism industry.
The road leading to Kakum National Park
But there are real infrastructural challenges that continue to affect the sector’s development and contribution to the country’s overall GDP.
Roads leading to the major tourist site in the Central Region, Kakum National Park are in a bad state that tourists spend hours before getting there.
But there are attempts to reposition the sector, create jobs and generate more revenue for the country.
In December 2017, president Akufo-Addo cut the sod for the development of a 241 acre Accra coastlines into a multi-billion-dollar tourism enclave.
The Marine Drive project first conceived by Ghana’s first president Kwame Nkrumah in 1963 will cost $1.2billion to execute.
Commenting on the project, he said the completion of the project will create thousands of jobs for the local community and across the value chain.
“[It will also] position Ghana as a key tourism destination,” the president said.
Source: myjoyonline.com
