Find Tourism and Travel partners in Ghana

The direct contribution of travel and tourism to Ghana’s GDP is 2.3% and this accounts for more than 100,000 jobs, which is 1.8% of total employment (2011, WTTC estimate). The World Travel and Tourism Council ranks Ghana as 127th in the world for the relative contribution of travel and tourism to GDP, leaving room for potential expansion in this sector. In 2011 foreign visitor exports accounted for just over 5% of total exports, and in 2007 586,600 international tourists arrived in Ghana generating receipts of over US$1.1 billion. Despite this influx of foreign tourists, leisure travel spending is the dominante form of tourism generating 64.9% of the direct contribution to GDP, while domestic travel spending is higher than foreign receipts, accounting for 56.9% of travel and tourism’s contribution to GDP (2011, WTTC estimate). 

The Ghana Tourism Authority replaced the Ghana Tourist Board in 2011 as the organisation that promotes tourism, with a specific focus on sustainable tourism. Its aim is to see Ghana become the ‘tourism capital’ of West Africa and for tourism to become the leading sector of the economy. The Ministry of Tourism oversees the Ghana Tourism Authority and can develop, promote and co-ordinate all tourism activities in Ghana. It states that the tourism potentials of Ghana have remained latent and have not contributed significantly to the economy. Ghana’s tourism sector is expected to grow at an average rate of 4.1% per annum over the next two decades.

Ghana has the unique status of the most visited initial point of entry for Westerners arriving in Africa for the first time; it is situated in West Africa and is bordered to the north by Burkina Faso, the east by Togo, the south by the Atlantic Ocean and the west by Côte d’Ivoire. The country has many natural attractions: from sandy palm-fringed beaches, forested hills, grassy plains, a dense rainforest to the largest man-made lake in the world, Lake Volta. 

There are a number of investment incentives for potential businesses in the tourism sector. Ghana has 16 National Parks and is a leading country in the community-based ecotourism sector. Areas such as, Kakum National Park and Boabeng-Fiem Monkey Sanctuary, aim to create a strong relationship between conservationists, tourists and local communities. Organisations such as the Ghana Tourism Federation and the Ghana Association of Travel and Tourist Agents support the private sector’s involvement in the tourism sector.

In 2011 investment in the tourism and travel industry was GHC493.5mn, constituting 4.6% of total investment. This was expected to rise by 7.3% in 2012, and then continue to rise by 3.2% pa over the next ten years, reaching GHC727.0mn by 2022.