Ghana will invest $40 million to attract 1 million tourists annually from Europe by 2024. It plans to benefit from growing need for nature-based tourism.
The President of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo launched on April 3 the program “Destination Ghana” to promote leisure tourism for European travelers.
The 18-month marketing campaign aims at attracting 1 million tourists from Europe to Ghana every year from 2024.
During a Destination Ghana ceremony held in London, the president considered that the country could seize opportunities raised by the growing interest in nature-based adventure and leisure tourism fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders.
The event was used for a series of B2B meetings with UK-based operators. The United Kingdom would be a priority target market, using “our historical connection with the U.K. as a launchpad,” the president said.
The country will also launch a series of advertising campaigns on international media outlets and provide platforms for Ghanaian Tour operators to reach out to UK and European-based operators.
The total investment is expected to cost US$40 million. In 2022, $25 million would be spent to upgrade their most popular sites which include two castles recognized by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites, some parks and museums. The funds will come from the Ghana Tourism Development Project, supported by the World Bank.
Investment in supporting SMEs and the beverage industry is currently being discussed with the World Bank.
The announcement comes a week after Ghana lifted movement restrictions related to COVID-19 and opened all its borders.
The Minister of Tourism Ibrahim Mohammed Awal said the goal for 2022 would be to welcome 900,000 international visitors from all regions combined, create 150,000 jobs and bring 2.3 billion dollars to Ghana’s economy.
