Ghana is making giant strides towards reaching pre-pandemic tourism levels. The country’s latest tourism report shows it received 914,892 international tourists in 2022 representing a 47% increase from the previous year’s 623,523.
The corresponding revenue also saw an exponential increase of more than 107%, with the West African country making well over $2.5 billion from international arrivals. On the domestic front, Ghana recorded 937,087 tourists representing a 55% growth in 2022.
Launching the 2022 Tourism Report today, April 4, Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture, Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Awal attributed the increased numbers to sound policies by the government to grow the tourism sector. He also said efforts by the Ghana Tourism Authority and other agencies of the industry had culminated in the figures.
Although the 2022 arrival numbers fell short of the one million that had been targeted, the Minister said he has no doubt the country can attract at least 1.2 million tourists this year.
“In 2023, our target is 1.2 million international arrivals with domestic tourists also 1.2 million. We are expecting to generate about 3.4 billion dollars to this economy and we expect to create 150,000 jobs in 2023. We will do it,” he said.
He added that beyond developing infrastructure, the government will train personnel to improve service delivery in the hospitality and tourism sector.
The Minister explained that “We are going to train about 6000 people in tourism this year to improve the quality. If we improve the quality, the tourists won’t just go and come back but they will come with their family and friends, spend more money and thereby, create a lot of jobs.”
Dr. Awal also disclosed that for the medium-term, Ghana is targeting two million international arrivals with a matching receipt of $5 billion by 2025.
CEO of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Akwasi Agyeman maintained that tourism had shown strong resilience in the past year and had seen a significant rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to government’s programmes towards growing tourism, the GTA CEO underscored the importance of the partnership his outfit continue to enjoy with private sector players, adding that the number of new tourism facilities registered in 2022 showed how much tourism businesses were booming.
“We are also pleased to report that the number of formal licensed tourism facilities has increased by 6% in 2022 with 323 newly registered projects, indicating that the private sector is investing in the industry and recognising the potential for growth and profitability,” he stressed.
As part of the launch of the 2022 tourism report, GTA also unveiled activities to commemorate its 50th anniversary celebrations with a committee chaired by a Deputy CEO, Ben Anane-Nsiah also inaugurated. The Authority also officially outdoored its corporate website www.ghana.travel
