The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) has set an ambitious target, projecting over $3 billion in revenue from its “Beyond the Return” initiative in 2024.
This follows the success of the 2019 Year of Return, which generated approximately GHS 1.9 billion from more than 900,000 visitors.
CEO of the GTA, Akwesi Agyemang, speaking in an interview on Joy News on Wednesday, August 14, remarked that Ghana is poised to welcome at least 1.3 million tourists in the latter half of 2024, building on the nearly 600,000 arrivals recorded in the first half of the year.
He emphasized that the second half of the year traditionally outperforms the first, particularly in the final quarter, fueling optimism about surpassing initial projections.
“We are very hopeful that we would surpass, and we have also had some engagement with organizations in the U.K., which is number 3 on the list for us, second to Nigeria, to promote Ghana strongly on the UK market.
“In all, it is about 3.8 billion that we anticipate coming into the country and we hope the private sector can take advantage of some of these things that are happening,” he said.
In preparation for the anticipated influx, the GTA is overseeing upgrades to critical infrastructure, including the National Theatre, where new air conditioning units have been installed.
However, renovations at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) have been delayed due to the lack of parliamentary approval, though the GTA continues to work closely with venue managers to ensure readiness.
“Although we are not directly in charge, we work very closely with them [management at National Theatre] because it is one of the venues that is almost always booked. With the AICC, I know that the work that was supposed to be done has been put on hold for now because they did not get the required parliamentary endorsement,” he quipped.
Mr Agyemang’s comments underscore Ghana’s strategic focus on tourism as a vital component of its economic growth agenda, leveraging cultural heritage and international partnerships to attract global visitors.