Campaign launched to boost domestic tourism

The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture has launched an 18-month tourism campaign to whip up interest in domestic tourism to revamp the sector in post-COVID-19.

The initiative is part of the effort by the government to make the sector more attractive and affordable to both local and international tourists.

Dubbed: “Domestic and Regional Tourism Programme”, the campaign seeks to increase arrivals to 600,000 by 2022 and one million by the end of 2024.

Launch

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, who represented the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to launch the campaign in Accra yesterday, said the programme was also aimed at increasing arrivals of West Africans from 180,000 to 400,000 by 2024.

She also said the campaign would, among other objectives, promote city tours in regional capitals, using double-decker buses and “boneshakers” to whip up interest.

She urged the Tourism Ministry to collaborate with all stakeholders, including the public and the private sectors, to come up with more innovative solutions to domestic tourism in the country.

“Fortunately, Ghana abounds in major heritage, arts and cultural resources, such as forts and castles, national parks, palaces, wildlife and festivals, which can be promoted and marketed for tourism purposes,” Ms Botchwey added. 

The minister also said the continuous favourable ranking of the country by the World Economic Forum Global competitive report as a politically stable, safe and secure environment made it a preferred tourism hub.

Collaboration

The sector Minister, Dr Ibrahim Awal, said tourism was a consensual activity which needed the collaboration of both the private and the public sectors to succeed.

He said his outfit was working towards developing two iconic tourist sites in each region to attract both local and international tourists and ultimately make the country the preferred tourism destination in West Africa.

As part of the campaign, he added, educational, business and religious tourism would be promoted to ensure national integration and cohesion.

For her part, the President of the Ghana Tourism Federation, Mrs Bella Ayayee Ahu, welcomed the initiative and appealed to the government to support the industry with funds, including flexible loans, to make the sector more affordable and attractive.