The Ghana Tourism Development Company (GTDC) has rolled out an initiative and platforms — Accra by Night, the Ghana Tourism Investment Platform (GTiP), and the Ghana Tourism Marketplace (GTM) aimed at improving access to accurate tourism data and boosting domestic tourism.
At a press briefing in Accra yesterday, the Chief Executive Officer of GTDC, Professor Kobby Mensah, explained that existing systems did not capture comprehensive domestic tourism figures, particularly attendance at festivals, concerts and other major events.
He said these gaps highlighted the need to build systems that can show evidence and effectively track and quantify participation in such activities.
He also pointed out the inefficiencies in planning and coordinating traditional festivals, leading to missed opportunities for commercialisation.
He proposed a festival management protocol training that would cover transport systems, security and waste management for organisers of such events.
GTiP
Prof. Mensah explained that the GTiP website — investintourism.org, which was a call to invest in tourism in the country, was purposefully built to manage the image of the country.
He stressed the need to have positive images to attract tourists, to reduce the misrepresentation of the country online, citing issues such as internal conflict, corruption, and LGBTQ discussions.
For the GTM, he said an individual did not need to own an asset but must have a Ghana card, a registered business, curated marketing communication collateral and must have registered with the relevant tourism agencies.
He said that within just a month of introducing the GTM platform, over 240 customers were already using it, with more than 50 vendors subscribed. He added that 57 people had made global and local payments through GTM for Accra by Night, while 18 others had booked additional events on the platform.
He also stated that the Accra by Night revenue for a month through GTM was GH¢18,750.
Prof. Mensah said it was evident that it was possible to generate enough tourism revenue from the platform.
He pointed out that they were working with influencers to promote the events and businesses on the platform.
Future interventions
The GTDC also announced an upcoming investment drive, including investment breakfast sessions and conferences to attract investors to invest in tourism projects.
He mentioned a national event calendar and system integration that would publish events from January to December, allowing users to plug them into their personal calendars and receive reminders.
He said the calendar, once launched, would allow people to sign up and publish their programmes.
Accra by Night
The Deputy CEO in charge of Operations, Felicity Nelson, speaking on Accra by Night, said it is organised on the last Friday of every month but for December, it would be every Friday and urged the public to secure seats for their tours.
She said Accra by Night was designed to strengthen small businesses, energise the nighttime economy and showcase the best of the country.
She said it was also designed to be affordable, ensuring that diaspora Ghanaians could experience world-class products within their own country.
The Deputy CEO in charge of Finance and Administration, Naomi B. Larbi, said the GTiP was a national investment interface developed by GTDC intended to showcase destinations, attractions and tourism facilities that were ready for investment.
