Tourism investment summit opens in Accra
The 2023 Ghana Tourism Investment Summit has opened in Accra at the Labadi Beach Hotel.
The summit has brought together all relevant stakeholders in the tourism value chain to promote the opportunities within the sector and to attract investment.
It is being organised by Ghana Tourism Development Authority (GTDC) under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, in partnership with the Ghana Tourism Authority and other agencies under the Ministry of Tourism.
Notable speakers include the sector minister, Dr Ibrahim Mohammed Awal; the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, and the World Bank Country Director, Pierre Frank Laporte.
Participants have been drawn from the tourism value chain operators, regulatory and licensing institutions; Financial Advisory Sector, Real Estate, Banking, Insurance, Transport, Aviation, Tourism and Trade Associations, Public Entities and state-owned enterprises.
Other partners include the diplomatic corps, legal practitioners, development partners and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
Some international infrastructure and investment firms from South Africa, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and Turkey will also participate in the summit.
Objectives
A concept note of the summit indicated that the summit seeks to attract attention to the country, and to market its rich and diverse tourism investment opportunities, bring together investors who are seeking avenues for tourism partnerships and promote Ghana as an attractive Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) destination for global foreign investment in tourism.
It also seeks to extend global integration of Ghana’s tourism trade and investment into a new global reality and to secure investment in diverse priority and emerging Ghanaian tourism business areas for mutual benefits.
Investment
The concept note said in spite of the massive investment in tourism over the years, many aspects of the lucrative sector required massive capital investment for the country to derive optimal benefits.
“There are gaps in the industry that must be filled to enable the sector function properly.
Big hotel chains, rest stops, amusement parks, eco lodges and budget hotels, restaurants, MICE facilities, beachfront facilities, transport services, aviation, digital tourism platforms etc. are some of the areas that require further investments,” the concept note said.
Tourism development
It added that the Ministry of Tourism was implementing the Ghana Tourism Development Project to attract massive private sector investment in the sector.
“Examples of these are the development of Centre of the World Project, Air Charters and Chopper Services, Big Tree Tourist Site, Virtual Tourism Platforms, the Akwamu Gorge, the Assin Manso Slave River, Accra and Kumasi Zoos and Tourism Taxi Service, among others”.
“We have prepared a varied portfolio of potential investment opportunities that should be marketed for private sector investment and participation across the country,” the ministry said.