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The Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture says that Ghana’s goal of becoming the top tourist destination in Africa and making tourism the top contributor to Ghana’s GDP can only be achieved if all stakeholders pay close attention to making traditional festivals more appealing.
The ministry’s initiatives, such as the Year of Return and Beyond the Return, have significantly improved tourism, making it the country’s third-largest contributor to GDP. However, the ministry believes that more can be done to achieve its goal.
Speaking at the media launch of the 2023 Ngayem Festival for the people of Manya at the Akuse Club House, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture Mark Okraku Mantey urged traditional authorities in the country to make traditional festivals more appealing.
“Know that what you are doing or about to do is important to us as a government. President Akufo-Addo’s government wants to make tourism the top contributor to Ghana’s GDP. We are currently number three, and thanks to the Year of Return and Beyond the Return, we have seen a lot of changes in the tourism industry. If we are to achieve this goal, we need our traditional festivals to help us make it a reality.”
“Between 2019 and today, we have grown significantly in tourism. We used to be number three in West Africa, but now we are number one. We achieved these results thanks to our assets, such as forts and castles, the Year of Return activities, and traditional activities like the one you are about to participate in.”
He also used the opportunity to urge them to promote peace through the festival, stating that “before any tourist visits your country, the first thing they look for on their checklist is how peaceful the country is. Ghana is ranked third in Africa in terms of peace, and so we expect every fraternity, locality, constituency, and region to be able to help sell our tourism to foreigners. We should use these opportunities to promote the peace agenda among our people because a country without peace cannot benefit from tourism.”
The Member of Parliament for Upper Manya Krobo, Bismarck Tetteh Nyarko, expressed surprise at the absence of some prominent divisional chiefs at the event and urged the traditional leaders to put aside their differences and unite to promote development in the Krobo enclave.
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