Tourism

After cocoa exports and gold mining, tourism is the top foreign currency earner in Ghana’s economy, generating some $694m of foreign currency for the government in 2012. The industry is vital to overall economic growth and is expected to contribute 5.4% of GDP by 2023, growing at a rate of 4.5% between 2013 and 2023. The new 15-year National Tourism Development Plan, which runs from 2013 to 2027, aims to boost the sector’s performance via several partnerships with international organisations, including the EU and UNESCO. Hotel development in Accra and Takoradi is expected to continue to drive investment, providing for business travellers’ needs in a rapidly growing economy. In the long term, Ghana’s proximity to Europe, and the fact that multiple cultural and ecological destinations are located on or within a short drive from the country’s coastal strip, are factors that continue to open new opportunities for investment. This chapter contains an interview with Sampson Donkoh, Deputy Chief Executive, Ghana Tourism Authority.