Travel and Tourism - Ghana

Euromonitor International's Travel And Tourism in Ghana report offers a comprehensive guide to the market at a national level. It looks at travel accommodation, transportation, car rental, tourist attractions and retail travel. It identifies the leading companies and offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market, including background information on tourism inflows, disposable income, annual leave and holiday taking habits.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - Publication date: May 2010

Travel and tourism blossoming despite late kick-off
Travel and tourism is one of the most essential and fastest growing areas of the Ghanaian economy. However, it took the country almost forty years following its independence in 1957 to establish a Ministry of Tourism (MoT), whereas other post-colonial nations such as Kenya set up an MoT just one day after independence. Despite making a late start in travel and tourism for a number of reasons, one of these being political unrest, travel and tourism has been making a significant impact on the socio-economic development of Ghana in recent years. With the return of political stability, Ghana is today the third most important tourism destination in West Africa in terms of tourist arrivals after Senegal and Nigeria. Travel and tourism is also the fourth highest foreign exchange earner for the country, raking about US$1 billion annually. The Government is committed to supporting the development of travel and tourism and has adopted a number of measures not only to create a conducive environment for sustainable investment, but also to increase the country’s foreign exchange earnings through travel and tourism.

An emerging market for medical tourism
Healthcare is fast becoming a major tourism product in Ghana and the country is taking advantage of this boom. According to recent research, healthcare is a major reason for people travelling to the country, along with visits to historical and cultural sites and to attend business meetings and conferences. Each year, hundreds of foreign visitors come to Ghana seeking various healthcare services attracted by the promise of cut-price treatment administered by qualified doctors, most of whom have been trained in Western countries. Unlike medical tourists in Western countries, visitors to Ghana access services which are often not available in their own countries. Some of the health services offered include physiotherapy, fertility treatment, orthodox medicine and herbal medicine as well as surgical operations. If well promoted, Ghana would benefit enormously from healthcare tourism and could become a haven for complicated surgical procedures such as heart and spinal operations.

Entrance of multinational hotel chains boosting growth in hotels
In the past, travel and tourism in Ghana struggled with a limited supply of travel accommodation facilities. However, this problem is being addressed with hotels which meet international standards rapidly increasing. Hotels is receiving a boost as new international luxury hotels are being built or refurbished, most of them concentrated in the capital city of Accra. At present, travel accommodation represents the largest portion of travel and tourism revenue in Ghana, accounting for 34% of tourist expenditure. Hotel development projects currently underway in the country include Hilton, Marriot, Sheraton, Mövenpick Hotel and Resort and the Ambassador Hotel. Upon completion, these new hotels will be able to cater to the increasing number of visitors travelling to country. Growth in hotel revenue will also be essential in increasing Ghana’s foreign exchange earnings and thereby enhancing development.

Cashing in on President Obama’s visit to Ghana
The outlook of travel and tourism in Ghana is very positive. The country is positioned to be one of the leading tourist destinations in Africa due to the events that took place in 2009, which helped the nation reinforce its travel and tourism credentials not only across Africa, but also throughout the world. The fact that Ghana was chosen as the first sub-Saharan African country to be visited by US President Obama has helped put the nation under the international tourism spotlight. With Africa benefiting from heritage tourism, this is expected to open up the potential not only for the revival of Ghanaian travel and tourism, but also drive African travel and tourism in general among African-Americans. The US is Ghana’s leading tourism source market and has a high propensity for growth due to the Obama visit. Ghana was also put under the spotlight in late 2009 when it was granted the rare privilege of being the first African country to host the United Nations World Tourism Day. The positive outcome of these events, combined with Government commitments towards developing travel and tourism will help increase interest in Ghana as a favourable travel and tourism destination over the forecast period.