Tourism is one of Ghana’s sleeping giants, a trillion-cedi opportunity waiting to be awakened by just a spark of creativity and a dose of commercial mindedness. Imagine this: if only 15% of Ghanaians spent GH¢300 a month exploring their own country, the domestic tourism industry could generate about GH¢17.8 billion annually, yielding nearly GH¢3 billion in VAT and NHIL. That is money circulating within our borders, creating jobs, supporting artisans, and keeping countless small businesses alive from Cape Coast to Tamale.
Yet behind the numbers lies a deeper truth. We have not made our country exciting enough for ourselves. Too many of our cities and towns, vibrant by day, fall into monotony by night. Visit Takoradi or Kumasi on any random evening and you will likely find the same handful of bars, the same grilled tilapia, the same uninspired kebabs. There is no rhythm of creativity, no hum of cultural life, and certainly no national calendar to help citizens discover what their own land has to offer.
I saw this gap vividly during the brief period I chaired the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board. I remember directing museum managers across the country to work with organisers of festivals, old school reunions, and major conferences like the Ghana Bar Association’s annual meeting to curate special exhibitions around those events.
The vision was simple: to make our museums come alive, to connect heritage with the living pulse of society. Sadly, the rest is history. Those exhibitions could have drawn crowds, generated revenue, and turned every visit into an experience that was at once entertaining, educational, and inspiring. I failed to see it through, and that is a story for another day.
What Ghana needs now is a National Tourism Calendar, a living, evolving guide that curates our festivals, landmarks, creative hubs, and leisure experiences month by month. Every weekend should offer something new somewhere, a food fair in Bolgatanga, a cultural street night in Ho, a historical walk through Cape Coast, or a jazz evening by the beaches of Takoradi. Tourism should not be something we wait for foreigners to do; it should be how we celebrate ourselves.
Tourism is not merely about hotels and air-conditioned buses. It is about identity, memory, and pride. It is the laughter echoing through a village festival, the rhythm of a local band under moonlight, the stories our monuments whisper to those who pause to listen. With a little vision, coordination, and imagination, domestic tourism could become one of Ghana’s most sustainable industries, enriching not just our economy but our national soul.
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