A tourism industry analyst has urged Ghana to focus on increasing the economic value generated by tourism rather than relying solely on growth in visitor arrivals, following the release of the Ghana Tourism Authority’s 2025 Tourism Report.
Mr. Emmanuel Frimpong, President of the Africa Tourism Research Network (ATRN), said while the report highlights the resilience of the sector and several positive performance indicators, it also exposes structural challenges that require urgent attention if Ghana is to remain competitive on the African tourism landscape.
Speaking in an interview after the publication of the report, Mr. Frimpong commended the Ghana Tourism Authority for continuing to provide valuable industry data for policymakers, investors, researchers and tourism operators.
However, he expressed concern about the timing of the report’s release, noting that a 2025 performance report published in June 2026 limits its usefulness for strategic planning and policy decisions.
The report showed that international tourist arrivals increased from 1,288,804 in 2024 to 1,306,962 in 2025, representing growth of 1.4 percent. Domestic tourism also recorded strong performance, with approximately 1.79 million visits to 55 tourist attractions across the country.
Mr. Frimpong also highlighted the success of the “December in GH” initiative, which contributed to an increase in visitor arrivals during December 2025, while the number of licensed tourism enterprises grew from 6,702 to 7,109, reflecting continued investor confidence in the sector.
Additional gains were recorded in business tourism and cruise tourism, with 18 cruise ship visits and more than 5,400 passengers arriving through the ports of Tema and Takoradi.
Despite these achievements, the tourism researcher argued that Ghana’s growth rate remains modest compared to several competing destinations across Africa and falls short of the country’s tourism potential.
He pointed out that Ghana possesses a rich portfolio of tourism assets, including heritage sites, cultural festivals, ecotourism destinations, wildlife attractions and strong links with the African diaspora, which should position the country for much stronger growth.
According to him, the most concerning aspect of the report is the decline in tourism receipts despite the increase in visitor arrivals.
The report indicated that international tourism earnings fell from an estimated US$4.83 billion in 2024 to US$4.34 billion in 2025, raising concerns about visitor spending patterns, revenue retention and the overall economic impact of the sector.
Mr. Frimpong stressed that tourism performance should be measured not only by the number of visitors entering the country but also by the value they generate for businesses, communities and the national economy.
“Tourism success cannot be measured solely by arrival numbers. What ultimately matters are visitor spending, economic impact, job creation and local value retention,” he stated.
He further identified gaps in the report, including limited analysis of tourism’s contribution to the broader economy, inadequate regional performance data, weak sustainability reporting and insufficient attention to emerging digital tourism trends.
To strengthen future tourism assessments, he recommended the inclusion of tourism employment data, investment tracking, visitor satisfaction indicators, domestic tourism performance metrics and community impact assessments.
Mr. Frimpong also called on policymakers and industry stakeholders to prioritise destination competitiveness, expand domestic tourism opportunities and implement measures that ensure local communities derive greater benefits from tourism activities.
He maintained that Ghana’s ambition to position itself as the gateway to Africa and the home of the Black Star Experience would require a shift from gradual recovery toward transformational and inclusive growth.
According to him, the future success of the sector will depend less on visitor numbers and more on its ability to create sustainable economic opportunities and shared prosperity for Ghanaians.
