Tourism is a billion dollar industry in serious countries which generates massive revenue, both for the state and private individuals, but in Ghana we have very little idea of how to utilize some of the very intriguing tourist attractions we have.
Even advertizing, which is the easiest thing you can do to attract customers, is virtually non-existent.
Only one campaign by the tourism ministry, which is to attract Ghanaians in the diaspora to visit some of the former slave sites, has yielded some fruits.
CNN Travel has unveiled a list of countries to visit in 2019 and Ghana is 4th on the list.
The article talked up many places in Ghana, with the Cape Coast castle getting a special mention.
Read CNN’s report below….
‘Ghana, which is West Africa’s poster nation for economic success and political stability is hoping to trade up its tourism status for 2019, with a campaign targeting the African diaspora whose ancestors were victims of the brutal slave trade of centuries gone by.
Ghana’s ‘Year of Return’ marks 400 years since the first enslaved Africans arrived in North America.
It’s a sombre recognition of the evil that befell Ghana’s past inhabitants and their descendants — and the strength with which they’ve faced it.
“Legacies of the slave trade are unavoidable. Cape Coast Castle, one of many historic coastal forts, was where slaves were held before being dispatched to America and the Caribbean.”
“This brutal and fascinating reminder was visited by the Obamas in 2009 and Melania Trump in 2018.”
For all the sobriety of this anniversary, what also awaits visitors to Ghana is the warm, intoxicating embrace of a country completely at ease with its identity rushing headlong towards a bright future.
The capital, Accra, crackles with the dynamism of a city on the upswing, with a nightlife scene to match.
For those wanting to escape its relentless excitement, Ghana’s 335-mile coastline boasts empty surfing spots like Cape Three Points, while its many protected wildlife zones, including Mole National Park, are home to wild elephants, Nolan warthogs and spotted hyenas.
Don’t miss: Tongo, a village in the Tengzug Hills of northeastern Ghana, is home to the Whistling Rocks — dramatic arrangements of giant granite slabs that produce strange sounds when winds blow down from the Sahara.’
Ghana is 4th, as mentioned, with the first three spots on the list being Christchurch, New Zealand; Egypt and Fukuoka, Japan.
Source: GhanaCelebrities.Com