The Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has highlighted the importance of the tourism, culture and creative industries to Ghana’s economy.
He told the press at an editors’ meeting on Monday, August 14, 2023 at the Accra City Hotel that despite all the funny nicknames previously given to the sector, it is one of the biggest contributors to the gross domestic product and foreign exchange of the country.
“You know we are in a country where everybody erroneously thinks the economy is equal to finance. But the economy is the end product of many things… The real sector where roads and jobs come from lies in the hands of various other ministries,” he said.
Oppong Nkrumah also mentioned that numbers of the tourism, creative arts and hospitality sector makes it the third largest contributor to GDP in our country.
“This means that it is the third largest sector in our country where there is productive activity, people are finding jobs, where people find incomes and improve their own quality of lives. If you look at it from the foreign exchange point of view, it is about the sector largest contributor to foreign exchange,” he stated.
“It is a very, very, very important sector but until recently people used to call it the Ministry of Enjoyment. That is one of those places where you attend some festivals and you invite some Black Americans to come to town. But is a hugely important sector for our economy,” he further noted.
The government of Ghana in the past years, has put together measures to make Ghana a preferred destination for tourists across the world.
The Beyond the Return initiative, through its December in GH activities, drives a lot of tourists into the country every year.
As part of the effort to make Ghana the biggest tourism destination in Africa, the government has announced that it is working towards attracting two million international arrivals that will result in a $4 billion spending impact by 2025.
Credit: myjoyonline.com
