The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) Stakeholders Engagement held on Monday was a timely and important opportunity for industry players to reconnect with the Authority, share perspectives, and assess how effectively Ghana’s tourism development agenda is being driven. At a time when tourism is expected to play a leading role in economic recovery, job creation and international branding, the relevance of GTA’s mandate has never been more critical.
However, engagement must go beyond dialogue. It must lead to sharper focus, stronger coordination and measurable outcomes.
Refocusing on GTA’s Core Mandate
The core mandate of the Ghana Tourism Authority is clear: Regulate, Develop, Promote and Market Ghana as a preferred tourism destination while ensuring quality standards across the sector. Stakeholders expect GTA to be the engine that sets direction, enforces standards, supports operators and drives demand. I didn’t see this clearly spelt out or articulated at the meeting.
Many operators continue to struggle with basic challenges such as weak enforcement of standards, poor destination marketing, inconsistent grading and limited product development support. These issues point to the need for GTA to deepen its focus on regulatory efficiency, data-driven marketing, destination development and visitor experience management.
GTA must be more visible not only in Accra, but across the regions and tourism corridors of the country, supporting local tourism enterprises and ensuring that Ghana’s tourism promise matches the experience on the ground. Decentralisation and empowerment of Regional Director is key and non-negotiable.
Leveraging the Wealth of Experience in Leadership
One of GTA’s strongest assets today is its leadership. The Authority is fortunate to have two Deputy CEOs and several Directors who bring decades of deep experience in tourism policy, destination marketing, hospitality operations and international engagement. This institutional memory and professional exposure should translate into strategic clarity and innovation.
Stakeholders are keen to see how this leadership capital is being deployed. Are these experienced executives mentoring younger staff? Are they driving bold reforms? Are they translating their international exposure into competitive positioning for Ghana? Are they helping GTA think beyond routine administration toward market-led tourism growth? Are they allowed to share some of the already developed documents and ideas especially the ones that were developed at Teima and during Covid 19 (Mr Ekow Sampson and Ben Anane Nsiah) were central to the development of these documents.
The tourism industry is evolving rapidly, driven by digital platforms, new traveler behaviours and intense competition from other destinations. Ghana cannot afford to underutilize the expertise at the top of its tourism authority.
Strengthening GTA–GTDC Collaboration
The relationship between GTA and the Ghana Tourism Development Company (GTDC) is one of the most strategic partnerships in Ghana’s tourism ecosystem. While GTA regulates and promotes, GTDC is tasked with investment facilitation, product development and commercial partnerships.
With GTDC rolling out new digital platforms, investment tools and destination development initiatives, it is important for GTA to actively integrate these into its marketing, licensing and promotion systems. Platforms designed to showcase tourism assets, attract investors or list tourism facilities should not operate in isolation. They should be amplified through GTA’s communication channels, inspections, grading systems and international promotion.
Stakeholders want to know: How is GTA promoting GTDC’s new platforms? How are operators being guided to use them? How are these tools helping to unlock financing, partnerships and product development at the grassroots level? True tourism transformation will only happen when regulation, promotion and investment are working as one coordinated system.
Moving from Engagement to Impact
Stakeholder engagements are valuable, but their real power lies in what happens afterwards. The industry needs to see clear action points, policy follow-through and measurable improvements. From improving visitor experience and service quality, to attracting serious private investment and increasing international arrivals, the expectations are high.
The Ghana Tourism Authority has a historic opportunity to reposition Ghana as a competitive, organised and investor-friendly destination. With strong leadership, better collaboration with GTDC and a sharper focus on its mandate, GTA can move from managing tourism to truly transforming it. Honestly, I didn’t see the way forward at the engagement, I am still asking myself ….What exactly did we talk about?
Writing as a citizen and stakeholder, I will be back with serious questions as the President of a Tourism Research network. The Questions I was denied the opportunity to ask at the engagement. May We have a blessed day.
