Ghana: Reforming Tourism From the Superstructure to the Substructure

Ghana must build a more resilient, competitive, and sustainable tourism sector, and we must do so by going beyond incremental improvements and fundamentally reform both the superstructure and the substructure of the tourism ecosystem.

The future of tourism will not be determined solely by the number of attractions we possess, but by how effectively we organise, market, and deliver tourism experiences in a rapidly changing global environment.

Reforming the Superstructure: The Three Ds

At the superstructure level, tourism reform should be anchored on three strategic pillars: digitalisation, deconcentration, and domestication.

Digitalisation

Modern tourism has evolved far beyond brick-and-mortar operations. Today’s tourist begins the travel journey online, discovering destinations, comparing experiences, making bookings, sharing reviews, and often ending the experience online as well. Consequently, the management of tourism destinations must equally become digital-first.

Failing to place digitalisation at the centre of Ghana’s tourism strategy is effectively surrendering our competitiveness to destinations with stronger digital visibility, such as Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa. In today’s marketplace, destinations are increasingly selected not because they are inherently better, but because they are more discoverable, accessible, and engaging online. Digital transformation is therefore no longer an option; it is a prerequisite for economic sustainability.

Deconcentration

The second pillar is deconcentration.

Ghana’s tourism market still operates largely through an M-shaped distribution structure, where international tour operators aggregate tourists abroad and channel them through local intermediaries before visitors finally reach destinations and attractions. This model has served the industry for decades and dates back to a period long before the internet transformed global commerce.

While the system has historically played an important role, it has increasingly become a gatekeeping mechanism. It concentrates market power in the hands of intermediaries, limits direct interaction between tourists and tourism providers, and disproportionately favours already established destinations.

It concentrates demand in the hands of established destinations and attractions and limits, and to some large extent prevents the future growths of new and emerging destinations and attractions. Whereas the middleman of the source market becomes the gatekeeper of the top destinations like Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa, those in the downstream locally become the gatekeepers of established destinations and attractions in country such as Accra, Cape Coast, and a few others.

As a result, destinations and attractions such as Cape Coast and Kakum continue to dominate visitor flows, while equally compelling destinations in Northern Ghana, Sunyani, Takoradi, and many emerging tourism areas struggle to gain visibility. Sustainable tourism requires a more democratised market structure, one where a digital platform enables consumers direct access to discover destinations and where every community has a fair opportunity to participate in tourism growth. This critique is not about condemning the current structure in favour of a fragmented one, but to make a case for a middle ground where both market structures can co-exist.

Domestication

Despite decades of discussion, Ghana has yet to build a truly vibrant domestic tourism culture. We remain heavily dependent on international arrivals, leaving our sector vulnerable to global economic downturns, pandemics, and geopolitical disruptions.

Domestic tourism should not merely be promoted but become a national movement. We need sustained social marketing campaigns that inform, educate, and persuade Ghanaians about the value of travel within their own country. Tourism improves physical and mental wellbeing, strengthens national identity, deepens appreciation of our cultural, natural and social heritage, and builds confidence in our collective national story.

Unfortunately, many Ghanaians still perceive tourism as an activity reserved for the wealthy. This perception must change, and we must do so through mass education. Tourism is not a luxury for the economically privileged; it is a social good that benefits individuals, families, communities, and the nation.

Mass media, digital platforms, educational institutions, and faith-based organisations all have critical roles to play in embedding domestic tourism into everyday Ghanaian life. A strong domestic tourism market provides the best insurance against external shocks, as demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic by countries that were prepared, while also delivering long-term economic, social, and environmental sustainability.

Reforming the substructure

Reforming the superstructure alone is insufficient. The foundations of the tourism industry, the substructure, must also evolve.

Three priorities are essential

First, we must diversify our tourism product. Beyond culture and heritage, there are enormous opportunities in eco-tourism, leisure, wellness, creative arts, sports tourism, business events (MICE), culinary, educational, and community-based tourism.

Second, accessibility must improve. Destinations should be easier to reach physically through better transport infrastructure, pricing and improved information sources, booking systems, and visitor services.

Third, strong regulatory regime yields attitude for quality. Consistent standard evaluation and monitoring across accommodation, attractions, tour operations, transportation and visitor experiences are fundamental to competitiveness. Quality underpins sustainability.