Accra, Sept. 6, GNA - The Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) projections for tourist arrivals in Ghana through the Kotoka International Airport indicates that 446,055 people would visit the country in 2009.

The GCAA data also project that 408,476 tourists would arrive this year through the airport while 428,899 arrive in 2008.

The data compiled by Mr Owusu Amoakohene, Research Advisor to the Ministry of Tourism and Diasporan Relations, points out that for Ghana to achieve the target of one million tourists next year, airline capacities needed to be increased. The number of airlines flying to Ghana should also increase.

According to the data, a total of 428,000 tourists arrived in the country last year out of which 188,000 were from African countries, representing 44 per cent.

Out of the total, 76 per cent came by air, 23.6 per cent by road and 0.4 per cent by sea, an indication that about 76 per cent of tourists to Ghana arrive through the airport while 24 per cent use other means.

Mr Amoakohene explaining the data as contained in the "Tourism Data Series," said most tourists to Ghana were from Nigeria, C=F4te d'Ivoire, Togo, Liberia and South Africa.

Other tourists were from the United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, France, South America; Central America and North America. He said: "Ghana attracted only 1.4 per cent of her tourists from China and 0.4 from Japan. These figures can increase significantly if the right marketing and product development strategies are put in place."

Mr Amoakohene noted that there was the need to recognize the role of tourism in poverty eradication strategies while developing a concerted marketing strategy that targeted its core market.