Inbound travel data from the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) indicates that the country recorded a 45% growth to reach 247,834 visitor arrivals in the first quarter of 2023.

The data indicates a significant rebound from a sector that was badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic . In the same period last year, inbound visitors was 170,696 and 98,950 in first quarter 2021.

With these trends, the GTA and the Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture are optimistic of surpassing the overall international arrivals target of 1.2million.

Speaking to the B&FT on these strides, the CEO of GTA, Akwasi Agyeman said the country will continue to attract international tourists due to key investments and initiatives being taken by government.

“The Year of Return, Beyond the Return, Destination Ghana and other key projects have yielded positive results and we are glad that the country has been positioned as home for diasporans seeking to visit and do business in Africa” he said.

The Tourism Ministry and the GTA have set an international tourist arrivals target of 1.2 million visitor turnout for this year with an estimated revenue of US$3.4 billion against the US$2 billion realized in 2022.

The Ministry indicated that domestic arrivals for the year 2023, is equally pegged at 1.2 million visitors.

The targets, according to Agyeman, looks aggressive but is achievable by year end, considering current visitor-turnouts and the rate at which the tourism year is shaping out.

Truly, Ghana’s international arrivals record from 2021 and last year represented a 46.7 year on year growth, sparking hopes and assurance of a fully recovered sector after the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In fact, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation’s (UNWTO) report, on the topic, ‘Tourism set to return to pre-pandemic levels in some regions’ in 2023, stated that Europe reached nearly 80 percent of pre-pandemic arrivals and Africa and America – 65 percent of pre-pandemic levels.

Ghana’s arrivals recovery, which stood at 81 percent is significantly higher than the African average and around that of recovery levels of European markets.

“This accordingly shows that the country can do more to attract and deepen the sector’s growth and progress”, the GTA Chief said.

He explained that tourism data remains critical for policy formulation and for measuring returns on investment in marketing, promotions and infrastructure.

With the ongoing infrastructure works and renovations like the Kwame Nkrumah Park, Bonwire Kente Museum and others nearing completion and the expected launch of December in GH shortly, operators in the sector are optimistic of business improvement.