Mr Emmanuel Frimpong, a tourism consultant, has called on the government to prioritise tourism infrastructure, sustainable financing and regional tourism development in the 2027 Budget to unlock investment, create jobs and increase the sector’s contribution to the economy.
He said the sector required more than policy announcements, stressing that adequate funding and effective implementation of existing commitments were necessary to strengthen tourism businesses, expand employment opportunities and improve livelihoods.
In an interview with the media in Accra on Wednesday, Mr Frimpong, who is also the Founder of the Africa Tourism Research Network, said the Budget should focus on tourism infrastructure, financing for the creative industry and the development of emerging tourism destinations.
He called for increased and timely funding to rehabilitate heritage sites, develop community-based tourism, improve access roads to tourist attractions and complete abandoned or stalled projects.
Mr Frimpong said inadequate infrastructure and delays in completing tourism projects could limit private sector investment and prevent communities from fully benefiting from the country’s tourism resources.
He also urged the government to operationalise and sustain the Creative Arts Fund and Film Development Fund to provide musicians, filmmakers, event organisers and other creative entrepreneurs with predictable access to financing.
“The creative industry needs predictable financing, not just periodic announcements,” he said.
Mr Frimpong said improved infrastructure, streamlined regulatory processes and stronger public-private partnerships would help attract domestic and international investors into the tourism and creative sectors.
He identified tourism education, skills development and professional training as other priorities, saying infrastructure alone could not make destinations competitive without a skilled workforce capable of delivering services that met international standards.
On regional tourism development, he called for increased support for emerging destinations and local tourism enterprises across all 16 regions to address the concentration of investment and visitor activities in a few established centres.
He said expanding investment beyond major tourism destinations would create business opportunities for local enterprises, stimulate economic activities in underserved communities and ensure a wider distribution of tourism revenue.
Mr Frimpong also called for stronger tourism data systems, including the establishment of a Tourism Satellite Account, to accurately measure the sector’s contribution to Gross Domestic Product, employment and national revenue.
He said the absence of comprehensive tourism data could make it difficult to assess the sector’s economic performance, guide investment decisions and measure the effectiveness of government interventions.
He urged the government to incorporate clear performance indicators, implementation timelines and accountability mechanisms into the Budget to track progress and assess the impact of public spending.
Mr Frimpong said tourism performance should be measured not only by visitor numbers but also by income retained in local communities, sustainable jobs created and the commercial viability of tourism businesses.
“My key expectation is that the 2027 Budget should move Ghana’s tourism, arts and culture sector from policy commitments to measurable economic outcomes,” he said.
He said collaboration among the government, private sector operators, local authorities and communities was essential to achieving sustainable growth in the sector.
