Ghana Tourism gets digital boost with marketplace, investment platform and awards
By Eugene Davis
Ghana, despite its wealth of rich tourism sites, has yet to fully realize its potential, with the sector remaining fragmented, lacking integrated marketing, and recording inconsistent year-round performance, Professor Kobby Mensah, CEO of the Ghana Tourism Development Company Limited (GTDC), has observed.
According to him, the country must “rejog” and enhance its tourism approach in order to align with the President’s vision of the Black Star Experience. He emphasized that through digitization and innovation, this goal can be achieved.
Speaking at a stakeholder engagement in Accra on GTDC’s Reset Agenda—an initiative to reposition Ghana’s tourism industry for growth, competitiveness, and inclusivity—Prof. Mensah announced key projects aimed at transforming the sector. These include the Ghana Tourism Marketplace (GTM), the Ghana Tourism Investment Platform (GTIP), and the Destination Marketing Awards (DMA). Collectively, these initiatives are expected to help build a thriving tourism economy.
Highlighting the Ghana Tourism Marketplace in particular, Prof. Mensah explained that it will serve as a one-stop digital hub connecting businesses, products, and services across the tourism value chain, directly linking providers with consumers.
“Tourism globally is shifting to virtual platforms. While Ghana has had avenues for tourism engagement for some time, we must rejog and enhance our systems to align with the President’s Black Star Experience vision. With digitization and innovation, we believe this is achievable,” he stressed.
The Ghana Tourism Investment Platform (GTIP) is designed to attract capital and partnerships to scale up businesses, improve infrastructure, and expand opportunities across the sector.
In addition, the Destination Marketing Awards (DMA) will celebrate excellence and innovation in tourism by recognizing institutions and individuals whose efforts elevate Ghana’s profile as a leading global destination.
“These initiatives are not just GTDC projects; they are shared opportunities that require the participation, commitment, and ownership of every stakeholder—government, private sector, communities, and international partners alike,” Prof. Kobby Mensah stressed at the launch.
He further highlighted the importance of reaching a wider audience, especially through digital platforms:
“We have young people producing a lot of content online. We must tap into that to ensure that search engine algorithms consistently pick up Ghana and showcase it widely. We believe this approach can significantly increase our visibility and growth.”
Prof. Mensah added that tourism competition will increasingly shift from company-to-company to region-to-region:
“If your region has what it takes, let’s put it on the platform and market it. For example, hotels, restaurants, and other key providers in each region must be onboarded to showcase their offerings.”
The Deputy CEO of the Ghana Tourism Authority also urged stakeholders to embrace digitalization, describing it as the future of tourism, while commending GTDC for spearheading the new initiatives.
The GTDC assured stakeholders of its full support and partnership to ensure successful implementation of the projects, positioning Ghana’s tourism sector as sustainable, resilient, and globally competitive.
The Ghana Tourism Development Company (GTDC), the commercial arm of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, was established in 1972. With a revised mandate, GTDC now focuses on enhancing sustainability and strategic alignment, promoting investment and technological innovation, developing tourism and hospitality infrastructure, and conserving assets, among other priorities.
