Ghana's accommodation industry is experiencing significant regional disparities in demand, with some regions recording relatively high occupancy rates while others continue to struggle to utilise available rooms. The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) found that Savannah Region recorded the highest room occupancy rate of 63.7% in January 2025. In contrast, Eastern, Bono East, and Volta regions recorded room occupancy rates below 28% throughout the four-month period from November 2024 to February 2025.
The GSS's Accommodation Unit Survey also found that Central Region recorded consistently high accommodation utilisation, with bed occupancy remaining above 70% throughout the period. Specifically, Central Region recorded bed occupancy rates of 70.6% in November 2024, 72.3% in December, 71.7% in January, and 73.8% in February. Western Region also recorded relatively strong bed occupancy, reaching 77.2% in December 2024 before easing to 70.5% in February 2025.
The Greater Accra region continued to account for the largest accommodation capacity in the country, but its room occupancy remained around 41% to 48% during the period. Nationally, room occupancy stood at 44.7% in November 2024, increased to 46.6% in December, declined to 44.1% in January 2025, and returned to 44.7% in February. The GSS noted that national averages alone may not provide a complete picture of Ghana's tourism accommodation market.
The report indicated that available accommodation capacity consistently exceeded occupied capacity during the period. Available room capacity stood at about 5.03 million room-nights in November, increased to 5.20 million in December and 5.21 million in January, before falling to 4.69 million in February. Occupied rooms, meanwhile, rose from 2.25 million in November to 2.42 million in December before declining to 2.30 million in January and 2.10 million in February.
Domestic tourism remains a key component of Ghana's accommodation market, with domestic visitors accounting for the overwhelming majority of recorded guests during the period. Domestic guest numbers ranged from approximately 1.87 million to 2.17 million per month, compared with fewer than 40,000 foreign guests per month. However, foreign visitors generally stayed longer, particularly in hotels, where their average stay was about three to four nights compared with about two nights for domestic hotel guests.
The accommodation sector also recorded weaker revenue performance between November 2024 and January 2025 before a modest recovery in February. National Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR) declined from GH¢603 in November to GH¢490 in January, before increasing to GH¢524 in February. Average Daily Rate (ADR) followed a similar pattern, falling from GH¢1,351 in November to GH¢1,112 in January before recovering in February.
The GSS recommends that tourism planning pay greater attention to utilisation, regional demand patterns, destination development, infrastructure, events, marketing, and accessibility. The Service also suggests that investment decisions should be based on demonstrated demand and utilisation rather than accommodation capacity alone. The report cautions that the findings cover only four months and should therefore be treated as an emerging baseline rather than evidence of long-term trends.
Key points
- Domestic visitors account for the majority of recorded guests in Ghana's accommodation market.
- Regional disparities in demand are significant, with Savannah Region recording high occupancy rates and Eastern, Bono East, and Volta regions struggling.
- The accommodation sector's revenue performance weakened between November 2024 and January 2025 before a modest recovery in February.
