Princess Umul Hatiyya Ibrahim Mahama, Founder of the PUH Foundation, has completed a 90-day journey across Ghana's 16 regions, covering approximately 6,814.6 kilometres in a tuk-tuk. Her trip aimed to assess the country's tourism industry, visiting 35 tourist sites, eight markets, and meeting with 10 traditional authorities. The journey revealed that Ghana has an abundance of natural, cultural, and heritage assets, but lacks comprehensive tourism products.
During her trip, Princess Umul Hatiyya engaged with various stakeholders, including regional tourism officials, fishermen, and communities dependent on Ghana's water bodies. She spoke with chiefs such as the Yagbonwura of the Gonja Kingdom and the NaYiri of the Mamprugu Kingdom. Her findings indicate that while Ghana has numerous attractions, the country struggles with providing easy-to-book and easy-to-enjoy tourism experiences.
A significant challenge identified by Princess Umul Hatiyya was the difficulty in finding affordable accommodation online. On several occasions, her team had to search physically for a place to stay after hours on the road. She cited Cambodia as an example of a destination that has built a more visitor-friendly ecosystem around its attractions, with accessible information, transport links, and digital booking systems.
Princess Umul Hatiyya called for Ghana to develop offerings catering to different types of travellers, including luxury visitors and budget tourists. She emphasized the need for greater digitalisation of tourism information, reservations, and payments. This, she argued, would help authorities track visitor numbers and spending more accurately.
Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts Minister Abla Dzifa Gomashie acknowledged Ghana's strengths in culture, heritage, creative arts, and food. However, she conceded that there are challenges around service quality, infrastructure, investment, staffing, and affordability. Minister Gomashie stated that Ghana may not be able to match every destination on the same terms but could compete on the quality of service it offers visitors.
Minister Gomashie described tourism as "private sector driven but government led." She emphasized the importance of collaboration between the public and private sectors to address the challenges facing Ghana's tourism industry. Princess Umul Hatiyya's findings and recommendations are expected to inform policy decisions and strategies to enhance Ghana's tourism sector.
With over 90 countries visited across five continents, Princess Umul Hatiyya's experience and insights provide valuable perspectives on Ghana's tourism industry. Her tuk-tuk tour has highlighted the need for a more comprehensive approach to tourism development, including the creation of complete tourism products and improved digital infrastructure.
Key points
- Ghana has many attractions but few ready-to-book tourism products.
- Princess Umul Hatiyya Ibrahim Mahama rode a tuk-tuk 6,814km across Ghana's 16 regions to assess the country's tourism industry.
- The government acknowledges challenges in service quality, infrastructure, investment, staffing, and affordability in the tourism sector.
