Ghana’s Forgotten Tourist Assets: Is the Tourism Ministry Doing Enough to Save Them?

Ghana does not have a shortage of tourist attractions.

From castles and forts to waterfalls, forests, beaches, botanical gardens, traditional festivals and historic sites, the country has an extraordinary collection of places capable of attracting visitors.

The bigger question is what happens after the attraction has been discovered.

Who maintains it?

Who develops it?

Who makes it accessible?

Who tells its story?

Who ensures that a visitor who comes today will want to return tomorrow?

These questions have become increasingly important as concerns about the condition of some tourism and heritage sites continue to surface.

Ghana’s own medium-term development plan identifies several problems affecting tourism sites, including inadequate visitor facilities, poor roads, weak signage, limited interpretation, inadequate conservation funding and maintenance challenges. It also acknowledges that some heritage structures face deterioration.

For a country seeking to make tourism a major contributor to the economy, these challenges raise a difficult question:

Are Ghana’s tourism assets being managed well enough to match their potential?

The attractions are there, but the experience matters

Ghana’s tourism strength is obvious.

The country has internationally recognised heritage sites, national parks, beaches and cultural attractions.

In 2025, Ghana recorded 1,306,962 international tourist arrivals, generating about US$4.34 billion in revenue, according to figures presented by Tourism Minister Abla Dzifa Gomashie. Domestic tourism visits also increased from 1.68 million in 2024 to 1.79 million in 2025.

Those figures demonstrate that people are travelling to Ghana.

But tourism is not only about how many people arrive.

It is also about what visitors experience when they get here.

A tourist may be interested in visiting a historic site, but poor roads, inadequate facilities, inconsistent storytelling, weak maintenance or a lack of activities can affect whether that person recommends the destination or returns.

The ministry itself has acknowledged the problems

In October 2026, Tourism Minister Abla Dzifa Gomashie visited attractions including the Aburi Botanical Gardens, Aburi Craft Village and Papaye Recreation Village.

During the visit, she called for improved maintenance, continuous investment and more consistent historical interpretation at tourism sites.

She also acknowledged that tourism development requires cooperation between institutions because some attractions do not fall directly under the Ministry’s management.

The Minister further pointed to poor road access as one of the issues affecting tourist destinations and said roads requiring urgent attention had been submitted for consideration under government infrastructure plans.

That raises an important distinction.

The Tourism Ministry cannot personally repair every road, maintain every attraction or manage every historic site.

But it is responsible for policy direction, coordination, advocacy and oversight within the tourism sector.

That is where the question of performance becomes relevant.

Critics say the sector needs more than workshops

The strongest criticism of the Minister has come from within Ghana’s creative and tourism conversation.

Ghanaian broadcaster Austine Woode publicly criticised Abla Dzifa Gomashie’s performance during a Joy FM Showbiz Roundtable in August 2026.

He argued that the Ministry had not yet produced enough tangible interventions that would significantly affect people working in the industry.

Woode specifically raised concerns about the stalled Kumasi theatre project and questioned whether enough practical work was being done to move the sector forward.

He described the Minister as having “failed” in his assessment and argued that stakeholder engagements and workshops needed to translate into visible results.

Those are his views, not an established fact that the Minister has failed.

But they raise a legitimate public-interest question:

How should the performance of a Tourism Minister be measured?

Is tourism promotion enough?

Ghana has become increasingly skilled at promoting its attractions.

There are tourism campaigns, festivals, exhibitions, international engagements and destination-marketing initiatives.

The Ministry says it has adopted a domestic-first, global-next strategy aimed at encouraging Ghanaians to explore their own country while strengthening Ghana’s international tourism appeal.

The Ministry has also highlighted initiatives including the Ghana Tourism Marketplace, Ghana Tourism Investment Platform, Afro Gastro Festival and other programmes.

It has pointed to Ghana’s first Tourism Satellite Account, the UNESCO Culture|2030 Indicators Programme and Ghana’s successful bid to host the 70th Session of the UN Tourism Commission for Africa in 2027 as part of its work.

But promotion can only take tourism so far.

If a destination is promoted heavily but visitors arrive to poor roads, inadequate toilets, weak signage or deteriorating facilities, the marketing can create expectations that the destination struggles to meet.

The problem of heritage sites

Ghana’s castles and forts are among its most important tourism assets.

They are also sites of enormous historical importance.

Yet the government has acknowledged concerns surrounding encroachment and the condition of heritage areas.

In August 2026, Minister Gomashie called for illegal structures around forts and castles to be removed, warning that encroachment threatens the beauty, integrity and long-term preservation of the sites.

She also said stronger engagement with surrounding communities was necessary because residents needed to understand why protecting the sites mattered.

This highlights another challenge.

Heritage protection is not simply about putting a fence around a monument.

It requires communities, traditional authorities, local assemblies, tourism agencies and central government to work together.

Ghana cannot afford to let attractions become photographs of what they used to be

A tourist attraction should not only be famous because of its history.

It must be capable of functioning as a visitor destination today.

That means basic facilities.

Clean surroundings.

Safe access.

Clear information.

Professional guides.

Good customer service.

Interesting activities.

Reliable transportation.

Proper maintenance.

And a reason for visitors to stay longer or return.

The NDPC’s tourism development document identifies many of these weaknesses, including inadequate washrooms, restaurants and accommodation at some sites, poor access roads, gaps in signage and interpretation, insufficient conservation funding and weak maintenance and service standards.

These are not merely aesthetic concerns.

They can directly affect tourism revenue and local employment.

The Tourism Minister’s defence is that the problems are bigger than the Ministry

There is also a case to be made for the Ministry.

Tourism does not operate in isolation.

Roads belong to the broader infrastructure system.

Some attractions are managed by agencies outside the Ministry.

Private businesses operate hotels, restaurants and transport services.

Local assemblies have responsibilities.

Traditional authorities control or influence land and community matters.

The Minister has therefore argued that tourism development requires cooperation across institutions.

She has also said that road improvements to tourism sites have been raised with the government and that investment and infrastructure development remain priorities.

This means judging the Ministry’s performance requires separating what it directly controls from what depends on other agencies.

But accountability cannot stop at explanations

That is where the debate becomes important.

It is understandable that a Tourism Minister cannot personally fix every problem in Ghana’s tourism industry.

However, the public can reasonably ask what measurable improvements should occur during a minister’s tenure.

How many neglected sites have been restored?

How many attractions have received new facilities?

How many roads to major tourist destinations have actually improved?

How many heritage sites have been protected from encroachment?

How many jobs have been created?

How much more are local communities earning from tourism?

How many visitors are staying longer?

How many destinations outside the traditional tourism hotspots are attracting significant numbers?

These are the questions that can turn political promises into measurable accountability.

Ghana’s tourism numbers tell only part of the story

The 2025 tourism figures provide encouraging evidence of demand.

But visitor numbers alone cannot tell the entire story.

A country can attract more tourists while some attractions remain poorly maintained.

It can generate billions in tourism receipts while individual communities around tourist sites receive limited economic benefits.

It can promote dozens of destinations while visitors continue to concentrate around a small number of major attractions.

Indeed, the Tourism Minister reported that the 10 most visited attractions accounted for almost 77 per cent of domestic tourism site visits in 2025.

That concentration itself raises a question:

What is being done to turn Ghana’s lesser-known attractions into viable destinations?

The real test may be what happens outside Accra

Tourism has the potential to spread economic activity beyond the country’s major urban centres.

A well-developed attraction can create opportunities for tour guides, food vendors, hotels, transport operators, artisans, farmers and small businesses.

But that only happens when visitors actually come.

And visitors need a reason to come.

That requires investment in the entire tourism chain—not just the attraction itself.

A waterfall without proper access may remain a beautiful secret.

A historic site without interpretation may leave visitors informed only by what they already knew.

A cultural destination without accommodation may become a short stop rather than a multi-day experience.

So, has the Tourism Minister failed?

That conclusion should not be presented as an established fact.

There are documented achievements and measurable tourism growth, including increased international arrivals, higher tourism receipts, growth in domestic visits and new policy initiatives.

At the same time, there are documented structural problems involving infrastructure, maintenance, conservation, accessibility and visitor experience.

And there is public criticism from industry voices, including Austine Woode, who argues that the Ministry needs to deliver more tangible results.

The fairest question, therefore, may not be simply whether Abla Dzifa Gomashie has failed.

It is this:

Has the Ministry’s work so far been enough to close the gap between Ghana’s enormous tourism potential and the actual experience offered at many of its destinations?

That is a question the Minister, tourism agencies and stakeholders will ultimately have to answer through results.

Because Ghana does not lack attractions.

It does not lack history.

It does not lack culture.

It does not lack natural beauty.

What Ghana needs is the ability to turn those assets into well-maintained, accessible, properly managed and economically productive destinations.

Until that gap is closed, the country’s tourism story will continue to contain an uncomfortable contradiction:

Ghana has the attractions tourists want to see—but too many of them still need the investment, maintenance and management required to make the experience match the promise.