By Wisdom JONNY-NUEKPE
Government has reiterated commitments to position the country as a hub for international summits, business conventions and high-profile gatherings.
Addressing parliament in his first State of the Nation Address yesterday after resuming office on January 7, 2025, President John Dramani Mahama said government will strategically promote Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism to diversify Ghana’s tourism offerings.
“We must capitalise on this unique advantage to maximise our benefits and strengthen our reputation as the Centre of the World,” the president added.
The global MICE market and Ghana’s untapped potential
Indeed, the global MICE tourism market – which forms part of business tourism – is expected to reach an estimated US$1.3trillion by 2028.
However, tourism sector stakeholders have consistently expressed concern over the state of the country’s infrastructure – a key factor that drives the success of MICE.
Currently, the National Theatre and Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) have the capacity to host only 1,500 and 2,500 delegates respectively.
Mobile facilities and structures – including the Grand Arena and Fantasy Dome – within the AICC can host between 3,000 to 5,000 people at full capacity.
But these facilities, stakeholders said, cannot compete with those in South Africa and other countries on the continent.
Though over one million visitors were said to have visited Ghana in 2019 for the ‘Year of Return’ according to the Ghana Tourism Authority, the number of people who specifically came to the country for MICE were not segmented.
A senior expert on communications in Africa at the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), Kojo Bentum-Williams, agreed that Ghana must leverage its safety, security, good business ethics and transport connectivity in the sub-region to become the hub for business tourism and MICE destination.
Though revenue from MICE in the global tourism space reached more than US$800billion by 2023 according to the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, Africa’s share stood at only 3.3 percent while Europe is at 55 percent.
It is estimated that close to 40 percent of business and conference delegates return to those destinations as leisure tourists, bringing their families with them.
MICE in Africa and growth projections
South Africa with its Johannesburg Convention-Expo Centre, which has a capacity of 20,000 people, has been making strong statements in taking a slice of this business tourism market on the continent. South Africa alone has about four convention centres ranked among the continent’s top-10.
MICE is a big revenue earner for African countries: including South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Ethiopia, Egypt and Morocco. In South Africa, there are around 211,000 national, regional and international MICE events hosted each year.
Rwanda also increased its revenue for MICE from US$74million in 2018 to over US$150million in 2023.
With the MICE industry forming about 10 percent of the overall tourism sector globally, it is reported that MICE delegates spend about five times regular tourists’ expenditure.
