By Fynn Kusi ADJEI
Tourism policy and investment in Ghana are at a critical juncture. Although private investment in tourism and hospitality infrastructure is increasing and promotional efforts abound, much of the policy direction remains disconnected from the structural and developmental challenges confronting host communities.
One must ask: although Ghana has a 15-year national tourism development plan (2013–2027), how locally driven is it in addressing the distinct challenges and needs of specific regions?
How transparent is the plan, and to what extent are ordinary Ghanaians even aware of its existence—unlike in countries where such strategic documents are widely disseminated and operationalized through clearly defined regional blocs and local tourism development bodies, as is the case in British Columbia and elsewhere?
Tourism must be more than a performance for outsiders or experiences curated to the tastes of foreign visitors. It must be grounded in sound policy, aligned with local development goals, and evaluated by its effect on livelihoods and public infrastructure.
It must also engage both local and international visitors. Ghanaians should be drawn to explore and learn from the country’s diverse cultural and ecological landscapes—just as international visitors are.
Through my work and travel, I have seen how community-based tourism fosters real development. In such contexts, tourism is not merely aesthetic; it is ethical, participatory, and responsive to community needs. These experiences reinforce my conviction that Ghana can and must do better.
Tourism in Ghana must transcend elite-centric models and abstract visions. It must be reshaped through grounded, culturally respectful, and community-led approaches. The community—its history, identity, and rhythms—is not a backdrop but the foundation.
Those shaping tourism policy or operating within the sector must regard themselves not only as service providers or entrepreneurs but as stakeholders in national development. Their decisions must reflect a moral obligation to reduce the burdens of the communities from which they profit.
This reflection forms part of a broader discourse on how Ghana’s tourism strategy must evolve—not through spectacle or superficial branding, but through thoughtful planning that centers rural livelihoods, infrastructure, cultural integrity, and policy coherence.
Tourism’s transformative potential
My lived experiences, primarily in rural Ghana and later in urban settings within and beyond the country, have reinforced my belief in tourism’s potential to foster social change and economic development—particularly in rural Ghana.
Tourism as a tool for rural development must be a government priority and should engage the minds of policymakers, elected officials, and tourism and hospitality entrepreneurs. This approach is known as rural tourism development. Tourism can transform lives: alleviating poverty, improving livelihoods, and enhancing community resilience.
Planning with awareness of risk
Given the well-documented adverse impacts of tourism, I advocate for strategic planning informed by best practices and scholarship in tourism and destination development. Policymakers and tourism stakeholders in Ghana must engage with global contexts where tourism is being reimagined both as a tool for and a process of development—across urban and rural spaces.
Toward authenticity and co-creation
Several approaches currently implemented in Ghana continue to reflect outdated assumptions and externally imposed priorities. It is time to reimagine tourism development through a more just, grounded, and community-centered lens.
What aspects of indigenous history and culture are meaningfully integrated into eco-resorts and other rural tourist facilities? Why are exotic, non-native animals introduced to attract visitors—and what do they represent? What meanings are embedded in the local arts and architecture on display? Are these stories presented with authenticity and completeness? These are not peripheral questions.
Many eco-resorts highlight serene landscapes and exotic animals; however, they often overlook the lived histories and cultural presence of the indigenous communities whose lands they occupy.
Tourists pass through, yet local stories remain untold. Too often, the experience is commodified. Without meaningful connections to community identity and lived experience, such facilities risk becoming culturally hollow. Today, a destination’s competitiveness increasingly depends on its ability to preserve and express indigeneity.
We must rethink hospitality and tourism. The prevailing laissez-faire posture, often framed through capitalist and neocolonial lenses, must give way to co-creation with the indigenous communities on whose land these ventures operate. Anything less reflects elitist thinking and colonial explorer sentiment.
The simulacra and simulated landscapes must give way to authenticity. Tourism must be rooted in place—built on the lived histories, meanings, and rhythms of local communities—and support sustainability that delivers real and lasting benefits for the people whose lives and environments are marketed as experiences.
Rurality is not adversity
Even when located in rural areas, tourism must not frame rurality as adversity. Rural life should be understood in its full complexity—its challenges, its resilience, and its regenerative power. These communities once maintained clean environments through cultural taboos and communal stewardship—now increasingly threatened by commercial exploitation.
Planning for inclusion and transformation
Planning must be coherent and respectful of cultural and ecological systems. While investors follow market logic, DMOs and governments must treat these ventures as opportunities for community transformation—not just profit.
Tourism must be embedded within a national development agenda that connects with infrastructure, education, health, policing, security, immigration, data, the environment, and culture. Ad hoc, incoherent, or isolated planning risks disconnecting tourism from the foundational systems that make destinations viable, meaningful, and attractive. Every tourism initiative should be designed with the rural–urban development nexus in mind.
Socializing and dignifying tourism
This is the transformative work tourism must undertake. Ghana needs planners, thinkers, and community-oriented leaders—not showmen. It needs a vision that promotes resilience while resisting objectification and extraction. When tourism is shaped by neocolonial frameworks, it becomes a vehicle of exploitation rather than transformation.
Both domestic and international tourism require attention. Tourism does not succeed in a vacuum. Destination development is not branding or a marketing campaign. It is the creation of meaningful experiences, supported by infrastructure, cultural authenticity, and—above all—dignity. It demands collaboration, not intrusion; inclusion, not tokenism.
Toward sustainable, ethical, and competitive tourism development
Tourism must serve development. Rurality should be valued, not portrayed as hardship. DMOs and storytellers must move beyond surface-level aesthetics. Sustainability must be authentic—not driven by arrival numbers. Real change requires planning, local leadership, and the political will to protect cultural and ecological integrity. Only then will tourism become a journey for the visitor and a source of dignity for the host.
>>>the writer is a Ghanaian public interest advocate with several years of hands-on experience in tourism destination operations in Ghana. He is currently based in Canada. His interests cut across many sectors of the Ghanaian economy. However, his current work reflects a strong commitment to inclusive tourism planning and building global partnerships that support local development and sustainable travel practices. Email address: [email protected]
