Challenges facing Ghana's tourism industry

The Unprecedented growth in the Tourism sector during the last fifty years has created major challenges in tourism marketing. As more and more areas are of the World are developed for tourism, the destination choices available to consumers continue to expand.

Destination Ghana, The most peaceful, stable, homogeneous society with rapid social and infrastructural development in west Africa must be our Unique selling Point (USP).Ghana must be favourably differentiated from its competitors like Kenya, Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, Mauritius etc.

A key component of this positioning process is the creation and management of a distinctive appealing perception or Image. Sometimes the notion people have about a brand affects the market of the brand. challenges to tourism planning in Ghana must be addressed.

1. Poor Institutional Arrangement : The separation Of public and private sector institutions involved in tourism coupled with the complications associated with it makes consensus building and partnership formation very difficult

2. Lack of Legal Backing for Plans : Tourism plans implantation gets mixed up with unnecessary legal battles on issues of land acquisition, prolonged period of time.The Korle lagoon project in Accra is a classic example.

3. Availability of Funds to tourism projects: Funds is very crucial to the sustainability of tourism development.

4.Manpower Constraints: Ghana has numerous institutions offering HND and Degree Courses in Tourism and related programs, yet Ghana’s tourism is severely constrained by shortage of qualified staff needed for plan formulation and implantation. Catering, lodging, travel and tours, tour guiding inject more professionalism and capacity building.

There is therefore the need to work thoroughly towards overcoming these challenges in order to make tourism planning and development more effective in Ghana