As many African countries work assiduously to diversify their economies away from natural resource wealth, one sector many are looking to as far more cost effective to develop with promises of very high return on investment and huge employment opportunities is tourism. However, some countries do not have the patience to grow the sector to full maturity.
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As the smoke from the recently concluded Ghana’s commemorative campaign the ‘Year of Return’ which was targeted at African Americans and the diaspora is yet to die down, many are calling for a reappraisal to determine the exact gains of the campaign. Ghana had in the last few years been working towards repackaging the country as a gateway for the African diaspora community, and also Africa Americans yearning to make concrete connection to the homeland. To this end, it conceptualized The Year of Return, to give vent to the need of these Africans wishing to trace their ancestry and make pilgrimages to their countries of origin, both physically and symbolically. A campaign many say has given succor to the psychological hunger of thousands of African Americans and also brought a marked rise in the country’s marketability.
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The year 2019 which was 400 years since the first slave bearing ship docked in Jamestown,Virginia, later, United States of America was adopted by the government of Ghana to give people of African descent from across the world an opportunity to make the all important visit and connect to Africa in commemoration of the historical event.
Inspite of the positive publicity the campaign has generated for the nation of Ghana, critics still questions its overall impact on the economy as many accuse the government of inflating figures just to bamboozle the people with their propaganda. An economist Dr. Peter Yeboah said that the government does not need to post false figures to justify the project because such campaigns should be a long term project that should last up to two decades; he cited the case of Dubai as example where the authorities are still marketing the city inspite of visible gains.
Others noted that various government agencies and supporters of the campaign have publicised figures such as “200,000” extra international arrivals; “1.5 million” total number of visitors for 2019; and “$1.9 billion” in revenue, but that these figures are not factual and the campaigns actual impact are yet to be ascertained.
Disputing the claims of critics, government officials remain obstinate on the positive impact made on the economy. Last year Ghana’s Tourism Minister Barbara Oteng-Gyasi said during the inauguration of a tourist centre at Anomabo, a town in the central region that, “There has been tremendous community involvement which has stimulated the local economy including hoteliers, tour operating and other related businesses.”
The Minister added that, the “Year of Return” had “cemented Ghana’s pan-African legacy and had put a global spotlight on the country and helped to position it as a historic, cultural and vibrant hub and had as well changed the narrative of what was reported about Ghana and the rest of Africa in general.”
The campaign which has helped burnish the image of Ghana as home for people of African descent has also helped to positively project the country globally as a fast growing reform minded open and democratic society. The Ghanaian government did not waste opportunity in maximizing the good press the campaign attracted.
According to official statistics from the government of Ghana, the campaign attracted multitudes of African Americans in the diaspora enabling them to make spiritual pilgrimages to Ghana to trace their ancestry and mark this morbid milestone in Black history. Furthermore, Ghana is the only country that has legally offered to resettle people of African descent in Africa.
The year-long event was designed to incentivise diaspora returnees by waiving some visa requirements and permitting people of African origin the right to apply for indefinite stays. Outside of this, marketing activities have co-opted traditional authorities as well as local and international celebrities as part of the campaign.
Ghana has been struggling to market its tourism potential with aim to project the country as a good start for historical and spiritual tourism with hope to cream off a substantial chunk from Gambia and Cape Verde being the leading tourism destinations in the West African region. Tourism sector contributed 5.5% to GDP in 2018, coming fourth after gold, cocoa and oil in terms of foreign exchange generation for the country.
Despite the positive outcomes of the campaign, economists are cautious on how this will affect local small and medium sized enterprises with some people saying that if not well managed, wealthy diasporans may bring in huge investment in tourism which could crowd out smaller enterprises owned by locals or the increased tourism could trigger inflation in the local economy. It is therefore important that domestic firms are supported and the entry and operations of foreign firms in Ghana controlled.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry