Government must take the lead in developing Ghana’s tourism infrastructure if the country is to attract meaningful private-sector investment into the industry, tourism academic Dr Richmond Yeboah has said.
Yeboah, who is with the Department of Tourism Management at Cape Coast Technical University and serves as Vice Dean for International Programmes and Institutional Linkages, said private investors would naturally follow once the state develops attractions and creates sufficient visitor traffic.
Speaking on the Asaase Breakfast Show from Cape Coast on Friday (4 August), he argued that tourism development had often been misunderstood as a private-sector responsibility when the state must first provide the infrastructure that makes private investment commercially viable.
“Investors will not put money into tourism if government or the public sector does not make an investment in terms of tourism infrastructure,” he said.
According to him, government must deliberately develop and maintain tourist attractions, while private businesses provide supporting services such as hotels, restaurants, transport, tour operations and guiding services.
He cited Ghana’s forts and castles as an example, saying several historically significant facilities were deteriorating despite their potential to attract visitors.
Yeboah said he had been informed that Ghana has about 28 forts, many of which require substantial restoration.
He singled out Fort William in Cape Coast, noting that although the site is referenced during tours of Cape Coast Castle, it has remained neglected for years.
“The point is that governments must be deliberate, intentional in developing the tourism product. And once that is done, you get people visiting,” he said.
He explained that increased visitor numbers would create a chain of private-sector opportunities, from accommodation and restaurants to transportation and tour services.
“When the private sector sees the numbers that people are coming to Cape Coast, unfortunately they don’t have accommodation, then the private man or investor will build accommodation for the tourists who need them.”
Yeboah said the same demand would encourage investment in restaurants and transport businesses while creating employment for young people as tour guides and travel operators.
He therefore distinguished between what he described as tourism infrastructure, which should principally be enabled by the state, and tourism superstructure, including commercial facilities provided by the private sector.
The tourism lecturer also criticised what he described as inadequate public investment in tourism product development.
He said a significant proportion of public expenditure on tourism is absorbed by compensation, leaving limited resources for the development and restoration of attractions.
Yeboah pointed to the rehabilitation of the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park as evidence that investment in tourist sites could generate strong visitor interest.
He said Ghana needed to move beyond viewing tourism largely through the lens of entertainment and recognise its wider economic potential.
“Tourism is not entertainment. Tourism is big business globally,” he said.
He added that tourism could generate economic activity beyond the attractions themselves by supporting employment, hospitality businesses, transport operators and other local enterprises.
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