700,000 tourists arrived in 2008

Last year, CAN 2008 sank US$824,000 into Ghana’s economy and increased tourist arrivals by 19%.

A recent survey undertaken by the Ghana Tourist Board on the impact of CAN 2008 on the country’s tourism industry indicates that more than US$824,000 was sunk into the Ghanaian economy during the recently-held Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Ghana.

The survey, undertaken by the Ghana Tourist Board, covered about 130 accommodation facilities in the four host venues and Cape-Coast, was intended to examine the impact of the tournament on the economy through spending and hotel reservations. In all, about 187 guests were involved in the survey and they indicated that they spent on average US$4,411.40 during their 16-night stay in the hotels, tournament data from the Ghana Immigration Service indicated.

The survey report further shows that the major hotels, which have five- and four-star ratings, enjoyed high patronage with an occupancy rate of 91.4 percent, followed by three-star hotels at 90.5 percent while the two-star hotels had a 68 percent occupancy rate.

Projected tourists arrivals for last year is pegged at 698,069 with receipts in monetary value amounting to US$1.2 million, as against 586,612 arrivals in 2007 amounting to US$1.17 million.

This reflects a consistent increase in tourism revenue over the years. In 2005 the country earned US$836 million.

The income generated from these arrivals grew at an even stronger rate, 11.2% annually for the same period, hitting US$680 million in 2005.

The hospitality industry, particularly hotels, had the largest chunk of the revenue ­taking up 34 percent of the expended income, while the transportation and food sectors had 11 percent each with the entertainment industry enjoying eight per cent.

Domestic tourism last year saw a total of 417,558 arrivals to the country, comprising 303,668 residents visiting 25 tourist sites and 113, 890 non-residents patronising domestic tourism.

The figures indicate that Ghana has not yet hit the intended one million tourists target ­earmarked in 2007 to coincide with the country’s Golden Jubilee celebrations and the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery, since Ghana boasts of many landmark castles and sites used in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.

The target was developed to make tourism the leading sector of the economy through foreign exchange earnings and employment creation.

Currently, tourism is one of the fastest growing sector in the economy and is expected to grow at an average rate of 4.1 % per annum over the next two decades.

In terms of employment generation, projected figures for 2008 were 232,883 compared to the previous year’s figure of 206,091, representing a 13% growth in employment generation.