Ghana to open Tourism Hub in New York

The Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr Ibrahim Mohammed Awal has announced the formal opening of a tourism and cultural hub in New York to serve the North American market and promote Ghana tourism.

He made the announcement at the Destination Ghana Networking event held in New York City.

The Destination Ghana campaign was launched earlier this year in London, United Kingdom, to promote Ghana as a tourist destination.

The campaign builds on the success of Ghana's Year of Return campaign, which encouraged the diaspora to visit Ghana and helped boost international arrivals to over 1.1 million in 2019.

This year’s event, organized by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture, the Ghana Tourism Authority, and the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, brought together business leaders and African diaspora leaders to network and learn more about tourism, business and investment opportunities in Ghana.

It also provided an opportunity to interact with the community and learn more about their needs when visiting Ghana.

“We are building a Ghana brand that will be a hub for tourism and culture in West Africa. We need your support to build the Ghana brand and drive a lot of tourists from New York to Ghana every year,” Dr Awal stated.

The minister also assured that important tourist sites were being renovated and modernised to provide a better travel experience.

The Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park was closed early this year for renovations, according to him, would reopen next year.

"By March of next year, we will have a fully furnished and modernised Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, the museum is being renovated and expanded,” he emphasized.

On his part, The Consul General of the Ghana Mission in New York, Ambassador Atta Boafo, assured that the processes for obtaining visas would be simplified and that Ghanaians abroad would be able to use both their Ghana passport and their U.S. passport when travelling to and from Ghana with ease.