Ghana at WTM London 2024, showcasing culture, heritage & holiday appeal
The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) is making waves at this year’s World Travel Market (WTM) London, one of the tourism industry’s largest and most prestigious gatherings.
Leading the Ghanaian contingent is Ekow Sampson, Deputy GTA CEO of Operations, who highlighted the country’s impressive tourism offerings and the strong interest shown by global travel professionals, media and industry giants.
In an interview with VoyagesAfriq, Mr. Sampson shared that the engagement at Ghana’s exhibition booth has been highly positive, with strong interest from market players, tour operators, and media outlets. “So far, it’s been very positive in terms of engagements with the market and tour operators, even media and interactions with other big giants in the market, and we are looking forward to more operators coming to the stand,” he remarked.
Ghana is promoting a diverse range of experiences to attract global visitors, particularly from the UK and US. “We sell culture and, of course, heritage and historical offerings,” Sampson noted. A major highlight of the country’s tourism strategy is the popular “December in GH” campaign, which promotes Ghana as a premier holiday destination during the festive season. Targeting third-generation Ghanaians between the ages of 18 and 39 living in the US and UK, the GTA aims to entice them back to their roots with vibrant December activities. According to Mr. Sampson, “Already the numbers that are coming in December are very massive, and we get most of the people from the UK and US markets.”
The UK market remains a crucial source of tourism for Ghana, showing a steady growth in arrivals since the pandemic. In 2022, approximately 43,000 visitors from the UK arrived in Ghana, and this number surged to 52,000 in 2023. The GTA aims to reach pre-pandemic levels of 69,000 UK arrivals, and Mr. Sampson is optimistic: “Looking at the feedback that we are getting, it’s likely we can achieve that.”
An exciting development for the UK-Ghana travel link came with Virgin Atlantic’s announcement to resume flights to Ghana in May 2025. Speaking on the news, Sampson shared his enthusiasm: “The UK market is one of the big areas that we get our arrivals from, so, if Virgin Atlantic is coming back, it is a positive news. It also means that a lot of travelers will come to Ghana, and again, we are looking forward to working with them to promote the destination.”
