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Ghana’s Outbound Tourism Generates GH¢4 Billion as Road Travel and Informal Trips Dominate 2023 Ghana’s Outbound Tourism Generates GH¢4 Billion as Road Travel and Informal Trips Dominate 2023

Ghana’s outbound tourism sector marked a significant milestone in 2023, recording 470,806 outbound visitors and generating a total expenditure of GH¢4.0 billion. These findings, released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) in its latest Domestic and Outbound Tourism Survey (DOTS), offer a detailed snapshot of Ghanaians’ cross-border travel patterns and spending, providing valuable insights for Africa’s travel industry professionals seeking to capture the evolving Ghanaian market.

The DOTS, focused on “Outbound Same-day and Overnight Visitors,” was conducted throughout 2023 and serves as a robust tool for understanding how Ghanaians plan, spend, and experience travel. The survey’s results are especially relevant for policy makers, investors, and service providers eager to tailor offerings in line with current trends and traveler preferences.

Visitor and Expenditure Patterns Unveiled

The breakdown of outbound travel reveals two distinct segments: 77,501 same-day visitors and 393,305 overnight visitors. While same-day travelers spent approximately GH¢59.8 million, overnight visitors contributed a substantial GH¢3.4 billion to outbound tourism expenditure. This underscores the economic weight of longer trips and the potential for targeted products that cater to overnight stays and extended cross-border experiences.

The data show that same-day outbound travel was predominantly motivated by business and professional purposes (33.8%) and visits to friends and relatives. In contrast, overnight trips were mainly driven by social reasons, with the majority of travelers attending funerals (23%) or visiting friends and relatives. This highlights the strong role of family and cultural obligations in shaping Ghana’s cross-border travel trends, a feature that travel professionals can leverage when designing packages and marketing materials.

Regional and Destination Insights

West Africa remains the preferred region for Ghana’s outbound travelers, reflecting both proximity and cultural ties. Among the destinations, Togo emerged as the top country visited, followed by Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, and Burkina Faso. The survey also revealed regional variations within Ghana itself: the Ashanti Region recorded the highest number of same-day outbound visitors each quarter, while the Greater Accra Region consistently led in overnight outbound travel. These regional dynamics present opportunities for targeted promotion and partnership with local operators.

Demographics and Modalities

The GSS report shed light on the profiles of outbound travelers. Men accounted for 52% of same-day travelers, while women made up 48%. The overnight segment saw women slightly outnumbering men. The dominant age group across both categories was 25-44 years, signaling a strong engagement among economically active, working-age Ghanaians. This demographic is particularly attractive for travel providers, as it represents consumers with the means and motivation to travel, both for professional and personal reasons.

Almost all same-day trips were undertaken by road transport, with buses, minibuses, and bicycles as the main choices. The vast majority of these trips—about 94%—were self-arranged, while only a small fraction (4.6%) was organized through tour packages. This highlights the highly informal nature of cross-border travel in Ghana, suggesting significant room for growth in packaged and organized travel services, as well as opportunities to educate consumers on the benefits of structured itineraries, safety, and value-added experiences.

For outbound overnight travel, road remained the most popular mode, but air travel also played a notable role for longer journeys. The pattern of expenditure showed that nearly 90% of spending was classified as on-trip, covering essentials like accommodation, food, transport, and shopping—key areas where travel businesses can innovate and upsell.

Key Spending Trends

Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu, the Government Statistician, emphasized that most of the GH¢59.8 million spent by same-day travelers occurred during the trip itself, particularly in the first quarter of the year. Among the destinations, Togo recorded the highest per capita spending, positioning it as a lucrative market for regional collaborations and cross-border product development. For overnight travelers, consistent expenditure on accommodation, meals, and other travel-related services points to strong demand for quality offerings and opportunities for hospitality providers, transport operators, and destination managers.

Strategic Implications for Africa’s Travel Sector

The DOTS findings reinforce tourism’s status as one of Ghana’s—and Africa’s—fastest-growing sectors, driving jobs, investment, and international engagement. However, Dr. Iddrisu noted the absence of structured national data until now, which previously limited the ability to understand and optimize outbound tourism. This new data-driven approach allows for better policy formulation, more targeted marketing, and informed investment decisions.

For travel industry professionals, the survey highlights several actionable insights:

  • There is rising demand among working-age Ghanaians for both short and extended outbound trips, with family, business, and cultural reasons driving travel.
  • The prevalence of informal, self-arranged travel suggests a gap in the market for innovative tour packages, cross-border partnerships, and value-added services.
  • West African destinations, especially Togo, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, and Burkina Faso, remain top priorities for outbound promotion and collaborative product development.
  • Regional differences within Ghana offer clues for localized marketing and the development of tailored itineraries based on the unique profiles of travelers from Ashanti, Greater Accra, and other regions.

As Ghana’s outbound tourism sector continues to evolve, the focus for Africa’s travel professionals should be on tapping into the country’s energetic, youthful, and increasingly mobile population. Offering flexible, relevant, and trustworthy travel solutions can help capture the growing cross-border market, while the new data from GSS provides the foundation for more strategic planning and sustainable growth across the continent.