Known as the shining black star of African and currently on the top list of tourism destinations in West Africa, Ghana, which is famous for its hospitality and attraction sites such as the forts and castles, monkey sanctuaries, beautiful waterfalls, etc, has announced the yearly ‘December In GH’, a tourism event that brings people from all over the globe together.
According to the organisers of the event, Ghana is one of the few places in the world where you can find Africans from all over the globe. “The gateway to West Africa.”
Speaking on the forthcoming event, which is billed to commence on December 1, 2023 to mid-January 2024 in Accra, Marketing Director At Ghana Tourism Authority, Roberta Dawson–Amoah, during an interactive cocktail session themed ‘Experience Ghana’ at Iwalewa Gallery Of Arts Lekki Lagos on September 5, 2023 said: “Nigeria is our major source market which explain why we had to bring Experience Ghana here to throw light on the forthcoming December In GH.”
Dawson–Amoah revealed that December has always been a time when Ghanaians around the globe make their way for the December in GH season.
The Tourism expert who has worked in the sector for 19-years said the idea is to promote destination Ghana such that puts the country on the globe as the preferred tourism destination. She said: “Beyond tourism destinations to visit attraction centres, the focus is now on creating meaningful experiences for tourists through events. This is the basis of ‘December in GH’ where African families around the globe come to Ghana to experience a firsthand Christmas feel in Ghana.”
Dawson–Amoah noted that this kind of event is used to position Ghana as the Mecca to Africa. “The gateway to Africa is Ghana as we have both the natural and manmade attraction sites. There are also shopping experiences in an open-air market where you get to bargain with the locals to buy your items.”
She however revealed that December in GH, started in 2019 to commemorate the end of the 400 years when the first black enslaved people arrived in the US. “This is beyond bringing people to Ghana to reconnect with their roots but to also have meaningful engagement, to have fun and interact amongst themselves. This year’s event, which is its 4th edition, has seen remarkable improvement in the number of arrivals and activities put together. Now we have also endorsed over 50 event organisers who want to participate in the 2023 December in GH. So this has brought a lot of excitement to destination Ghana.”
On what to expect at the event, Dawson–Amoah said December in GH would feature summits, musical concerts, fashion shows, Diaspora engagement, Give back to your Community where people come together to engage in community service, amongst others. “Generally we have influx from the US, UK, the Caribbean and people from all over Africa.”
The highlight of the tourism event would be the extent at which it would boost the country’s economy. Dawson–Amoah noted that “when the tourists come, they book accommodation, use transports, buy food, souvenirs etc. and all of these leave money into the economy and those who are involved in the provision of these services also get employment which is a tourism contribution to the economy of Ghana. The event also put the country out there such that people come from all over the globe for investment opportunities. All of these add up to build the economy. The multiplying effect of tourism is that when one visitor comes into the country, the woman who sells by the roadside gets her share, the taxi driver gets his too – it trickles down.”
