A few weeks ago, I was scrolling on TikTok when a video popped up on my feed in which a creator talked about how he feels we, as a country, are losing our “Ghanaianess”. He spoke about how we are losing crucial parts of our culture, from our language to our fashion. He suggested that this may be due to social media and globalisation, and I agree with his take.
As someone who has never travelled to her hometown, this got me thinking about how his take is also directly linked to the fact that domestic tourism isn’t something we, as a people, involve ourselves in. Ask the average Ghanaian about a place they would like to visit and they’d be quick to respond, “The Eiffel Tower” or “the Burj Khalifa”. Understandable, because we all want to see the sights and wonders of the world, but how about the beauty right here at home?
When we do travel within the country, it’s mostly for social reasons; we are attending a funeral in another region, it’s our year group’s reunion, or it’s a work trip to Kumasi. Official data from the Ghana Tourism Authority shows that domestic tourism numbers sit at 1.79 million annually, while we have a population of over 34 million.
When we think of travelling for leisure, we rarely think of staying within our country. And that’s where the problem stems from. How can we hope to retain our heritage when we barely visit the places that hold this culture? How can we expect to remember the language when we do not know our way home?
All this shouldn’t be the case when the Ghana Tourism Authority has many campaigns running that market domestic tourism, for example, the See Ghana, Eat Ghana, Wear Ghana and Feel Ghana campaign, which encourages us to travel to more places within the country, try out more local cuisines and listen to more of the local folklore and music.
Also, in Cape Coast, there is the #VisitCapeCoast campaign, which aims to make the city a hub of attraction for not only international tourists but also citizens within the country and locals of the city.
Even with all these different initiatives, the people do not seem to be encouraged to tour the country. This may be because of the current income constraints that many may face. Travel seems like a luxury, considering that travelling comfortably between regions using road transport is out of the question, not only because of the long hours but also because most of our roads are under construction or need construction, causing trips to be bumpy in addition to being long.
This leaves air travel, but plane tickets are costly, and not every region within our country has an airport.
Even after we somehow manage to travel to these places, there is the issue of hotel prices and how we are charged the same prices as foreigners. These high rates discourage many from travelling.
Some people also argue that the campaigns feel like they are tailored more for people in the diaspora than they are for locals, and that disconnect is what has stopped them from involving themselves in them. If these problems aren’t fixed, then we run the risk of completely losing ourselves along with these under-travelled sites.
Recently, the President announced plans for new or regional airport developments for regions such as the Upper West and Bono. The new Bolgatanga Airport is also projected to be completed in 24 months. This would cut down on long hours of travel and encourage inter-regional tourism.
To deal with the issue of high hotel prices, hotels can introduce subsidised tiered pricing for local residents. The Tourism Authority can also organise budget-friendly weekend group tours for interested locals. Regional exchange trips could be adapted into our school curriculum to spark the younger generation’s interest in travel and also allow them to learn about different cultures from within our country.
We must remember that, as a people, our identity is never truly lost. It waits in every village, every festival and every story. We haven’t lost our culture; we have just stopped visiting it.
The “Ghanaianess” we claim to be losing is waiting for us, and all we need to revive it is to take a bus somewhere to find it.
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