The Ghana Tourism Authority has begun earnest preparations for their annual Christmas and New Year program tagged “December in GH,” which is a time when the tourism industry provides different activities for both citizens of Ghana and tourists to create memories during the holiday.

The Marketing Director of the Ghana Tourism Authority, Roberta Dawson-Amoah, while speaking to a group of lifestyle and tourist influencers at an interactive cocktail session which held at the Iwalewa Gallery of Arts, Lagos, on Tuesday, said that the program, which was established in 2019, has become one of the top tourist attractions to the country as it explores the creativity and tourist attraction spots of Ghana.

Also in attendance at this event were Diallo Sumbry, the first African-American Tourism Ambassador from Ghana to the United States, Mr. Ebenezer Otoo, the founder of Adansi Travels Limited, and Madam Edna Y. Adonu, the Business Development Executive for Global Wings Travel and Tour limited

In a separate interview with ARISE NEWS, Dawson-Amoah said, “Formerly, December was a period for Ghanaians living abroad to come home, visit friends and family, make merry during the Christmas period. Then, it extended to include Africans in the diasporian communities, where during Christmas, people from different walks of life of African descent can come to Ghana to have fun, because we put together a number of activities from 1^st of December to the 2^nd week in January where we have various activities.

Dawson-Andoah said, “We started in 2019, and so, this is the fourth year. And we must say, each year brings on increased participation, increased excitement. And so, this year is no exception. 

“We’ve added more programs, we’ve expanded the activities for people to have fun and have meaningful engagement when they come for December in GH”

The marketing director went on to talk about the expanded activities, saying that the program’s activities for this year had expanded from just Accra, to Kumale, Cape Coast, Kumasi, and Tarkwa. She explained that there will be traditional festivals, fashion shows, promoter service activities, business summit engagements, as well as musical and art festivals, including Afro Future.

Diallo Sumbry, while speaking to the media, also spoke highly of the event, saying, “One of the things about December in Ghana, like I say, it’s the centre of excellence. If you are a progressive person and you understand any piece of Pan-Africanism, if you believe in the Africa free trade agreement, if you believe in African people all over the world working together, becoming stronger by working together, if you believe in a united Africa, Ghana is a representative of that in December because it is a melting pot. You’re going to find African people from all over the world.”

The marketing director of the GTA then described the annual event as a “revenue generation point for the (Ghana’s) economy, and that is tourism’s contribution to the building of our economy.” She also referred to it as “tourism’s way of creating jobs in the system,” saying that due to the multiplying effect of tourism, everybody got their cut from an increase in tourists during the event.

Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi