Ghana raked in an estimated $4.34 billion in tourism receipts from 1.3 million international arrivals in 2025, the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Dzifa Abla Gomashie, has disclosed, as the tourism, culture and creative arts sector recorded growth across several key areas, including international arrivals, tourism receipts and domestic visitor numbers.
Speaking at the Government Accountability Series on Monday, August 10, 2026, Ms Gomashie outlined developments and achievements across the sector since taking office. She said the country recorded 1,303,962 international arrivals in 2025, up from 1,288,804 recorded the previous year in 2024, translating into significant revenue growth for the national economy.
She also reported a rise in domestic tourism, with visits climbing from 1.68 million recorded in 2024 to 1.79 million in 2025, representing a seven per cent year-on-year increase.
Ms Gomashie highlighted the performance of Ghana’s leading tourist sites, saying the ten most visited attractions collectively drew 1,377,588 visitors in 2025, representing roughly 27 per cent of all domestic tourism site visits recorded nationwide during the year. The top attractions were the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, Kakum National Park, Bunso Arboretum Eco Park, Cape Coast Castle, Manhyia Palace, Kumasi Zoo, Accra Zoo, Elmina Castle, Shai Hills Resource Reserve and the Agri-Botanical Garden.
She noted that only three of the ten attractions fall directly under the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, with the rest managed through other institutions — figures she said underscored the continued importance of the sites to both domestic and international tourism, and the need for sustained investment in their development and management going forward.
On the creative arts, Ms Gomashie said a proposed fund, whose modalities are being finalised with input from the Attorney-General’s Ministry, would help drive the sector forward. “The fund is anticipated to catalyse production activity, improve content quality, create jobs, strengthen Ghana’s intellectual property for both domestic and international markets,” she said.
She also disclosed a strategic plan for the National Theatre covering 2026 to 2030, launched in March 2026 to guide the management and development of the facility. “We have successfully crafted a strategic plan 2026 to 2030 to guide the running of the National Theatre of Ghana and ensure its optimal contribution to the tourism, culture and creative arts industry,” she said, adding that a German theatre group had separately donated a 40-foot container of lighting and sound equipment to support the facility’s operations.
