Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Akwasi Agyeman has expressed fears about the continuous loss of revenue in the sector due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to him, the total revenue expected by the Tourism Authority in 2020 will be more than half less than what was recorded in 2019.
He made this revelation in a special webinar series organized by Global Media Alliance on the theme; Impact of COVID-19 on the Events and Hospitality Industries.
“Total direct revenue declared by the formal tourism sector in 2019 was $325million. This is expected to dwindle by $162.5million with an additional loss of $51.65million from the informal sector.”
He indicated that with this combined loss of revenue, the tourism sector in the country is expected to lose a cumulative revenue of up to $213.75 million
As part of measures to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, Ghana closed its borders from March 21 and this is still in force.
This has resulted in zero international arrivals into the country for 80 days where about 270,000 people were expected into the country during the period.
The country further placed a ban on public gatherings. Combining this and the aforementioned, the effects on the tourism and hospitality industry have been numerous.
By: Joel Sanco
