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0 NewsGhana, Latest Updates and Breaking News of Ghana, News Ghana, https://www.newsghana.com.gh/think-tank-eyes-us25-billion-from-ghanas-coastline/A policy research organisation is urging Ghana to develop its 540-kilometre coastline into Africa’s premier beach tourism hub, projecting US$25 billion in economic activity by 2040.
C-NERGY, in the latest edition of its Thought Leadership Series, argues that Ghana has spent years successfully marketing itself as a heritage and cultural destination while leaving its Atlantic coastline largely underdeveloped as a commercial tourism asset. The paper, titled “From Labadi to Punta Cana: How Ghana’s Coastline Could Become Africa’s Next Global Beach Destination,” calls for a deliberate strategic shift from history-driven tourism to a broader leisure economy built around beaches, resorts, water sports, festivals and hospitality infrastructure.
Ghana welcomed approximately 1.29 million international visitors last year, generating around US$4.8 billion in tourism revenue, the highest in the sector’s history. C-NERGY argues those numbers, impressive as they are, represent a fraction of what a fully developed coastal tourism economy could produce. The organisation projects that strategic coastline development could attract at least 10 million international visitors annually and support more than 1.2 million jobs across hospitality, transport, construction, entertainment, food services, retail, sports and creative industries.
The knock-on economic effects, the paper argues, would extend well beyond hotels and beaches. A thriving coastal tourism corridor could trigger airport expansion, domestic aviation growth, road infrastructure investment, real estate development, fisheries modernisation, and the emergence of local manufacturing linked to hospitality supply chains.
C-NERGY draws a direct comparison with Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, which transformed a relatively undeveloped coastline into one of the world’s most recognizable tourism brands through targeted investment in infrastructure, hospitality ecosystems, air connectivity and destination marketing. The paper argues that Ghana could pursue a comparable model, adapted to African culture and conditions.
The organisation identifies several beaches already possessing natural tourism credentials: Labadi, Busua, Ada, Anomabo, Cape Coast, Axim and Keta among them. It argues that Ghana is not starting from scratch. The country already has political stability, improving road infrastructure, growing international air connectivity, English-language accessibility, cultural vibrancy and a strong global diaspora network. Its geographic position within reach of Europe, North America and other African markets further reduces the barriers to building a competitive coastal tourism industry.
The paper frames the shift as a transition from “Gateway to Africa” to “Get-Away” destination, arguing that Ghana should increasingly position itself not only as a place for historical reflection and diaspora reconnection, but as a premium African leisure destination where visitors come to relax, celebrate, surf, sail and experience modern African entertainment. Heritage tourism and beach tourism, in C-NERGY’s view, are not competing propositions but complementary ones that could together make Ghana among the most visited destinations on the continent.
NewsGhana, Latest Updates and Breaking News of Ghana, News Ghana, https://www.newsghana.com.gh/think-tank-eyes-us25-billion-from-ghanas-coastline/
