The Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Abla Dzifa Gomashie, says Ghana will work to have more of the country’s cultural heritage products and practices recognised on UNESCO’s heritage platforms.
She mentioned Fugu, Adinkra symbols and traditional child-naming ceremonies among cultural practices that should receive greater recognition and preservation.
She expressed concern that traditional child-naming ceremonies were gradually being abandoned as some Ghanaians adopted practices they considered more compatible with their religious beliefs.
“One of the things that I think we are losing, and must also be on the heritage side, is child naming ceremony.”
The Minister said some elements of the traditional ceremony carry important lessons about identity, values and truthfulness and should not be discarded simply because of religious conversion.
The Minister said this at the 2026 World Tourism Day sensitisation programme in Koforidua, held under the theme “Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence to Redesign Tourism.” The World Tourism Day activities are being held alongside the Eastern Expo in Koforidua.
Abla Dzifa Gomashie also said Ghana’s emerging digital tourism economy must create opportunities for young entrepreneurs, women producing traditional crafts, tour guides, small hotel owners, food vendors, photographers, musicians and community tourism operators.
She called for investment in skills development to equip tourism professionals with competencies in hospitality, customer service, digital marketing, content creation and online customer engagement.
The Minister identified customer service as one of the major weaknesses in Ghana’s tourism industry and urged the Ghana Tourism Authority and industry associations to incorporate service delivery into their training and capacity-building programmes.
She said Ghana’s traditional culture already provides lessons in customer service through respect for elders.
According to her, tourism operators should treat visitors and clients with the same respect they would show their parents and elders.
AI should complement, not replace people
Madam Gomashie further called for Artificial Intelligence to be used to enhance human creativity, productivity and service delivery rather than simply replace workers.
She stressed the need for responsible use of technology, including protection of personal data and strengthening of cybersecurity.
She also urged stakeholders to ensure that digitalisation does not erode the authenticity of Ghanaian culture.
“Our various cultures must become our products. Technology should help us tell our stories, but those stories must remain authentic and rooted in our people, our history, our values and our identity.”
MMDCEs urged to invest in local tourism
The Minister also urged MMDCEs to identify and develop tourism facilities and attractions within their jurisdictions as a means of generating revenue and supporting local development.
She encouraged the assemblies to look beyond their budgetary allocations for tourism and explore opportunities to collaborate with the Ministry of Local Government and other institutions where viable tourism assets exist.
She further disclosed that government had approved the inclusion of roads linking tourist sites in the second phase of the Big Push infrastructure initiative.
On her part, the Eastern Regional Minister, Rita Akosua Adjei Awatey, said the theme for the celebration highlights the need for Ghana to move beyond simply promoting tourism to intelligently managing the entire tourism experience.
She noted that the Ghana Tourism Authority launched the Ghana Tourism Information System in May 2026 as part of efforts to drive digital transformation in the tourism sector stating that the region stands greater chance of benefiting immensly with its abundance tourism assets.
The Eastern Region hosted this year’s World Tourism Day activities alongside the Eastern Expo, which is bringing together tourism operators, businesses, investors, policymakers and exhibitors to showcase products and explore investment opportunities.
