The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) has pledged to intensify efforts to promote domestic tourism, cultural heritage, and creative enterprise nationwide.
This commitment was made by the CEO Maame Efua Houadjeto at the Taste 69@69 event, held at The National Theatre as part of Ghana Month celebrations to mark 69 years of independence.
The event showcased 69 indigenous Ghanaian dishes, highlighting the country’s rich culinary heritage and promoting gastronomy tourism as a key pillar of Ghana’s tourism development agenda.
The celebration also featured a two-day “Made in Ghana” food exhibition aimed at promoting the country’s rich culinary heritage.
The GTA aims to position Ghanaian cuisine at the center of national celebrations, driving local economic growth and promoting cultural exchange.
The CEO stressed that food is a strong expression of Ghana’s national identity, history, and community, with every Region having its unique taste, preparation style, and story making reference to traditional dishes like waakye, fufu, banku, tuo zaafi, kenkey, mpotompoto, and abenkwan that have the potential to become global brands if promoted deliberately.
Madam Afua also called to action for stakeholders to redefine how Ghana promotes its tourism, culture, and creative ecosystem among the local people and foreign tourists with an ongoing initiatives to encourage restaurants, hotels and households to champion locally prepared meals and showcase Ghanaian dishes to both domestic and international audiences.
“Food remains a powerful cultural connector for Ghanaians both at home and in the diaspora, pointing out that traditional meals such as Jollof rice, boiled yam and sweet potato preparations are widely enjoyed across the world.
She however disclosed how they Authority is working with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts to reimagine, reposition, and re-energize the sector for a global future.
The Sector Minister, Abla Dzifa Gomashie in her remarks revealed that the government is intensifying efforts to retrieve stolen and illegally acquired Ghanaian artefacts from abroad.
The Minister noted that some countries have already expressed willingness to return items believed to have been taken from Ghana, and authorities are working with traditional leaders, researchers and other stakeholders to identify these objects and facilitate their repatriation.
