In tourism, perception is everything.
A destination spends millions persuading the world that it is welcoming, organised and worth the journey.
That is why the recent public disagreement at the top of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) deserves more than passing attention.
On October 22, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer responsible for Marketing and Special Duties, Gilbert Abeiku Aggrey, popularly known as Abeiku Santana, wrote to the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Abla Dzifa Gomashie.
He complained of “a recurring challenge” in securing access to the Chief Executive Officer, Maame Efua Houadjeto.
This, he said, had made it difficult to obtain “timely guidance, approvals, and decisions” on domestic tourism, special events and marketing.
Two days later, Madam Houadjeto replied through the Board Chairperson.
She said she was “surprised and disappointed”, insisted she operated an open-door policy and proposed five measures to strengthen executive coordination.
On November 4, the minister confirmed that the matter had been referred to the Presidency, describing the GTA as “the magnet of the tourism part of the ministry”.
At the time of writing, no decision has been announced.
Whatever the outcome, five issues deserve attention.
1. The route matters as much as the grievance
Every organisation has disagreements.
What made this one unusual was its route.
A deputy (there are three deputies at the GTA, actually) wrote to a minister about his own chief executive, and within days the correspondence was in the public domain.
Abeiku Santana insisted his intention was “not to make a personal complaint, but to highlight a communication gap”.
That may well be so. But public institutions have boards precisely so that such matters can be resolved internally, quietly and quickly.
When internal channels are bypassed, or appear to be inadequate, the problem becomes larger than the original complaint.
The leak of the letters compounded the damage, and Presidential Staffer Nana Yaa Jantuah has said whoever leaked them should be sanctioned.
"This is an internal memo. And once it's an internal communication, whoever brought it out has to be sanctioned," Madam Jantuah is reported to have said on JoyNews' AM Show.
2. Role clarity cannot be left to goodwill
The Tourism Act, 2011 (Act 817) makes the Chief Executive responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Authority and allows functions to be delegated.
In practice, however, chief executives and their deputies in many Ghanaian public agencies are each appointed by the President, often with their own constituencies and public profiles.
That arrangement can work well, but only when everyone knows who decides what. Madam Houadjeto’s own proposals point to the gap: clearer delegation, defined approval processes and a procedure for escalating urgent matters.
These should not have to be negotiated in the middle of a dispute. Every agency should have a written delegation framework from the day its leadership is appointed.
3. December will not wait
The timing could hardly be worse. December in GH runs from December 1 to January 3, and the portfolios named in the petition (marketing, domestic tourism and special events) are precisely those the season depends on.
Event organisers, hoteliers, airlines and tour operators need timely decisions, approvals and coordinated promotion.
Ghana’s 2025 figures showed international arrivals rising by just 1.4 per cent to about 1.3 million, while receipts fell.
With the sector working to turn visitor numbers into real economic value, it cannot afford an executive team that is slow to decide.
4. The world is watching
The GTA is the public face of Ghana’s tourism industry. Its leaders sit across the table from international partners, investors, diaspora organisations and foreign media. Stories about internal friction travel quickly, including on international travel trade platforms.
Ghana built its Year of Return and Beyond the Return campaigns on an image of warmth and unity.
A leadership dispute playing out in public sends the wrong message. Investors and partners judge not only a destination’s attractions, but the strength and reliability of its institutions.
5. The fix must outlast the personalities
The temptation will be to treat this as a contest with a winner and a loser.
That would be a mistake.
The more useful outcome is an institutional one.
Madam Houadjeto’s five proposals offer a reasonable starting point: scheduled executive consultations, an escalation procedure for urgent matters, coordination through the executive office, clearer delegation and regular management meetings.
They should be adopted formally, monitored by the Board and applied consistently.
Beyond that, the GTA’s leadership should be assessed against clear performance targets: arrivals, visitor spending, domestic tourism growth, licensing and standards, and stakeholder satisfaction.
When results become the measure, disagreements over access are easier to resolve, because everyone is accountable for the same outcomes.
Bigger than any individual
Both officials were appointed for the strengths they bring.
Madam Houadjeto brings her industry experience; Abeiku Santana brings an extensive network, a strong media profile and a passion for domestic tourism.
Ghana needs both sets of strengths working in the same direction together with the team of expert technocrats at the GTA.
The Presidency’s intervention should therefore be swift, fair and focused on the institution rather than the individuals.
The industry, from the hotelier in Cape Coast to the tour guide in Mole, needs a GTA that speaks with one voice.
Ghana’s tourism ambitions are too important to be held hostage by a dispute over access.
The sooner the house is in order, the sooner attention can return to where it belongs: the visitors we hope to welcome this December.
