Ghana Tourism Authority launches ‘Ghana Week in DC’
An outreach programme to strengthen Ghana’s partnerships and to promote investment opportunities and culture has been launched in Accra by the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA).
Advertisement
Known as “Ghana Week in DC”, it is scheduled to take place from October 9-14, 2023, in Washington DC in the United States.
The week is geared towards showcasing Ghana as a preferred destination for travels, investments, trade, sports and culture for the historical diaspora, and bringing Ghanaians and African diaspora together.
Activities to mark the event include an arts exhibition, a Ghana Village setting, a business forum, a return conversation and will be crowned with a Capital City Africa Cup match between one of Ghana’s Premier League teams and DC United.
Launch
The Chief Executive Officer of the GTA, Akwesi Agyeman, who launched the event in Accra yesterday, indicated that the initiative was a new tourism product expected to drive the social and economic development of the country.
“We have seen a steady growth of arrivals from the US and we want to consolidate those gains.
So we are going to showcase what we have by making it convenient for them and to attract investors to help generate the economy.
So, for us, we are using this also to help in economic regeneration in the country,” he said.
Mr Agyeman added that the event would complement other flagship programmes organised by the GTA to showcase Ghana’s attractions, music, food and customs.
He indicated that the series of roadshows, the engagements, discussions and visits would enable Ghana to have some strategic partnerships with organisations, individuals and groups to position Ghana as the Mecca of the Pan African movement.
He said preparations were ongoing to foster collaboration throughout the value chain of tourism through series of engagements within the communities.
He added that the project would provide access to Ghana’s tourism market and act as a key market for the country’s music, arts, sports, fashion, comedy and film industries.
Gateway
The Chief Executive Officer of PKB Enterprises, Paxton Baker, whose company is partnering the GTA for the event, said the event would expose Ghana as the gateway to Africa and provide an opportunity to own their narrative in America in the different things that they had to offer.
He added that the event was an economic opportunity for the country to sell itself and an avenue to deepen the Ghana-America relations for the mutual benefit of the two countries.
“The exposure of Ghanaian culture in Washington DC in the US, one of the leading countries in the world, is a significant and unique move created by the ministry and other partners,” he added.
He added that the project would be a major tool for a positive transformation of the Ghanaian economy and a win-win situation for investors,” he stated.
He urged individuals, organisations and stakeholders to participate in the main celebration, saying it would promote Ghana’s culture and individual businesses.
Crown
The Marketing Director of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Jamil Maraby, said the football match set as part of the activities to crown the “Ghana Week in DC” was a good initiative by the GTA.
He added that the GFA was yet to select a team to represent the country, but added that “expect to see the best of our own out there slugging it out with the best of DC united”.
“Football has the pulling power, so adding football is a good idea because it will sell Ghana and bring more attention to the project,” Mr Maraby said.
He commended the GTA for the initiative and gave an assurance of the GFA’s full support towards the event.