Ghana welcomed more international visitors in 2025, but the increase did not translate into higher tourism earnings, with the country recording a US$490 million drop in receipts compared with the previous year.
Figures presented by Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts Minister Abla Dzifa Gomashie show that international tourism receipts fell from US$4.83 billion in 2024 to US$4.34 billion in 2025, representing a 10.14 percent decline.
The drop came despite international tourist arrivals rising from 1,288,804 in 2024 to 1,306,962 in 2025, an increase of more than 18,000 visitors.
The figures were disclosed during the Government Accountability Series in Accra and have raised questions about why the growth in visitor numbers did not result in stronger revenue for the tourism sector.
Available data suggest that tourists spent less on average during their visits. Average expenditure per visitor fell from about US$3,743 in 2024 to US$3,320 in 2025, representing an estimated 11 percent decline.
The minister attributed part of the reduction to exchange-rate movements, although the figures did not provide a detailed explanation of the extent to which currency fluctuations affected tourism receipts when converted into US dollars.
Exchange-rate changes can influence the value of tourism income when spending in local currency is converted to dollars, but industry analysts caution that this may not entirely account for the decline.
Other factors could also have affected tourism spending, including changes in the type of visitors coming into Ghana, shorter stays and reduced spending on accommodation, entertainment and other services.
An increase in visitors staying with friends and relatives rather than using commercial accommodation could also have reduced spending across the formal tourism industry. Changes in the spending habits of members of the Ghanaian diaspora may have had a similar effect.
The latest figures have emerged amid a broader discussion about Ghana’s tourism marketing strategy and efforts to spread tourism activity beyond the end-of-year entertainment season widely associated with “Detty December”.
Some industry observers have questioned whether tourism initiatives introduced in 2025 may have influenced where visitors spent their money without producing a corresponding increase in spending across the wider tourism value chain.
Despite the fall in international tourism receipts, several other indicators point to continued growth in the sector.
Domestic tourism rose from 1.68 million visits in 2024 to 1.79 million in 2025, an increase of about seven percent. Licensed tourism establishments also increased from 6,702 to 7,109, while travel-related businesses grew by 18.6 percent.
The country’s major tourist attractions also recorded substantial patronage, with sites including the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, Kakum National Park, Cape Coast Castle and Elmina Castle attracting more than 1.37 million visits combined in 2025.
The figures underline the difference between attracting tourists and generating greater economic value from their presence.
Tourism receipts capture spending on accommodation, food, transportation, entertainment, shopping and other services, making them an important measure of the sector’s wider contribution to the economy.
Attention will now turn to the 2026 figures to determine whether Ghana can reverse the decline in tourist spending and restore growth in tourism earnings.
