Once hailed as Asia’s World City, Hong Kong is now rebranding itself as the region’s Events Capital, pivoting from shopping to concerts, trade shows, and global experiences to draw in visitors and boost spending. Dubai, with relentless intent, has transformed itself into a global hub by aggressively marketing its business and tourism potential. These are not coincidences. They are the results of deliberate place branding where cities are marketed like products to attract people, investment, and influence.

Ghana must wake up to this global reality.

Our cities and towns must not only be seen as geographical spaces for local administration and service delivery. They must be packaged and promoted as destinations of opportunity, innovation, and culture. From Accra to Tamale, Sekondi to Keta, every local assembly must develop and execute a marketing and events strategy that deliberately positions the jurisdiction as a place to visit, invest, live, and work.

The current over-reliance on the meagre District Assembly Common Fund is unsustainable and limiting. The time has come for a creative and entrepreneurial shift within our Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies. With the right branding and marketing, each district has the potential to grow its internally generated funds, attract job-creating investments, and become a vibrant node in the country’s economic web.

Take Keta, for example, a coastal town rich in history, culture, and serene beaches. With intentional investment in tourism infrastructure, events, digital visibility, and creative marketing, Keta could attract tens of thousands of visitors every week, creating quality hospitality and cultural jobs in the process. I once initiated the hashtags #VisitKeta, #VisitHo, and #VisitVolta to spark this exact conversation. Sadly, the initiative gained little traction among policy makers and stakeholders. But the vision remains viable, perhaps now more than ever.

Globally, cities are no longer waiting for central government budgets to shape their destinies. They are branding themselves. They are telling their stories. They are creating experiences. In Africa, Kigali is fast becoming a convention capital. Cape Town aggressively promotes itself as the continent’s tech and creative hub. What stops Kumasi from branding itself as a centre of innovation and culture? Why can't Ho become a wellness and leisure capital of West Africa?

To do this, we need visionary leadership at the local level, leaders who think beyond roads and refuse contracts and instead think festivals, business expos, film shoots, culinary tours, and digital campaigns. We need city managers who understand that perception shapes reality and that marketing is no longer a luxury, it is a necessity.

Ghana’s Ministry of Local Government and its relevant agencies must offer frameworks and training for district branding, destination marketing, and investor attraction. But the real drive must come from the assemblies themselves. Let each assembly answer this question: What is our district known for, and how are we telling the world?

We can wait for allocations. Or we can build legacies. The world is watching, and it is time Ghana’s towns and cities stepped boldly onto the global stage, not as silent observers, but as intentional, branded, unforgettable destinations.