Ghana’s domestic tourism sector generated GH¢6.6 billion in expenditure in 2023, with 15.4 million visitors across all 16 regions, driven largely by funerals and relatives and friends visit.

This was disclosed in the first-ever nationally representative survey on residents’ travel behaviour by both Ghanaian and non-Ghanaian residents, released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) in Accra, on Tuesday.

The 2023 survey establishes a reliable baseline for tracking domestic tourism growth and measuring the sector’s contribution to national development, enabling evidence-based policy formulation and targeted investment in tourism infrastructure and services.

The survey, covering 740 enumeration areas with a total of 18,500 households across the country, observed that in each quarter of 2023, nearly 70 per cent of domestic same-day trips were for visiting friends and relatives, with at least, 29 per cent attending funerals.

Within the same period, over 80 per cent of domestic overnight trips were for visiting relatives and friends, with at least 39.7 per cent attending funerals.

Other purposes cited for visits across the country were business and professional engagements, shopping, health treatment, holidays, leisure and recreation, education and training, religion and pilgrimage, as well as culture and festivals.

Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu, Government Statistician, presenting the 2023 Domestic and Outbound Tourism Survey Report, stated that more than half of the visitors were females, averaging 54.4 percent per quarter.

He noted that of the 15.4 million domestic visitors, 8.8 million domestic overnight visitors and 6.6 million were same-day visitors, driven largely by working-age adults (25-44 years) and reflecting the strong connection between domestic mobility and household livelihoods.

“This confirms that domestic tourism is not marginal leisure activity. It is driven by working residents in Ghana and embedded in everyday economic life. Travel is overwhelmingly social and cultural. More than 80 percent of trips were made to attend funerals or to visit friends and relatives,” he emphasised.

He also said, “tourism is not only about international arrivals. It’s about Ghanaians discovering their own country, spending within local economies, and sustaining livelihoods across communities.”

Ashanti and Greater Accra were the leading destinations for same-day trips while Ashanti, Eastern, and Greater Accra were the main destinations for overnight trips, indicating significant disparities in tourism activity and spending across the country.

Most of the trips were self-arranged with major tourist destinations being the Aburi Botanical Gardens, Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, and Kumasi Zoological Gardens, demonstrating continued interest in both natural and historical sites.

Dr. Iddrisu outlined key policy recommendations based on the findings, including improving road infrastructure to enhance accessibility to tourist sites, raising service standards across the hospitality sector, and providing greater support for local festivals and cultural events that drive domestic travel.

He said the importance of data-driven planning and investment to support tourism’s role in Ghana’s economic transformation agenda, noting that domestic tourism contributed to contract exhibition, banking services, and regional government revenue.

The survey, conducted as part of efforts to strengthen domestic tourism data through the Tourism Satellite Account – an internationally recognised framework for measuring tourism’s economic contribution – was a collaborative effort involving the Ghana Statistical Service, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, and the World Bank.