The Dean of International Education at the University of Cape Coast has urged the Tourism Ministry and the Ghana Tourism Authority to focus on getting Ghanaians to engage in tourist activities in 2022 and beyond.

According to Prof Kwaku Boakye, the pandemic proved that Ghana cannot depend solely on the diasporans and the international cycle to boost its tourism if the country is to benefit from that sector of the economy.

Speaking on Showbiz A-Z, he noted that “it is important for us to look to unleashing the domestic potential we have and take advantage of the emergent middle class that is in Ghana and encourage them to do tourism.”

Prof Boakye explained that the Ministry and the Ghana Tourism Authority needs to revamp tourists sites by making them more attractive to Ghanaians, and ensure that the sites are more activity centred.

“We need to unleash the potential of our domestic tourism. You would realise that if Covid has taught us anything, it is that we can’t rely on the international cycle if we are to get benefit from tourism,” he said.

He added that the GTA can also implement recommendations from research conducted by academics on how to improve the tourism industry and the evolution of the sector.

This, he said, would help the industry players and the GTA equip themselves with information that could see to the growth of the sector.