The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) in collaboration with the Ghana Tourism Federation (GHATOF) have launched two flagship programmes to boost Ghana’s tourism sector.
Speaking at the event themed “Stronger together for tourism/hospitality growth” at Accra City Hotel, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for GTA, Maame Efua Houadjeto unveiled the Graduate Tourism Employment and Mobility (GTEM) support programme, a direct intervention to train and certify 200 graduates and professional tour guides, standardising tour‑guiding quality across Ghana.
According to her, the graduates will be deployed into hotels, tour companies, cultural sites, and events.
She explained that “GTEM addresses tourism’s mobility constraint with a work‑and‑pay model, providing young professionals with vehicles to transport tourists and serve hotels and events, eliminating upfront barriers and focusing on immediate productivity and enterprise creation.”
Madam Houadjeto also mentioned that “the programme supports small tourism businesses and startups lacking logistics, recognizing that many tourism enterprises fail due to operational constraints rather than demand.”
She further announced a sustainability partnership with financial institutions to fund hotels, restaurants, chop bars, and other hospitality operators, boosting their operational capacity.
The GHATOF President, Seth Ocran, also introduced the Uplifting Women in Tourism (UWIT) initiative, a three‑decade‑old ambitious project aimed at empowering women running Ghana’s chop bars.
He said these women lack affordable finance, digital tools, reliable energy, and recognition for their enterprises.
Ocran stressed that “these women feed the nation” and deserve support.
He affirmed UWIT will close these gaps through over 30 institutional partnerships driven by investor demand.
He thanked the GTA CEO for her personal commitment and invited stakeholders to join in building a Ghana where every woman in tourism can compete, thrive, and be celebrated.
Ocran also noted that, upon assuming the GHATOF presidency in January 2026, he promised to transform GHATOF members through systems, not rhetoric, to strengthen the tourism and hospitality sector.
The combined UWIT and GTEM initiatives highlights the GHATOF‑GTA collaboration’s focus on inclusive growth, women empowerment, graduate employment, and sector sustainability, aiming to make Ghana’s tourism industry more competitive and resilient.
