The recent announcement of a visa waiver agreement between Ghana and South Africa has sparked optimism for the expansion of tourism between the two nations, which will be advantageous to both. In recent years, aggressive destination marketing has received a lot of attention in both Ghana and South Africa.
The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) and the Gauteng Tourism Authority of South Africa signed a ground-breaking Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in August 2022. Through the MoU, Ghana and its South African counterparts hope to improve and expand their business, travel, and investment ties.
Given that tourism is a significant source of income for both nations, the tourism authorities must capitalize on this by working together, sharing knowledge, and using what they have learned.
The agreement highlights areas of collaboration in a number of tourism-related sectors, such as cooperative destination marketing, utilizing MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions) markets, exchanging best practices in expert event organizing, and supporting SMMEs.
The deal which will set the country’s tourism industry on a new route was signed by the CEO of GTA, Akwasi Agyeman and Sthembiso Dlamini, CEO of Gauteng Tourism. Over 18,381 South African tourists visited Ghana in 2019 alone, a significant increase from previous years.
According to Agyeman, CEO of GTA, “Ghana is fast becoming the vacation destination for the world, most especially in December. With the record numbers trooping into the country, it is important to share knowledge with the continent and gain some more insights on how to manage the influx of tourists into Ghana”.
He further noted that they are positive the signed “agreement will go a long way to Africa and not only Ghana on the global map as the preferred destination travel”. This is the way to go because a large number of tourists also means a large number of jobs for our citizens.
In order to make it simple to travel and conduct business with one another, Ghana and South Africa frequently form agreements and implement regulations. Due to the visa waiver agreement, nationals of both nations are permitted to travel visa-free for a total of up to 90 days without the need for employment.
In a post on a social media platform, X, Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration made it known that this agreement will be effective from November 1st 2023.