Ghana dreams of a new surf paradise

The most wonderful thing about surfing in Ghana is that we have world-class waves that appeal to beginners and intermediates, all on deserted beaches.

Huge potential
With 550 kilometres of coastline preserved, golden beaches lined with trees, « surfing has enormous potential, » explains Gilbert Abeiku Aggrey, a tourism specialist in Ghana. « There’s still everything to do on our beaches, » he adds.
According to the World Bank, 897,000 tourists visited the country in 2015, ten times less than in South Africa (8.9 million).

However, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC)–which includes about 100 tourism companies around the world, including heavyweights in the sector–estimates that this figure could reach 1.3 million this year, or even more than 2 million by 2027.

In 2016, tourism generated $1.3 billion in direct tourism revenues for Ghana’s economy, equivalent to 3% of the country’s annual GDP.

In Ghana, tourists are generally attracted by the national parks and numerous waterfalls, as well as the coastal forts, former transit places for slaves during the slave trade, such as Cape Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage site that former US President Barack Obama visited in 2009.

However, the high cost of accommodation and transport in Ghana has often been accused of driving tourists away. A night in a double room in a three-star hotel in Accra costs an average of $100, while fares in West Africa are also important.

Seducing the middle classes
The new Ghanaian government, which took office in January, wants to rely on tourism to make Accra’s poor and underdeveloped waterfront prosper. He designed a project to develop 100 hectares of coastline by setting up shopping centres, amusement parks and a casino.

For Ghana’s Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, tourism could help reduce the country’s skyrocketing debt and high unemployment rate. Ghana, once a growth model, recorded a growth rate of 3.6% in 2016, the lowest in two decades. Five years earlier, it was still 14%.

Attracting surfers to Ghana is seen as a good way to capture a middle class audience and thus develop an « untapped market that lies between luxury tourism and cheap tourism ».

Brett Davies relies on waves that he believes are accessible to all to make a difference and attract the crowd. « Most known destinations are (on the contrary) very intimidating for the average surfer, » he says.

« Tourism in Ghana is about to explode thanks to surfing, » predicts the Briton, who wants to believe that « Ghanaian surfing is about to experience exciting adventures.