The President of the Arts and Tourism Writers Association, George Quaye, has raised concerns about the challenges facing Ghana’s arts and tourism sector, attributing its stagnation to a lack of strategic vision among those responsible for its oversight.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Tuesday, December 24, Quaye called for a more deliberate and forward-thinking approach to revitalizing the sector.
He also criticized political parties for sidelining arts and tourism in their manifestos, prioritizing other sectors such as agriculture, education, and the economy.
He pointed to inadequate infrastructure and poor communication as major barriers to the sector’s growth, arguing that these issues stem from a failure to recognize the industry’s significance in national development.
Quaye urged political parties to include robust policies for arts and tourism development in their manifestos, emphasizing the need for investments in infrastructure, marketing, and capacity building to unlock the sector’s full potential.
His comments come amid growing calls from stakeholders for a comprehensive strategy to harness Ghana’s rich cultural and natural resources, transforming the sector into a cornerstone of the nation’s economy.
“When you are driving to Cape Coast or even Takoradi, you do not see any billboard telling you how far the Cape Coast Castle is, and it is the same with almost all of our tourist sites, and that is a problem of vision, and somebody needs to think it, see it, dream it, and implement it, and some of us have spoken about it.
“But in Ghana, it looks like if you are not the one making the decisions, no one gets to hear you. When you look at the political parties manifestoes, it looks like a lot of work has not gone into the art and the creative industry as compared with other sectors and all that sits on the vision I am talking about because if we have people of vision, you won’t have political parties tell you they are going to create TV stations and online platforms when there are low hanging fruits.”
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