The country’s outbound tourism, involving same-day and overnight trips, recorded a total of 470,806 visitors, with total expenditure amounting to GH¢4.0 billion, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) Domestic and Outbound Tourism Survey (DOTS) has revealed.
The DOTS, dubbed Outbound Same-day and Overnight Visitors, conducted in 2023, provides reliable data on how Ghanaians travel, spend, and engage in tourism, offering insights to guide investment, policy, and service delivery.
It said a total of 77,501 outbound same-day visitors and 393,305 outbound overnight visitors were recorded in 2023.
According to the report, outbound same-day visitors’ expenditure stood at approximately GH¢59.8 million, while outbound overnight visitors’ expenditure amounted to GH¢3.4 billion.
The survey indicated that outbound same-day visitors mainly travelled for business and professional purposes (33.8%), and to visit friends and relatives, while outbound overnight visitors mainly travelled to visit friends and relatives, with the majority attending funerals (23%).
It said West Africa recorded most of the outbound travellers, with Togo leading the pack of countries visited, followed by Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, and Burkina Faso.
The Ashanti Region recorded the highest number of outbound same-day visitors across all quarters, compared with the Greater Accra Region, which recorded the highest number of outbound overnight visitors throughout 2023.
Speaking at the launch of the report in Accra, the Government Statistician, Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu, said tourism remained one of the fastest-growing sectors globally and in Ghana, driving jobs, investment, and national identity.
However, he noted that the country had not structured national data on how residents and non-Ghanaians participated in outbound tourism.
Dr. Iddrisu said the report revealed that men accounted for 52% of outbound same-day travellers, compared to women at 48%.
“The age group 25–44 years formed the largest proportion of travellers, highlighting the growing participation of economically active citizens in post-border travel,” Dr. Iddrisu stated.
He added that almost all same-day trips were undertaken by road, with buses, minibuses, and bicycles being the dominant means of transport. About 94% of these trips were self-arranged, with only 4.6% organised through tour packages — showing the informal nature of cross-border travel.
In terms of expenditure, Dr. Iddrisu said most of the GH¢59.8 million spent by same-day travellers was on-trip, particularly in the first quarter of 2023, and Togo recorded the highest per capita spending among destinations visited.
On outbound overnight visitors, Dr. Iddrisu said women slightly outnumbered men, and adults aged 25–44 years dominated the category.
He said most travelled to visit friends and relatives, attend funerals, or for business and professional purposes, with road transport accounting for most overnight trips, followed by air travel for longer journeys.
“Overall, outbound overnight visitors spent an estimated GH¢3.4 billion, with nearly 90% classified as on-trip expenditure, including accommodation, food, transport, and shopping,” Dr. Iddrisu said.
By Kingsley Asare
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