A year-round Black Star Experience, a convention centre at the Trade Fair, five SSNIT hotels and a piracy crackdown are in the plan.

Published 12 Nov 2026, 21:51 GMTUpdated 12 Nov 2026, 22:02 GMT

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The 2027 Budget sets aside US$1 billion over four years for tourism, culture and the creative arts, with plans to turn the December visitor rush into a year-round business.

The money is the fifth of eight pillars in the government's US$10 billion New Economy programme, which Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson presented to Parliament on Thursday, November 12.

The goal, according to the budget, is "a year-round visitor economy that earns foreign exchange, sustains creative enterprise and creates better jobs across the country".

December, all year round

December in Ghana stays the anchor of the calendar. For the other eleven months, the government is counting on heritage trips, ancestry tracing, family reunions, school programmes and the arts to keep visitors coming.

"The Black Star Experience will run through all twelve months," the Budget Statement says.

A national events calendar and competitive bidding between destinations are meant to spread events across the regions and the seasons, and turn them into trips people can book.

A convention centre for Accra

In Accra, SSNIT will build and operate a new international convention centre on the La Trade Fair site. From 2027, a professional convention bureau will bid to bring African and global conferences to Ghana.

SSNIT will also get tax incentives to build five hotels by 2030. They are five-star hotels in Accra and Kumasi, and four-star hotels on the Cape Coast and Elmina heritage corridor, in the Volta Region and in Northern Ghana.

The existing National Theatre in Accra is in line for work too. The Statement says diplomatic engagements this year secured support for feasibility studies and its renovation.

Forts, castles and museums

Forts, castles and other sites linked to the transatlantic slave trade are to be treated "with historical accuracy, dignity and care".

The plan is to conserve the buildings, strengthen museums and archives, improve interpretation in more languages and train conservators and guides.

The Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park recorded 155,373 visitors from January to June 2026, 30,520 of them non-Ghanaians, according to the Statement.

Piracy

The Copyright Office registered 921 copyright works this year and arrested ten movie-house operators for showing films without a licence.

It expects to register more than 1,100 works in 2027 and says it will step up anti-piracy enforcement across the country.

The smaller lines

The tourism and creative arts ministry's own allocation for 2027 is GH¢186 million. The Statement also notes that the ministry launched a Revised National Cultural Policy this year.

GH¢10 million is set aside for journalists' welfare, professional development and investigative reporting. Another GH¢600 million goes towards ten regional stadiums.

By 2030, the government says it expects "higher arrivals, longer stays, greater visitor spending and stronger foreign-exchange earnings". The full list of figures is in our 2027 Budget in numbers.

Araba IncoomAraba Incoom writes on multiple topics with a vast knowledge across different sector. You can almost call me an AI, after all, my initials are Araba Incoom.

2027 Budget: US$1bn for tourism and the arts, and a Black Star Experience all year

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