Ministry of Tourism - Thank you for bringing Ghana.travel back online.
Ghana Without Filters · An open note to the Ministry of Tourism and the Ghana Tourism Authority
To the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, and the Ghana Tourism Authority: thank you for bringing Ghana.travel back online.
It is good to see the official tourism platform accessible again after its long suspension, and after the recent episode in which the museums board's website, gmmb.gov.gh, redirected visitors to gambling sites. We reported that one in our security warning of July 2026. Credit where it is due: someone paid the hosting bill and someone cleaned up.
But a website that is online is not the same as a website that works. Its content and visitor experience are unchanged. Past events, such as the World Cup watch parties of 11 June 2026, are still presented as if they were current. When I checked again on 5 November 2026, that June post was still the newest item on the GTA's news page, almost five months later.
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"GTA launches Ghana Tourism Information System to Drive Digital Transformation" describes an internal administrative tool for licensing, compliance and data collection. It offers no real value to travellers looking for information on Ghana's destinations, attractions, culture or trip planning. Screenshot, 18 July 2026.
An announcement for the office, not for the visitor
The main announcement on the site is "GTA launches Ghana Tourism Information System to Drive Digital Transformation". The Ghana Tourism Information System, or GTIS, was launched on 19 May 2026 at the Accra City Hotel. According to the GTA and the Ghana News Agency, it moves the registration, licensing, inspection, levy payments and compliance of tourism businesses onto one online platform.
That is useful for hotels, tour operators and the GTA's own staff. Paper to digital, queues to clicks, as the GTA put it. It may well save time and reduce corruption at licensing desks.
But it does nothing for the person in Atlanta, Hamburg or Lagos who types "things to do in Ghana" into a search engine and lands on the country's official tourism platform. That person wants to know where to go, how to get there, what it costs, what is on this month and whether it is safe. Instead they find a press release about internal administration, sitting under a World Cup post from June.
A tourism website should serve visitors first, not internal bureaucracy.
One genuinely useful idea, hidden from the people who need it
To be fair, the GTIS includes something travellers could use: a public verification of licensed tourism facilities. A visitor could check whether a hotel, guesthouse or tour company is actually licensed before paying a deposit. In a country where fake agents and fake "tour companies" are a daily problem, as described in our checklist for identifying Ghana-based scams, that matters.
So why is it presented to the world as a licensing tool for the office? Put a simple "Check if your hotel or tour operator is licensed" box on the front page of the visitor website, in plain language, and the same system suddenly protects tourists, too.
"Akwaaba! Welcome to the corporate website of the Ghana Tourism Authority." Ghana.travel describes itself as a corporate site, not a guide for visitors. Screenshot, 18 July 2026.
Two official websites, and neither serves the traveller
The GTA runs two sites. Ghana.travel calls itself the Authority's "corporate website". It is full of staff, awards, licensing procedures and press releases. Its "Experience Ghana" menu sends visitors on to the second site, visitghana.com.
And visitghana.com, the one meant for visitors, is the site I took apart in The Sad Reality of VisitGhana.com. Its "Things To Do" page still has duplicated blocks, "Explore" buttons that lead nowhere, and a creative-agency FAQ copied from the website template.
So the corporate site talks about the GTA, and the visitor site talks about nothing. Between them, a country that wants millions of visitors for Ghana at 70 in 2027 has no working official guide for them.
Start working
We appreciate that the site is online again. Now we hope to see meaningful improvements that actually promote Ghana as a destination, with clear, updated, visitor-focused content that reflects the beauty and diversity of the country. That means:
- current events, with past events archived or removed
- destination pages with real information: how to get there, opening times, what it costs and what to expect
- the new ETA and e-Visa rules explained clearly, with a link to the only official portal, because copycat visa sites are cashing in
- a visible licence check from the GTIS for visitors
- working buttons, and no template demo text
- a contact email on a domain that actually works
Professional advisory note – Ghana.travel
Thank you for restoring Ghana.travel and for resolving the recent gmmb.gov.gh gambling-redirect issue. However, the platform still presents outdated content and self-promotional announcements that do not help visitors plan a trip to Ghana. Travellers need clear, current destination information, not internal celebrations or old event posts.
Time for change
Independent publishers have been filling this gap for years, and we will keep doing it. Ghana-Net.com has been online since December 2000, with dedicated sites such as capecoastcastlemuseum.com, elminacastle.info and mole.ghana-net.com. But Ghana should not have to depend on independents for the basics. The official platforms have the mandate, the staff and the budget. It is time they used them for the people they exist to serve: the visitors.
Online again is a start. Useful is the goal.
Plan your trip with real information. These tours are run by local operators. Entrance fees are already included in the tour price. Tips are not included, but they are always welcome.
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Sources: ghana.travel news page, checked by the author on 18 July and 5 November 2026. GTIS launch on 19 May 2026: GTA announcement, Ghana News Agency and Voyages Afriq. GTA CEO quote on the digital shift: Graphic Online.
Text and screenshots © Remo Kurka, Ghana-Net.com · Updated and fact-checked: 5 November 2026