Abla Dzifa Gomashie says tourism, culture, creative arts could rival Gold, cocoa but sector lacks data to prove it

Dorcas Agambila 14:15 - 11 November 2026

Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts Minister Abla Dzifa Gomashie has announced.

Tourism, culture and the creative arts should receive a greater share of Ghana's national budget because of their potential contribution to the economy, Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts Minister Abla Dzifa Gomashie has argued.

Tourism, culture and the creative arts deserve a bigger share of Ghana's national budget, according to Minister Abla Dzifa Gomashie, who believes the sector could contribute as much as or more than gold and cocoa.
Gomashie says inadequate economic data makes it difficult for the ministry to justify funding requests to the Ministry of Finance and demonstrate the sector's contribution to national development.
Ghana is working with UNESCO and the Ghana Statistical Service to measure culture's economic impact, with the minister hoping the findings will strengthen the sector's case for increased government investment.

The minister said the sector continued to face challenges securing adequate government resources because it lacked reliable and verifiable data to demonstrate its full economic contribution.

Speaking in an unreleased interview with Pulse Ghana, Gomashie explained that the ministry often struggled to justify its funding requests to the Ministry of Finance because there were insufficient figures showing how much tourism, culture and the creative arts contributed to the country's economic development.

She believes the sector deserves to be considered among the country's major economic contributors, arguing that its contribution could rival or exceed that of traditional sectors such as gold and cocoa.

She said;

At least when they are distributing the resources, I don't get to the bottom of the pile. But if they're mentioning about six, I should be in there because I bring as much as or more than maybe gold and cocoa. That is my belief

Gomashie acknowledged that unlike sectors such as roads, education and health, the economic contribution of tourism and the creative arts was not always easily captured in the figures used to guide government spending decisions.

She said the ministry was therefore working to strengthen data collection to provide evidence that could influence how national resources were distributed.

She explained;

When it comes to the crunch, and, for example, we go to the Ministry of Finance to ask for what we think should be given to the ministry, we cannot back it with data

The minister said the absence of reliable figures had made it difficult for the sector to communicate its value to policymakers, despite the range of activities and businesses operating within the industry.

Ghana working with UNESCO to measure culture's economic contribution

As part of efforts to address the problem, Gomashie disclosed that Ghana was working on UNESCO's 2030 Culture Indicators, a framework designed to measure the contribution of culture to development and a country's resources.

According to her, the process was nearing completion, with the ministry having submitted its work to UNESCO for validation.

She said;

We've been working on the 2030 Cultural Indicators. This is a UNESCO policy and how the contribution of culture to development and to the resources of a state can be measured,

She expressed optimism that Ghana would receive feedback from UNESCO in the coming weeks or months, which would help establish whether the country's submission met the required standards.

The ministry is also collaborating with the Ghana Statistical Service to improve the collection of data on the sector's activities.

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Gomashie said the Statistical Service had already published its initial findings from the work, with another phase of the exercise expected to be completed.

She believes the combined efforts will provide the ministry with the evidence needed to make stronger funding requests and advance the sector's development.

Government seeks to strengthen the creative economy

Beyond data collection, the minister said the government was pursuing partnerships with international institutions to create opportunities for tourism businesses and creative professionals.

She mentioned ongoing collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-sector investment arm of the World Bank Group, which has held engagements with players in Ghana's creative sector to explore potential areas of support.

The ministry is also working with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) to strengthen the capacity of creative professionals and institutions responsible for protecting their works.

Gomashie said improving copyright protection and royalty collection was essential to ensuring that creatives earned from the use of their intellectual property.

She cited the example of Akrobeto, whose laughter is widely used but, according to the minister, does not generate royalties for him.

The minister argued that stronger structures were needed to ensure creatives could benefit financially from their work, including as they grew older and were no longer actively working in the industry.

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Gomashie's comments highlight the ministry's broader ambition to position tourism, culture and the creative arts as significant contributors to Ghana's economy.

However, the success of its push for increased government investment will partly depend on whether the ongoing data collection initiatives can provide credible figures to demonstrate the sector's economic value.

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