Political instability and tourism in Ghana (1966-1981)

Felix Yobo Opare-Addo

doi:10.47963/ajthm.v2i1.145

Abstract

In the 1960s most governments in West Africa, including Ghana which was under the leadership of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana began to incorporate tourism into their economic development plans. The idea was to diversify the economy in order to provide infrastructural development, economic and social prosperity for populace. Unfortunately, Nkrumah’s government was toppled in 1966. In the subsequent years, Ghana experienced a period of political instability. This paper takes a critical look at the efforts of the various governments in Ghana (from 1957 to 1981) to develop tourism in terms of their policies and their roles as agents of tourism development; the creation of a conducive environment for tourism to flourish, the involvement of the private sector both foreign and local, the provision of tourism infrastructure and how political instability impacted negatively on tourism development in terms of the flow of international tourist arrivals, potential investors, tourism product development and delivery, and tourism receptive facilities.

Highlights

In the history of Ghana, the period 1966-81 could be referred to as the most turbulent years because the country experienced a period of political instability of great magnitude
This paper argues that tourism development in Ghana has always depended on the general processes of development
This paper aims to examine the impact of political instability on Ghana's tourism development

Summary

Introduction

In the history of Ghana, the period 1966-81 could be referred to as the most turbulent years because the country experienced a period of political instability of great magnitude. After the heady days of the Convention Peoples Party in 1966, the military government of the National Liberation Council took the reins of government in Ghana. In June 1979 the Supreme Military Council II was overthrown by Flight Lieutenant J. J. Rawlings who formed the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC). Flt. Lt Rawlings handed the reins of government to Dr Hilla Limann led government of Peoples National Party (PNP) after general elections in 1979. Rawlings came back in 1981 to overthrow Limann’s government and formed the Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC)

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