Key Facts
—Who. Cassiel Ato Forson, Ghana’s Finance Minister, told Ghana’s Parliament on Thursday 12 November 2026.
—What. Ghana will invest US$1 billion in tourism, culture and the creative arts.
—Plan. The Black Star Experience, the flagship tourism programme, will run all 12 months.
—Not known. The budget gives no period or funding source for the US$1 billion.
—As of 13 November 2026, 12:30 GMT.
Ghana’s finance minister has pledged US$1 billion for tourism, culture and the creative arts, and says the Black Star Experience will run all year. He announced it in the 2027 budget speech to Parliament on Thursday 12 November 2026.
What the Minister Announced
Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson presented the 2027 Budget Statement, the government’s annual spending plan, to Parliament in Accra, the capital of Ghana, on Thursday 12 November 2026. He said the government will invest US$1 billion in tourism, culture and the creative arts.
The money is meant to turn Ghana’s history and culture into a visitor economy that works all year, earning foreign exchange (foreign currency such as US dollars) and creating jobs. Forson said December will remain a powerful anchor, while heritage journeys, ancestry services, family reunions and education programmes give reasons to visit in other months.
The Black Star Experience Goes Year-Round
The Black Star Experience is the government’s flagship tourism and cultural programme. Forson said it will now run through all 12 months of the year.
A national calendar of events and competitive bidding for destinations will spread visitors across seasons and regions. Forts, castles and sites linked to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade will be treated with historical accuracy, dignity and care, with conservation work, museums and trained guides.
What the Money Is Meant to Build
The budget names a convention centre at the La Trade Fair Centre, an exhibition ground in Accra, to be built and run by SSNIT, the Social Security and National Insurance Trust, the state pension fund. It also promises a convention bureau in 2027 to bid for recurring African and global conferences.
By 2030 the government will give SSNIT tax incentives to build five-star hotels in Accra and Kumasi, Ghana’s second city, and four-star hotels on the heritage corridor of the coastal towns of Cape Coast and Elmina, in the Volta Region (in eastern Ghana) and in northern Ghana. It will also complete a new National Theatre in Kumasi and set up a private-sector-led medical tourism hub with serviced land and tax incentives.
How Big Is US$1 Billion?
Ghana’s Tourism Minister, Dzifa Abla Gomashie, said at a ministry briefing on 10 August 2026 that the country earned an estimated US$4.34 billion from tourism in 2025. The new pledge equals about 23% of one year’s receipts.
It is one of eight pillars of the government’s four-year New Economy programme, which plans US$10 billion of investment from 2027 to 2030. The 2026 budget gave GH¢20 million as seed money for a Creative Arts Fund and GH¢20 million for a Film Fund to revive the film industry, about US$3.4 million in total at about 11.7 cedis (Ghana’s currency) per US$ in the market that week, so the new pledge is about 290 times that sum.
What Is Not Known
The Budget Statement gives no period and no funding source for the US$1 billion itself, so we cannot say how much falls in 2027. For the New Economy programme as a whole it says the money comes from lowering the primary surplus target (the budget balance before interest payments) by 1 percentage point of gross domestic product (GDP), plus tax reforms worth 0.5% of GDP.
It also gives no cost for each project and no split between tourism, culture and the creative arts. The ministry’s detailed 2027 spending plan should show how much is planned for next year.
What It Means for Travellers and US Readers
For visitors, the practical change is more events outside December, but no new dates or prices have been announced yet. Travellers can find official guidance in the US State Department’s travel advisory for Ghana (background: Ghana Explained).
For investors and hotel developers, the plan names projects and a 2030 target date but no contracts or costs. The next checkpoint is how Parliament approves the budget (see our report on a survey on jobs and the 2027 budget).
Frequently Asked Questions
How much will Ghana invest in tourism and the arts?
Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson said Ghana will invest US$1 billion in tourism, culture and the creative arts. He announced it in the 2027 Budget Statement on 12 November 2026.
What is the Black Star Experience?
It is the government’s flagship tourism and cultural programme. The finance minister said it will now run through all 12 months of the year.
When will the US$1 billion be spent?
The Budget Statement gives no period for it. It is one of eight pillars of a four-year, US$10 billion New Economy programme running from 2027 to 2030.
How much does tourism earn Ghana?
Tourism Minister Dzifa Abla Gomashie put 2025 tourism receipts at an estimated US$4.34 billion. She spoke at a ministry briefing on 10 August 2026.
Sources: Ghana Ministry of Finance, 2027 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, presented 12 November 2026, paragraphs 108–113 and 271–292 (mofep.gov.gh); Ghana Ministry of Finance, 2026 Budget Statement, November 2025; Ghana Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Government Accountability Series briefing by Minister Dzifa Abla Gomashie, 10 August 2026; cedi rate of about 11.7 per US$, market rate of the week of 9 November 2026; photo file page on Wikimedia Commons.
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