The Chamber for Tourism Industry Ghana has stated that the sector is instrumental in the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) agreement.

Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber, Prince Ntiamoah Boampong stressed that “One of the sectors that will play a major role in this free trade is the tourism sector because when people travel to your country they will sleep, eat and move around, so the tourism sector will be one of the key conversations when it comes to AfCFTA”.

On the other hand, the tourism sector, one of the worst affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, continues to grapple with its impact.

He added that a deliberate approach must be used to capitalize on the AfCFTA to revive the tourism sector.

“I know for sure that, now in Ghana, during the weekends, we have a lot of people flying from Nigeria to Ghana just for nightlife on Friday and leave on Sunday. How do we promote it? Can we have airlines that we’ll designate to go to Nigeria on Fridays at a discounted rate, so people can come and have nightlife in Ghana? We have to look at things from various angles.”

The AfCFTA is a trade agreement between 56 African States that seeks to remove various trade barriers to improve trade amongst member countries.

The agreement is arguably the largest in the world, with an estimated market of about 3 trillion dollars.

With its secretariat situated in the capital, Accra commenced operations on the 1st of January this year.