Beyond the return – turning tourism from the diaspora into investment

Last year’s Year of Return tourism initiative has proved to be one of the biggest, if not the singularly biggest one Ghana has implemented in its history to date. It was responsible for about 200,000 visits from Africans in the diaspora, this resulting in the single largest, year on year, increase in tourist visits to Ghana for well over a decade and this was accompanied by a substantial increase in accompanying foreign exchange inflows from the tourism sector.

But even more importantly, it has created the foundation for direct foreign investment inflows from Africans in the diaspora, a source that has been largely responsible for profound acceleration in the economic growth and development in many countries around the world – most notably China which received some US$26 billion in direct investment from Chinese in the diaspora during the 1990s, which was pivotal in that country’s rapid transformation into one of the most globally competitive economies.

Consequently, Ghana’s government has come up with a plan to deliberately attract direct investment from the diaspora so as to replicate China’s feat. This is the Beyond Return initiative still variously themed as “Beyond the Year of Return – A Birthright” or “Beyond the Return: The Diaspora Dividend”, depending on which state institution is announcing it.

The initiative is to be pursued over 10 years, 2020 to 2030, a period which Ghana’s Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry has dubbed “a decade of African restoration”. It aims to continuously carry out activities to sustain the diaspora relationship established by last year’s Year of Return and build on its huge success, primarily by transforming tourist interest in Ghana into investment interest.

Crucially, the new initiative has government fully behind it, being the vision of President Nana Akufo-Addo himself, just like the Year of Return that is serving as its foundation.

“Let us all remember that the destiny of all black people, no matter where they are in the world is bound up with Africa,” asserts President Akufo-Addo. “We must help make Africa the place for investment, progress and prosperity, and not from where our youth flee in the hope of accessing the mirage of a better life in Europe or the Americas.”

That, according to him, is what “Beyond the Return” will seek to do “so we can derive maximum dividends from our relations with the diaspora in mutually beneficial co-operation, and as partners for shared growth and development”

He cites data from the Washington based Migration Policy Institute, which reveals that half of the foreign direct investment – US$26 billion of it – that transformed China into a manufacturing power house in the 1990s, originated from the Chinese diaspora.

“That is why I am excited and keen on this new initiative of ‘Beyond the Return’ and the renewed enthusiasm around building Africa together” he enthuses. “Let us imbibe in ourselves a deep consciousness and understanding of the goals and history of the African peoples.

“The first half of the 21^st century should consolidate this development and see the growth of modern, prosperous, technologically advanced nations within a united Africa, which would make a reality of the dream of the 21^st century as an African century, and bring dignity and respect to black people all over the world.”

Importantly, the fact that both the Year of Return and its new successor initiative, Beyond the Return are both driven by President Akufo-Addo itself, means his government is fully committed to its success just as with last year’s initiative.

The chief executive of the Ghana Tourism Authority, Akwasi Agyeman, confirms that both initiatives were conceptualized by the President himself.

Agyeman explains that when President Akufo-Addo assumed office in 2017, he made the Tourism Ministry a Cabinet position.

He says that the President made it clear to the then Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Mrs Catharine Afeku, that he wanted the entire ministry and its agencies to focus on two things; domestic tourism – ensuring that Ghanaians traveled around the country – and secondly, heritage tourism to continue with the Africa diaspora conversation.

That, according to the CEO of the GTA, led to the launching of the “See Ghana, Eat Ghana and Wear Ghana” programme in 2017 for domestic tourism, as well as moves to look for the opportunity to ensure that the President’s vision of connecting with the diaspora took place.

“God being so good, 2019 was exactly 400 years since the slaves were taken from the shores of Ghana, so working with the office of the Diaspora Affairs of the Office of the President, the Panafest Foundation, the Adinkra Group, we sat down to bring to fruition the President’s charge to push heritage tourism to another level”, Mr Agyeman recounts.

He affirms that the President had inputs from the word go and even selected the venue for the launch of the Year of Return, which took place in front of the Congressional Black Caucus in the USA.

The President then insisted that it should be a global campaign, a position that informed his visits to the Caribbean and promoted it in five nations, culminating in unprecedented dividends, with some of the heads of states of those countries coming to Ghana.

Agyeman further says that President Akufo-Addo also ensured that the budgetary allocation for the Ministry of Tourism since 2017 was increased as part of moves to ensure that the programme was successful.

Those steps, he explains, has led to a number of bilateral agreements and co-operation on trade and diplomatic fronts between Ghana and some Caribbean countries, including Jamaica and Guyana.

Agyeman asserts that though others had worked in the background, “We cannot take away the fact that this is the President’s vision and he had tasked the team again that there should be a “Beyond the Return” campaign which must be sustained.

“For him, it is not just about people visiting, but he wants that real connection to happen. So we are quite excited and happy for the opportunity and would once again go back to the drawing board on his instructions and work on it”, he adds.

He reveals that already President Akufo-Addo has made excellent inputs into the ‘Beyond the Return’ initiative after he took the draft programme from the steering committee.

He says the President has made it clear that he would like the Beyond the Return to be more of engagements to enhance the diaspora investments.

Agyeman further reveals that the President has been considering the need for a diaspora bond as countries such as India, Israel and China had relied on such to expand their economies and infrastructure.

He asserts that the President wants the African diaspora to also make huge contributions to the development of the continent and with Ghana as the lead country also benefiting, adding that “in his words we should engage all stakeholders and that he does not want any stakeholder to say that he was not consulted.”

To be sure, 2019’s year of return initiative is a solid foundation on which to rollout the new effort to attract investment, Its impact is illustrated by the fact that while tourism arrivals into Ghana were 914,000 in 2016, rising only marginally over the subsequent two years to 956,000 arrivals in 2018, last year’s initiative took the figure up to over 1.1 million. Instructively, growth in international arrivals from Britain, America and the Caribbean, where most Africans in the diaspora live, climbed by 18 percent last year.

Last year’s Year of Return programme comprised over 80 events such as stakeholder meetings, investment forums, musical concerts, art exhibitions, carnivals and cultural festivals. Tourism Minister, Barbara Oteng-Gyasi affirms that the numerous activities held during the year resulted in a substantial increase in tourism sector spending, with most major hotels hitting 100 percent occupancy during the climax of the activities in December.

The potentials for investment from Africans in the diaspora are equally encouraging. The most obvious investment opportunity for this emergent class of direct investment is in the real estate sector, where Ghanaians working or doing business abroad, but with the intention of returning to their country of birth and childhood, are already actively involved. Such Ghanaians are already responsible for investing in residential property for their own eventual use and it is just a matter of going one step further for them to invest in this sector for commercial profit.

Technology is another particularly enticing sector, since transfer of technology Africans in the diaspora are already being exposed to abroad presents veritable opportunities here in Ghana once relevant applications are identified.

Already, the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre has identified specific projects that are at the planning and design stage which should be attractive to investors from the diaspora.

The most notable one – and the one being pushed the most by government itself – is the One Marine Drive project which aims to develop Ghana’s extensive beach front coast line into residential and office properties, shopping malls, entertainment facilities and the likes.

The Marine Drive Investment Project is a public-private partnership and would cost 2.1 billion dollars. So far government has spent GHc13 million in the form of consultant fees, compensation to vegetable farmers, PWD Staff and other Administrative fees.

The Tourism Minister reveals that the Project Consultants, Adjaye Associates, has finalized the Marine Drive Master Plan design in close collaboration with ABP Consult Limited, the Consortium and Ghana Tourism Development Company. The Minister says institutions with special challenges such as MUSIGA, the Army Barracks, Navy Transit Quarters and Births and Deaths Registry were being engaged to address the issues.

She says the major challenge of the project is the relocation of the Centre for National Culture and Arts Centre but a contract has been awarded for the construction of an Art and Craft Village at Kawukudi to enable the relocation of the Centre.

Another opportunity identified and being actively promoted by GIPC is an ultra modern film and television production facility, which can leverage on the strong growth in production of, and both domestic and international market demand for, Ghanaian – and wider African – movies and television programmes. It is instructive that such a facility in Morocco is even attracting some of Hollywood’s biggest block buster, high budget films, to shoot extensive scenes there.

Encouragingly, the private sector in Ghana is already getting on board to partner government so as to fully exploit the investment opportunities.

The World Trade Centre Accra (WTC Accra) will soon announce a series of activities in support of the government of Ghana’s ‘Beyond the Return: The Diaspora Dividend’ initiative. The activities will be geared toward highlighting economic opportunities for Africans living in the diaspora and collaborating with Ghanaian public institutions to facilitate participation in those opportunities.

Consequently, WTC Accra (a licencee of the World Trade Centres Association, New York), will leverage its membership of the 328-member global network of WTCs in about 100 countries around the world to attract trade and economic delegations to Ghana; as well as design tour schedules which highlight economic/investment opportunities across the country.

WTC Accra is of the view that government’s objectives for launching the ‘Beyond the Return: The Diaspora Dividend’ initiative are laudable and consistent with WTC Accra’s own mantra of “promoting prosperity through trade”. WTC Accra is therefore well-placed to be government’s lead-partner in the initiative’s implementation.

Expect other business groupings to follow, as well as individual enterprises, seeking to either partner incoming investors from the diaspora, or offer them business support services.

The worst possible outcome? A significant increase in foreign direct investment into Ghana over the next decade and beyond.

The best possible outcome? A replication of what happened in China in the 1990s, whereby investors in the diaspora played a crucial role in that country’s transformation into what today is the world’s second biggest – and still one of the fastest growing – economies.

Source: goldstreetbusiness