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President John Dramani Mahama has disclosed that Accra has lost the opportunity to host at least two major international conferences because of inadequate conference facilities in the capital.
According to the President, one of the events was moved to Dakar, Senegal, after Accra was deemed unable to provide sufficient space to accommodate the conference.
He described the situation as a setback for Ghana and called for increased investment in hospitality and conference infrastructure to enable the country to attract major international events.
President Mahama made the remarks on Tuesday, September 15, at the sod-cutting ceremony for the Sentuo Airport Garden City Project.
He said the development, which will include a 2,500-capacity conference facility and a 600-room hotel, would significantly increase Accra’s ability to host large-scale international gatherings.
“I know of two occasions on which Accra was bypassed because we did not have enough conference rooms to host major international conferences. At least one of them was bypassed for Dakar, Senegal,” he said.
President Mahama said the new facilities would help address the infrastructure gap and potentially enable Ghana to host major events, including conferences organised by the United Nations.
“We’ll have enough hotel rooms. We’ll have enough conference facilities to be able to host even a UN conference here in Accra,” he said.
The President also linked the expansion of conference facilities to Ghana’s broader tourism ambitions, saying improved infrastructure could attract more international visitors and encourage them to explore destinations beyond Accra.
He said increased tourism activity would create opportunities for transport operators, hospitality businesses, artisans, farmers, workers and communities across the country.