Prez Akufo Addo launches ‘Beyond The Return, The Diaspora Dividend’ initiative

Government has finally launched a tourism campaign-oriented project today to continue activities of the Year of Return celebration.

The initiative will see the diasporans working on activities for the motherland over a decade period.

“Beyond the Year of Return” talks was first revealed by the Tourism CEO Mr Akwasi Agyeman to NetbuzzAfrica.com when we interviewed him in November.

Today at a breakfast meeting, the president, H.E Nana Akufo Addo along with several concerned personalities  officially announced the “Beyond The Return, The Diaspora Dividend” inititive, a ten-year-period joint campaign infused with ‘Beyond The Year of Return – a Birthright” to continuously carry out activities to sustain the Diaspora relationship and build on the positive impact of the initiative.The campaign is on the theme: “A decade of African Restoration 2020-2030”.

The Year of Return (YOR) initiative revolutionized Ghana’s tourism sector and has projected the country significantly and it is expected that the number of tourist arrivals would increase to 1.1 million by the close of 2019.

The sector also recorded a tremendous growth of 18 per cent in international arrivals from the Americas, Britain, Caribbean and other key countries, whilst total airport arrivals increased by 45 per cent over the previous years.There has been a growth in tourism arrivals as well: from a baseline of 914,000 in 2016, international arrivals rose to 956,000 in 2018. Tourism receipts increased from US$1,804.56 in 2017 to US$2,589.3 in 2018

Background

It has been exactly 400 years since the first black slaves landed in Jamestown Virginia in the US and Ghana has initiated the Year of Return to invite all diasporans back home to not only learn more but explore and even invest in the country.
Since this initiative began many African Americans including Ludacris, Steve Harvey, Samuel L Jackson, Deborah Cox, Boris Kodjoe, Rick Ross, Anthony Anderson, Micheal Jai White, Tina Knowles and Beyonce, Nicole Ari Parker and many more have made their way into the country to learn more about their history.

Numerous activities including the ‘December in Ghana’ events to bring the Year of Return to a fruitful end.

Other programs include Afro Nation, Afrochella, Gold Coast Experience, Full Circle festival, Ghana Festival of Light and many others.

Ghana’s economy has generated a total of $1.9 billion through activities of the Year of Return.