The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Akwasi Agyeman, said that this year’s December in GH is key to easing political tensions and enhancing social cohesion among the diaspora and Ghanaians.

He made this statement at the launch of this year’s December in GH Calendar of Events, which is part of the Beyond the Return initiative.

The Beyond the Return initiative is an annual event held in December with a series of events to climax the year’s activities.

In an interview with Citi News, the GTA CEO said that this year’s Beyond the Return would also go a long way to boost the tourism industry.

“This is the fifth edition of the event, and over the past five years, we have seen the benefits it has brought to our country. In terms of the hospitality sector, almost all the players in our value chain, including hotels, restaurants, and chop bars, benefit from the series of events that we have put together under the brand name December in GH.”

“As a result, our hotels have the highest occupancy rates in December. Restaurants are telling us the same thing. Even in the arts, if you go to the Arts Centre and other places, you can see that patronage increases during this time. In terms of social cohesion, it is a period when political tensions ease. People come together to have fun, work together, and party together, and this blatant partisanship is not seen.”