Designing the experience behind ‘Brand Ghana’

By Amanda AKUSHIE

As the festive season approaches, Ghana once again opens its doors to visitors from across the world. Airports come alive with reunions, curiosity, and anticipation as tourists, returnees, and first-time travelers arrive eager to experience the rhythm, colour, and warmth that Ghana is known for. From vibrant markets and historic castles to serene landscapes and rich cultural traditions, the promise of the ‘Motherland’ is as compelling as ever.

Let me introduce you to Ama, a tourist friend who recently arrived in Accra with that same excitement. Like many before her, she had long imagined the famed Ghanaian hospitality and looked forward to immersing herself in the culture, history, and energy of the country. Her destination lived up to its reputation; beautiful, refreshing, and deeply memorable.

Yet, as with many journeys, the experience wasn’t shaped only by the destination, but also by everything that happened along the way. From arrival processes to road travel and interactions across different touchpoints, Ama’s story reflects an experience where many visitors quietly recognize. One filled with warmth and promise, but also moments of friction that linger longer than they should.

These experiences, echoed in visitor reviews and public conversations, invite an important national reflection. As President John Mahama recently noted, service delivery remains a critical factor in fully unlocking Ghana’s tourism potential. This is not a question of goodwill. Ghanaians are widely known for their friendliness but of how well our systems, infrastructure, and professional standards translate that goodwill into consistent, memorable experiences.

As a Customer Experience (CX) Management consultancy, we believe this conversation goes beyond isolated encounters. It is about how culture, strategy, and professionalism come together to shape “Brand Ghana” on the global stage. If we want our natural warmth to shine through at every touchpoint, then we must be intentional about how experiences are designed, delivered, and sustained.

To understand how we can strengthen this experience, we must first look beneath the surface, examining the cultural, strategic, and professional factors that influence how service is delivered across the country.

The cultural perspective – Rethinking how we approach service

One of the observations highlighted by President John Mahama points to a subtle but important challenge within service delivery: there are moments when service can feel less like a shared responsibility and more like a favour being extended. Visitors and citizens may encounter this in public offices, at transit points, or during everyday interactions, creating an experience that feels transactional rather than welcoming.

This, however, is not a reflection of people who lack warmth or courtesy. Rather, it is the result of deeper, long-standing realities within many work environments. Over time, when effort is rarely acknowledged, when training opportunities are limited, and when there is little connection between excellent service and personal or professional growth, motivation naturally declines. In such settings, even well-intentioned individuals can become disengaged, performing their roles out of obligation rather than pride.

Gradually, this disengagement can shape attitudes. Service stops feeling like a meaningful contribution and begins to feel like an added burden. What emerges is not deliberate rudeness, but a mindset where going beyond the basic requirement no longer seems worthwhile. When this happens, service becomes a process to complete, not an experience to deliver.

Reversing this trend requires restoring dignity, pride, and purpose to service. Service excellence must be seen, celebrated, and rewarded. Imagine public institutions where exceptional service is recognized with the same enthusiasm we give to academic achievement or sporting excellence. Imagine leaders who consistently model empathy, responsiveness, and respect in their daily interactions.

Culture, after all, follows leadership. When leaders demonstrate that service matters and that those who serve well are valued, that standard naturally spreads across the system. A renewed national service culture must inspire people to serve not because they are required to, but because they feel proud to do so.

The strategic perspective – Seeing experience as one connected journey

For visitors like Ama, Ghana is experienced as one continuous story. From the moment a visa is applied for, through arrival at the airport, road travel, accommodation, attractions, and eventual departure, every interaction forms part of a single journey. Each touchpoint contributes to how the country is remembered.

Behind the scenes, however, these touchpoints are often managed independently. Immigration focuses on entry processes, tourism authorities promote destinations, road agencies handle infrastructure, and security agencies manage checkpoints. Each institution carries out its mandate, yet the overall experience is rarely viewed or managed as one integrated whole.

This separation is where many frustrations quietly build. While systems may function individually, the absence of coordination means no single entity takes ownership of the end-to-end experience. For the visitor or citizen, there is no distinction between agencies. It is simply “the Ghana experience.”

Addressing this requires a shift in strategic thinking. We must begin to intentionally design and manage experiences across the full journey. A Citizen or Visitor Experience Blueprint would allow the country to define the experience it wants to deliver and align all relevant institutions toward that shared outcome.

Such an approach would involve closer collaboration between agencies, the use of real-time feedback to identify and resolve pain points, and the empowerment of institutions to redesign broken processes without waiting for central approval. When the public sector leads with this level of coordination and clarity, it creates a foundation for consistently positive experiences. Great experiences do not happen by chance. They are thoughtfully designed, carefully coordinated, and continuously improved.

The professional perspective – Elevating standards and capability

Another important dimension of service delivery lies in how roles are filled and standards are upheld. When appointments are influenced more by familiarity than by competence, or when training and development are treated as optional, service quality becomes uneven. Over time, this inconsistency sends a subtle message that professionalism is secondary.

Across tourism and public service, there are many roles that directly shape visitor and citizen experiences. When these roles are not supported by the right skills, mindset, or ongoing development, even the best intentions can fall short. In some cases, this reflects systemic hiring practices; in others, it is the absence of structured training and capacity-building by leadership at various levels. The impact is gradual but significant. Talented individuals become discouraged, standards slip, and mediocrity begins to feel acceptable. Once this takes root, improving service becomes increasingly difficult.

Reversing this trend requires a deliberate commitment to professionalism. Service delivery must be recognized as a skilled discipline. One that deserves training, certification, and clear career pathways. Institutions such as the Ghana Tourism Authority and the Public Services Commission are well positioned to lead this shift by setting and enforcing clear service standards.

This can include accredited customer experience and hospitality training programmes, mandatory certification for public-facing roles, and structured recognition for teams and institutions that demonstrate measurable improvement. When competence and effort are visibly rewarded, standards naturally rise. When people see service as a respected profession and not just a job, excellence becomes something to aspire to and consistently deliver.

Reimagining ‘Brand Ghana’ through experience

At its core, this conversation is about more than tourism. It is about how we show up for one another as a nation and how that spirit is felt by everyone who encounters Ghana ie visitors and citizens alike. Tourists may experience it briefly, but citizens live it daily in public offices, hospitals, banks, schools, and shared public spaces.

If Ghana is to fully reflect the warmth it is known for, we must be intentional about the experiences we design and deliver. This calls for a shared commitment to developing a Strategic Citizen and Visitor Experience Blueprint. One that aligns culture, strategy, and professionalism across every touchpoint. It is about rekindling pride in service, strengthening coordination between institutions, and raising standards through training, recognition, and accountability.

When citizens are treated with respect and care, visitors feel it too. And when our institutions lead with empathy and purpose, that mindset naturally spreads. Ghana does not need to rediscover its warmth; it needs to express it more consistently through systems that make care visible, reliable, and rewarding.

The future of ‘Brand Ghana’ will not be shaped by slogans or campaigns alone, but by everyday moment. A smooth arrival, a helpful interaction, a journey that feels considered from start to finish. It is in these moments that people feel seen, valued, and welcomed. That is how we strengthen Brand Ghana. Thoughtfully, intentionally, and one experience at a time.

>>>the writer is CEO, Nilee Consult. She can be reached via [email protected]

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