The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has released figures from its 2023 Outbound Visitors Report showing that Ghanaian travellers who made same-day return trips abroad spent a total of GH₵59.8 million in 2023.
Same-day travellers are defined as individuals who leave Ghana and return on the same day without staying overnight. Among the 77,501 such journeys recorded last year, men undertook 40,506 trips and women 36,995.
Business and professional travel represented the largest share (34 %) of these trips, followed by funeral-related travel at 23 %. Other motivations included visits to friends and family, leisure, recreation and shopping.
Regionally, the Ashanti Region posted the highest number of same-day outbound visitors across all quarters, with trip volumes estimated between 3,000 and 5,000 per quarter.
The most frequent destination and the country where travellers spent the most was Togo—highlighting its strong social and economic ties with Ghana.
According to the GSS, approximately 95 % of total spending occurred during the trip itself, and the majority of these trips took place in the first quarter of 2023. Road transport (buses, mini-vans and bicycles) was used for almost all same-day travel, underscoring the importance of land borders in these movements.
Furthermore, 94.4 % of the journeys were self-arranged, with the remainder organised through travel packages, group tours or travel agencies.
At the launch event, Government Statistician Alhassan Iddrisu urged the government and industry players to provide tax incentives to travel and tour operators who promote the use of local services and products. He also recommended enhanced collaboration between hospitality providers, tour operators and airlines to develop integrated travel packages that improve the experience for both outbound and inbound travellers.