The Deputy Head of Corporate Affairs of the Ghana Tourism Authority, Kofi Atta Kakra Kusi, has explained that the temporary closure of the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park was necessary to devise an electronic and digital ticketing strategy.
Speaking to the media, he stated that the park was open and free to all citizens to encourage domestic tourism as part of the “Experience Ghana, Share Ghana” initiative.
“When it was opened, it was opened for the general public. We are trying to promote domestic tourism. It’s called ‘Experience Ghana, Share Ghana’. Why would you open something and quickly close it? When it was opened, we gave 1 week, wanting Ghanaians to come there free of charge. So for about 5 days, anyone could pass through because we wanted Ghanaians to have a feel. They weren’t paying a dime when it was opened,” he stated.
However, due to a significant influx of visitors when it was opened, they decided to temporarily close the park to make necessary adjustments and improvements to handle the high number of tourists efficiently.
“Now the closure was for us to strategize on the ticketing. The ticketing is electronic; digital,” he said.
The park was recently redeveloped and commissioned on July 4, 2023, by President Akufo-Addo, but had to be temporarily closed on July 7 to fine-tune the ticketing system.