Soft Power Through Nation Branding: A Study of Ghana‘S Tourism Industry

Abstract

The advent of diplomatic relations has brought a twist in power acquisition. In recent times, states barely acquire and demonstrate their power using hard means/ military. Instead, they have resorted to soft means – accruing soft power by doing so. One of the ways states acquire soft power is through nation branding. In Ghana for instance, there was a conscious effort at nation branding in 2009 through the ―Brand Ghana‖ project which covered various facets of the economy. Nonetheless, in recent years, the tourism industry seems to be used as a prop to attain this agenda. Though quite successful, little attention has been paid to what its success means to the nation‘s diplomatic relations. This project therefore, sought to analyse the existence of Ghana as a brand and ascertain the impact the "See, Eat, Wear and Feel Ghana" project of 2017 and the "Year of Return" project of 2019 has had on Ghana‘s diplomatic relations. The research was based on thematic content analysis and relied on both secondary and primary data. This text explored the relationship between nation branding, tourism and soft power. An analysis of the Brand Ghana project is also made to aid a better understanding of Ghana‘s commitment to nation branding. The research found that Ghana has no concerted strategy towards nation branding and that since the futility of the Brand Ghana agenda, attempts have been made to brand Ghana using its tourism prowess. Lastly, the research revealed that Ghana has an enormous tourism potential which can be used as a linchpin for soft power acquisition. For this to happen, there needs to be a nation branding policy, adequate investment in the tourism industry and concerted stakeholder effort.