Brett Davies paced up and down the sloping sands of Kokrobite beach in Ghana, organizing surfers from 20 different countries at his annual international competition.
Along the beach, about 30km west of Accra, dotted with dug-out fishing boats, Rastafarians were selling T-shirts and small children were playing in the sand.
Davies, 42, is leading the push to bring surfers to the West African nation as a way to help boost the country’s under-developed tourism sector.
Photo: AFP
The British national already runs a surf school at Kokrobite and has helped to bring surfing to Busua, near the border with Ivory Coast.
“The greatest thing about surfing in Ghana is that we have uncrowded world-class waves that appeal to the beginner and intermediate market,” he said.
“Most well-known destinations are very localized and very intimidating to the average surfer,” he added.
At the competition, which was held last month, local reggae boomed from the speakers stacked in the corner of a car lot.
In the water, Emmanuel Ansah cut across the breaks, deftly maneuvering his board, trying to catch the eye of the judges sitting on a wooden platform, looking out to sea.
The 19-year-old from Busua started surfing five years ago and described his first time on the waves as “like having a new girlfriend.”
“I was so happy,” he said.
Now he, too, wants to see Ghana become a surfing destination in its own right — and one day represent the West African nation at overseas competitions.
According to the World Bank, 897,000 international tourists visited Ghana in 2015. In comparison, just over 1.1 million went to Kenya and 8.9 million traveled to South Africa.
However, the World Travel and Tourism Council estimates numbers for Ghana could jump to nearly 1.3 million this year and more than 2 million by 2027.
Tourism generally focuses on natural attractions like waterfalls and national parks, historic slave forts and cultural activities.
However, with about 550km of unspoiled coastline, watersports on the Atlantic Ocean, off the palm tree-lined golden sands, are being seen as a major draw.
“Surfing has a huge potential,” Ghana tourism specialist Gilbert Abeiku Aggrey said. “We have not developed our beaches. We have not done anything, it’s a raw opportunity for anyone who wants to come.”
“Ghana is just about to explode due to surfing tourism and it’s very exciting times for surfing in Ghana,” Davies said.
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