Ghana’s coastline, from the historic forts of Elmina and Cape Coast to the quiet fishing beaches of the Western Region, holds real potential for tourism that benefits the people who live there. Friends of the Nation (FoN) works with coastal communities to develop eco-tourism initiatives that create alternative income streams, ease pressure on overexploited fish stocks, and celebrate the natural and cultural heritage of Ghana’s coast.

What We Do

FoN supports community-led tourism ventures such as guided coastal and wetland tours, cultural heritage trails, and small-scale hospitality enterprises run by fisher families and youth groups. We help communities identify their tourism assets, from mangrove estuaries and nesting sites to canoe-building traditions and festivals, and connect them with training in hospitality, basic business management, and environmentally responsible tourism practices. Where possible, we link these initiatives to broader conservation goals, for example by developing eco-tourism around mangrove restoration sites or marine mammal-watching areas, so that tourism revenue directly supports the ecosystems it depends on.

Why It Matters

Many coastal households rely almost entirely on a single, increasingly unpredictable source of income: fishing. Eco-tourism offers a practical way to diversify household earnings, particularly for women and young people who may have limited access to the fishery itself. Done well, it also gives communities a direct economic incentive to protect the beaches, wetlands, and wildlife that make their area worth visiting, aligning conservation with livelihoods rather than placing them in competition.