BY Daniel Bampoe
The decision by the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board (GMMB) to temporarily close several historic forts across the country in the heart of the Christmas season has sparked fresh debate about the government’s commitment to tourism promotion under the much-touted “Black Star Experience.”
In a press release dated December 19, 2025, the GMMB announced the immediate closure of five major heritage sites — Fort Apollonia at Beyin, Fort St. Anthony at Axim, Fort Orange in Sekondi, James Fort at Jamestown, and Ussher Fort at Usshertown.
The closures, which took effect from Thursday, December 18, 2025, are to remain in place until further notice.
According to the Board, the action was necessitated by the need to undertake “essential maintenance work, safety assessments and ongoing conservation activities” aimed at preserving the structural integrity and historical value of the centuries-old forts.
Management assured the public that the measure was taken in the interest of visitor safety and long-term conservation, while apologising for any inconvenience caused.
Further updates, the statement said, would be communicated in due course.
However, the timing of the closures — at the height of the Christmas and end-of-year festivities — has raised eyebrows among tourism operators, cultural commentators and sections of the public, especially at a time when Ghana is positioning itself as a year-round destination for heritage, arts and culture.
The shutdown comes under the administration of President John Dramani Mahama, which has rolled out the “Black Star Experience” as its flagship cultural and tourism initiative.
The programme is designed as a 365-day calendar of festivals, carnivals, performances and creative industry activities, with the aim of rebranding Ghana as Africa’s creative hub, attracting global tourists and the African diaspora, and stimulating job creation through the arts, culture and tourism value chain. Anchored on the symbolism of the Black Star — the emblem of African freedom and Pan-Africanism — the initiative seeks to amplify the cultural identity while driving economic transformation.
Critics, however, argue that the closure of some of the country’s most important heritage landmarks during the peak tourist season appears at odds with that vision.
For many visitors, particularly those from the diaspora, historic forts such as James Fort and Ussher Fort are not just tourist attractions but powerful sites of memory linked to the transatlantic slave trade and Ghana’s role in Pan-African history.
Comparisons have inevitably been drawn with the “Year of Return, Ghana 2019” initiative under the previous Nana Akufo-Addo administration.
That landmark campaign, launched to commemorate 400 years since the first enslaved Africans arrived in the Americas in 1619, successfully attracted hundreds of thousands of diaspora visitors during the December festivities.
Through heritage tours, cultural events, investment forums and eased visa regimes, Ghana positioned itself as a spiritual home and gateway to Africa for people of African descent, significantly boosting tourism revenues and the country’s global profile.
Against that backdrop, some stakeholders fear that closing key heritage sites during Christmas could dampen the festive “December in GH” atmosphere that has become synonymous with cultural tourism, nightlife and heritage exploration.
They argue that maintenance and safety works, though necessary, could have been scheduled outside the peak season or staggered to minimise disruption.
For now, the GMMB insists the closures are temporary and unavoidable, stressing that safeguarding the forts is essential to ensure their continued use and survival for future generations.
Yet the episode has reopened a broader conversation about planning, coordination, and policy coherence in the tourism sector — particularly how ambitious cultural branding initiatives align with on-the-ground management of the very heritage assets that give those brands meaning.
