A Jamaican idea for community owned tourism has crossed the Atlantic. The Jamaica based Countrystyle Community Tourism Network (CCTN) has launched its first pilot project in Africa, in Paga in the Kassena-Nankana West District of Ghana’s Upper East Region, aiming to turn communities with tourism potential into business and investment destinations built on local culture and heritage.
Launched in Paga on October 20
The programme, known as the Royal Community Tourism Development Program, operates under the network’s Villages as a Business model. It officially launched on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, at Paga Town Park, at an event attended by a Jamaican delegation led by CCTN Chairman Roy Page and Senior Architect Jason Stone, alongside traditional leaders and residents. The network’s African Ambassador, Dr. Prince Tengol Klepmani, championed the project following feasibility studies and community engagements.
During the visit, the delegation met traditional authorities including the Buipewura, Abdulai Jinapor II, and the host chief, Paga Pio Charles Awiah Awampaga II, and engaged Upper East Regional Minister Akamugri Donatus Atanga, who pledged government support. Regional tourism officials led tours of local attractions including the Pikworo Slave Camp, the Paga crocodile ponds, the regional museum and the Ghana-Burkina Faso border. The Paga Youth Movement has also backed the programme and invited investors and partners to help turn Paga’s cultural assets into jobs and local business.
What is planned next
Planned initiatives include identity centres and Royal Truth Museums to preserve local stories and cultural identities, and a Know Thyself initiative to foster cultural and business exchanges between Paga and the African diaspora in the Caribbean, Europe and the Americas. Organisers are also considering exchanges involving Ghanaian traditional leaders, Jamaican Maroon communities and Rastafari groups.
A Jamaican heritage visit is part of the plan, and the reported size depends on the source: Winneba News reported around 100 Jamaicans expected to visit Paga in 2027 to reconnect with their heritage, while Bolga FM reported plans to bring about 150 Jamaicans by charter flight. Bolga FM noted that the charter flight and related activities remain subject to planning and confirmation, so treat the visit as planned, not booked.
Why it matters to the diaspora
Community tourism is the model CCTN has built in Jamaica for years: visitors spend with local guides, cooks, artisans and hosts, and the money stays closer to the community than in a purely resort based model. Taking that model to northern Ghana, a region tied to the history of the transatlantic slave trade, turns heritage travel into something practical: shared history, yes, but also local ownership, youth and women’s enterprise, and business relationships on both sides of the Atlantic.
Source: Winneba News, October 23, 2026, Ghana Guardian, October 2026, Bolga FM, October 20, 2026