Vida Adutwumwaa Boateng
FOLLOWING THE successful organisation of the final funeral rites (Dote Yie) of the late Asantehemaa, Nana Ama Konadu Yiadom III, which was held from September 15 to 18, 2025 at Manhyia Palace in Kumasi, the heart of the Ashanti Kingdom, media personality Vida Adutwumwaa Boateng has called for a relook at the funeral tourism proposal introduced under the previous Nana Akufo-Addo-Bawumia administration.
Speaking on UTV’sUnited Showbiz , Ms. Boateng was of the view that Ghana has a rich culture, especially when it comes to funeral activities, stressing that funeral tourism will serve as a new avenue for revenue when properly harnessed.
She mentioned that all aspects of the late Asantehemaa’s funeral organisation incorporated elements from the creative space.
“And this has raised a conversation on social media concerning funeral tourism initiative raised by the previous government sometime ago. After witnessing the funeral and comparing the submission made by the then Minister on funeral tourism, I think we could have done better,” she stated.
Ms. Boateng further indicated that in America and other parts of the world, there is a cemetery which serves as a tourist site, adding that, “the description of the whole funeral tourism by the then minister was ridiculed. After watching the Asantehemaa’s funeral, if we have arranged this initiative well, we would have picked up from there.”
She urged the current leadership of the Ghana Tourism Authority to re-strategise the whole concept of the funeral tourism initiative to attract more tourists for state revenue.
Entertainment pundit, Ola Kwaku Michael, on the other hand, said the tourism sector has lost the opportunity to tap into the cultural significant of the just ended funeral due to the poor implementation of the funeral tourism initiative.
By Prince Fiifi Yorke