Entertainment
iShowSpeed Live Stream: A win for Ghana Tourism
iShowSpeed, known in private life as Darren Jason Watkins Jr. is a 21-year-old American YouTube streamer known for unfiltered contents, games, and athleticism, among others.
Currently, he has over 50 million subscribers on YouTube, over 47 million subscribers on TikTok, 45 million on instagram and over eight million following on facebook and millions on other platforms like Snapchat, twitch as well as X
iShowspeed averages between 80 to 100 million views per post on TikTok, and largely his primary audience on these platforms are African Americans, europeans and Africans among others.
In 2024, Ghana’s tourism sector generated $4.82 billion, contributing significantly to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) after receiving about 1.2 million inbound tourists.
Interestingly, out of this number, America, Nigeria and the UK were our top three countries where most of our visitors came from.
America was number one with 137,862, followed by Nigeria with 111,581 and the UK, with 52,845 people.
This means that in a world where influence is a currency and visibility is a power which can be turned into wealth generation, Ghana must maximise every digital marketing opportunity which has the tendency to help consolidate the gains in these countries.
Millions could be pumped into different advertising ventures, but it would have been difficult to generate the earned media and organic conversation which the country is receiving from all over the world as a result of the live stream.
This postive reviews the country is receiving since the stream can be turned into bookings, visits, investments, employment and others from short, medium, to long term.
It is therefore not surprising that the stream has led to the Shea Butter Museum being fully booked till March 16, 2026.
We should not also lose sight of the fact that tourism goes beyond visiting. It includes spending in markets, hotel accommodation, transportation (flight, vehicle, and other forms), tourist sites, destination marketers, food and other industries in the value chain. These industries hugely benefit from tourism as the mother of other sectors.
Clearly, the country could leverage global visibility through the iShowSpeed lens and platforms, along with millions of reviews from content creators worldwide, to build significant equity.
This could be turned into a soft power, to introduce our tourism assets, among others, to the rest of the world.
It must be noted that this visit is hinged on tourism marketing through digital media, which is crucial in today’s world of advertising for future growth.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
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Award-winning Ghanaian musician, Michael Owusu Addo, affectionately called Sarkodie has described his annual event, Rapperholic concert as bigger than just a music event, highlighting its significant economic impact.
In a post after a successful Rapperholic edition in Kumasi, the rapper noted that the concert stimulates economic activity across Kumasi, Accra and the wider Ghanaian economy.
According to him, this is driven through tourism, hospitality, transportation, food, fashion, media, advertising, employment and the creative supply chain.
“The economic value of this concert extends far beyond ticket sales. It includes visitor spending, revenue for local businesses, temporary jobs created, suppliers paid and the future tourism and commercial opportunities generated by the event,” he stated.
Sarkodie called on government and the private sector to seize the opportunity to build an ecosystem where Ghanaian entertainment generates measurable economic value, supports businesses, creates jobs and attracts visitors.
“Let’s invest in our creative economy. The potential goes far beyond the stage,” he added.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
Multiple award-winning dancehall artiste Emmanuel Andrew Samini popularly known as Samini is set to return to his Dansoman base with the much-anticipated Samini Experience on December 24.
The musician, who has nurtured top talents from the community in the past, says this year’s edition will be held in collaboration with the Dansoman Homecoming Carnival, to make the event bigger.
Speaking to the media at Kegali Hotel during a press launch on Friday, October 16, Samini said activities including a clean-up exercise, health walk, Children’s Day and games will take place from December 18 ahead of the main event.
According to him, the choice of Dansoman is to give back to the community where it all started.
He added that the event was also aimed at nurturing future talents by giving them a platform to showcase their abilities.
He disclosed that some music legends from Dansoman and other big names in the music industry will be on the bill to thrill patrons.
Samini also revealed that the Dansoman Exhibition streets will be blocked to make way for the unforgettable night of music.
He expressed appreciation to the Ablekuma West Municipal Assembly for their collaboration to ensure the success of the programme.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
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