It’s already sunset, and the skies appear to be defying Monrovia’s cloudy weather as Saah John leans over a canvas to paint Liberia’s intertwined stories of liberation and loss.
In his 30s, John has painted his way through his adult life, with each piece, carrying fragments of Liberia’s history, sold and shipped abroad.
“Our customers are mostly foreigners,” says John as he applies final brushstrokes on his work. “Liberians don’t really buy paintings. They don’t really see the value in cultural expressions, but expatriates understand what we are saying.”
It is this kind of patronage that has kept John and many other artists afloat for years, selling largely to expatriates who see art as a bridge to history, something too often dismissed by Liberians. However, the establishment of the Liberian Tourism Authority is offering a flicker of hope among artists that the trend will soon change. The hope comes as the Government, in its development plan–the ARREST Agenda–has identified cultural tourism as a key pillar of economic diversification and national identity.
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This is, after all, Liberia possesses what tourism experts call “narrative advantage”, a story so unique it practically markets itself. The country remains the only African country founded by freeborn men and women and formerly enslaved people from the US and elsewhere. It is the only republic born out of a project of experiment, carrying the weight of one of the most complex chapters in human history.
“That legacy makes Liberia the only African nation directly tied to the African diaspora’s struggle for emancipation,” says cultural historian Emmanuel Dolo. “Liberia embodies a living bridge between continents, offering a story of freedom and contradiction, all at once.”
Liberia also boasts of surf-friendly beaches whose waves are considered among the best in Africa. It also features rainforests that are home to some of the rarest birds in Africa, perhaps the world, and pygmy hippopotamuses, which are extremely unique to Liberia. These tourism promises were recognized by Lonely Planet in 2019, naming Liberia among the top 10 destinations that year.
“Despite Liberia’s past,” Lonely Planet wrote, “Liberia is lush, green, friendly and vibrant, full of hope and energy, offering everything from surf spots to tropical birds and cultural significance, and home to one of West Africa’s best national parks, while hanging onto a confident American spirit mixed with West African roots.”
But converting this potential into an industry has proved elusive for successive postwar Liberian Governments struggling to move beyond ambition. The first attempt came in 2016, when the former President Sirleaf’s administration declared tourism a national priority, heralding it as a path to economic diversification. However, progress was slow by the time she left office in 2018.
In 2022, her successor, President Weah, with support from the International Trade Centre, developed and launched Liberia’s first-ever tourism brand and marketing strategy, with an ambitious target to gain 80,000 visitors, create 2,000 new jobs, and generate US$120 million in foreign exchange by the end of 2025.
The document, launched with considerable fanfare at Roberts International Airport, positioned Liberia as West Africa’s premier destination for nature, culture, and water sports, with a brand essence defined as “the freedom to discover”, and a marketing slogan of “Liberia: Amazing Discoveries.” However, beyond speeches, the document ended up as one of those promising visions that died just as it was born.
Three years later, however, the Boakai administration has moved to create a standalone tourism authority, targeting, among others, the development of 15 eco-tourism sites across the country and domestic tourism trips by 10% over the next four years.
Critics say that while the creation of the tourism authority is welcoming, the fundamental problem affecting tourism still remains unaddressed.
Dr. Toga McIntosh, a former foreign minister under the Sirleaf government, told Frontpage Africa in August that tourism only activates growth when there are trained personnel and a clear roadmap, and not the other way around.
Dr. McIntosh disclosed that the plan from the Sirleaf administration was to identify tourism sites and build the infrastructure that would support them, but the Boakai administration instead flipped the page.
The Boakai administration, however, insists that change is underway. Chris Onanuga, the presidential envoy for tourism, who is tasked with getting the tourism authority off the ground, told Frontpage Africa recently that such criticism is misplaced, as the Government had to start from somewhere, even if the conditions are not perfect.
“Tourism has to start somewhere,” he says. “You don’t wait for perfection before beginning. We’re building the structure and presenting what we have to the world.”
Onanuga has cast the rollout of an e-visa system, along with some airport upgrades and infrastructure improvements, as evidence of the government’s commitment to modernizing travel for tourists. The e-visa, introduced in March, allows travelers to apply online up to a month in advance, with visas collected upon arrival. Officials say the effort is part of a broader plan to build human capacity for tourism management, develop 15 eco-tourism sites by 2030, and raise US$1 billion in revenue, perhaps by the end of 2030.
But tour operators note that the e-visa system, which the government is boasting of, remains cumbersome, often requiring multiple trips to the Liberia Immigration Office. The lack of visas on arrival, they argued, continues to deter travelers deciding between Liberia and other accessible destinations.
According to the 2024 Africa Visa Openness Index, Liberia is among the most restrictive countries for travellers, requiring visas for nearly all visitors and enforcing complex entry procedures that discourage spontaneous trips. This is despite neighboring West African countries such as Ghana, Cabo Verde, Guinea, and Sierra Leone easing visa rules and making notable strides toward greater openness.
Tourism analyst Denise Morris, who runs the travel and tour company Liberia Discoveries Enterprise, argued that visa openness directly correlates with tourism growth and economic development, and without reforms, Liberia risks sidelining itself from the region’s tourism economy. According to Ms. Morris, Liberia’s current visa policy is self-defeating, sending potential visitors the message that they are not welcome before they even book a flight.
“If you look at the broader implications of Liberia’s visa policy, you will realize that we maintain barriers that immediately discourage potential visitors, undermining growth in the tourism industry,” says Ms. Morris, a graduate with a Master’s degree in Tourism Management. “However, we have never been closer to realizing our country’s tourism potential than now: the government has made a stride, and we hope they listen and undertake more reform.”
For Momodu Konneh, a fine artist, the real challenge facing the Liberia Tourism Authority is not the issue of visa policy but the infrastructure challenge, a tall order in a country that has limited resources with competing development priorities. Konneh argued that the government’s focus should be on improving the road networks to tourism sites, an issue he says has become the single biggest obstacle to Liberia’s tourism ambitions.
According to the World Bank, only about 10 percent of Liberia’s road network is paved, with many routes to potential tourism sites becoming impassable during the rainy season, which spans nearly half the year.
“Liberia’s cultural wealth offers immense potential that will make tourism a success regardless of the challenges,” says Konneh, with optimism about the future. “All African countries that are benefiting from tourism started from somewhere, so the case is not different for Liberians.”
His optimism is, however, overshadowed by deteriorating landmarks that have been left to ruin, with generations of Liberians growing up not knowing their value. The National Museum, once ensconced within the grandeur of the Executive Mansion, Supreme Court, and Legislative chambers, is a shadow of itself, struggling to offer visitors an experience to interact with Africa’s first and oldest republic during its beginnings.
The museum was commissioned in 1958 by President Tubman to showcase the complex story of Liberia’s founding by freeborn and formerly enslaved people, intertwined with its African heritage, but years of neglect have left the museum and its collections poorly maintained.
The home of former President Joseph Jenkins Roberts, Africa’s first ever democratically elected president, also presents an even starker example. The building, which most likely predates Liberia’s founding as well as doubling as Africa’s first executive mansion, has become the headquarters of the Liberia Bar Association, with few visitors realizing that the building once represented the seat of African self-governance.
Its distinctive 19th-century Colonial-American architecture, characterized by wide verandas, double-hung windows, and weathered clapboard siding that echoes the antebellum South – stands as a rare physical testament to Liberia’s founding narrative.
Perhaps most emblematic of the neglect is the Beh Sao Cultural Village, located about 50 kilometers from Monrovia. This site, established during the administration of President William Tolbert, was intended to preserve the legacy of King Ngola, one of seven traditional rulers who signed the historic 1821 Treaty of Friendship with American settlers. But the village now lies in ruins, with its museum nearly empty and structures crumbling.
“The task at hand for the tourism authority is significantly huge,” says Ms. Morris, who has frequently called for support for cultural sites. “The focus in the short term should not be about promotion but the restoration of historic landmarks.”
She argued that domestic cultural sites provide the foundation that makes international marketing credible, and neglect sends a wrong message to tourists. Cultural historian Emmanuel Dolo could not agree more. He says landmarks play a crucial role in the tourism ecosystems worldwide, linking the past, present, and the future into one cultural experience.
“The Tourism Authority gives us hope that something positive will happen. It should be that the government sees culture as valuable,” he says. “The demands of tourists would definitely lead to the restoration and preservation of historic landmarks.”
“What the Government needs to do is to muster the courage and ask the bar association to leave the former President Roberts’ home, so that restoration can take place,” Dolo added.
While the intention of the tourism authority regarding these landmarks remains unclear, John says the wait cannot be indefinite, asking the Government to act swiftly in restoring these cultural landmarks.
As night falls, John packs up his brushes, with the hope that the Boakai administration’s action to establish a tourism authority would be a blessing and not a curse. Tomorrow he’ll complete the remaining two commissioned artworks, with each one a small economic transaction that could, in aggregate, yield US$225 — enough to feed him and his growing family for a few weeks.
“We remain hopeful no matter what. The process has begun,” says John as he closes his studio. “At least an authority has been established. Maybe the policies will follow.”
It is this sentiment that has driven artists’ belief that the Tourism Authority represents Liberia’s best effort yet to capture the value from its tourism potential, though it is tempered by decades of missed opportunities and potential bureaucratic hurdles.
Whether the Tourism Authority can transform Liberia’s considerable tourism potential into an economic reality remains an open question. Analysts say success will require not just institutional development and policy reform, but a fundamental shift in how the country values and supports its cultural heritage.
