Collaborate with govt to increase hotel rooms - Tourism Minister to hoteliers

The Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr Mohammed Ibrahim Awal, has urged players in the hospitality industry to collaborate with the government to increase hotel rooms in the country from 3,900 to 100,000 within the next decade.

He said following the increasing number of visitors into the country, there was the need for the construction of more hotel rooms to accommodate them.

“I want to urge you all to ensure that within the next 10 years we put up additional 100,000 rooms in Budget to Five Star hotels for both domestic and international visitors. At the moment, the 3,900 rooms we have in the country is not enough,” the minister added.

Dr Awal was addressing the third National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the Ghana Hotels Association (GHA) in Accra yesterday on the theme: “Sustaining the hotel industry in Ghana post COVID-19”.

It was attended by stakeholders in the hospitality industry who deliberated on strategies to address challenges and also identify opportunities for growth.

Preferred destination

As one of 13 countries identified this year as best places to visit in the world, coupled with the fact that Ghana was among the Most Peaceful countries in West Africa with a good legal system and very friendly citizens, the minister said his outfit was also working to ensure the country became the centre of meetings and conferences in the sub- region.

He gave the assurance that the government would continue to create the necessary environment to attract visitors and create jobs to improve on the lot of the people.

Dr Awal further called on hoteliers to prioritise issues relating to the environment in which they operate, adding “practise environmental tourism and also source products from local communities”.

“Let us develop our culture, including music, so that when tourists come to our hotels, they would be entertained by our indigenous cultural troupes and local musicians to create experience for our visitors,” he said.

On the organisation of a forum on Public Private Partnership (PPP), the minister said that it would be convened for stakeholders next month.

He said such a forum was necessary to enable players in the sector to address their differences and chart the way forward.

Concerns

The President of the GHA, Dr Edward Ernest Ackah-Nyamikeh Jnr, expressed concerns over the astronomical increase in utility bills which he said was affecting the growth of the industry.

Dr Ackah-Nyamikeh also said that members of the association were yet to receive their share of the Tourism Development Fund and demanded that they were updated on the disbursement of the fund.

He urged members to buy into the digitalisation drive of the government by conducting their operations online.

The president also commended the government for the upgrade of the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and other tourist attraction sites in the country.

For his part, the Greater Accra Regional Chairman of GHA, Benjamin Afunya, said that members could “transform bitterness of high taxes into recipe for success through determination and resilience”.