Continued investment key to sustaining hospitality gains — Alisa Hotel GM
Industry players in the hotel business have underscored the need for continuous investment in tourism destinations to sustain the gains made by the Year of Return and the Beyond the Return campaigns.
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They said since the execution of the two national campaigns, the hospitality industry had witnessed significant growth due to higher tourist arrivals in the country; thus, the setting up of a special fund that would allow entrepreneurs to borrow at lower interest rates to invest in the infrastructural development of the sector would make the destinations more attractive.
Launch
The Group Manager of Alisa Hotels, Yusuf Olela, made the call at the launch of a 1,000-seater pavilion at Alisa Hotel North Ridge, Accra, last Thursday evening.
Mr Olela said in spite of the strides made in the sector, industry players still experienced high utility cost, power fluctuations and inflation, a situation which negatively impacted the hotel industry.
“It is very difficult and expensive to run the hospitality industry, but we believe in this economy, we believe that the future looks better than where we are, and I am sure that things will stabilise.
“Moving forward, I think what needs to be done is more investment in tourism and destination, as well as incentives to encourage more investors to invest in the industry,” the general manager said.
Pavilion
The conference facility, which is embedded with modern audio-visual facilities, can accommodate up to 1,000 persons.
It can also be partitioned to host 500 people each. Beyond the conference facility, the hotel also unveiled what it terms as the oasis lounge, which has executive boardrooms, dining area and an outdoor facility to enhance the user experience of conference attendees.
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Mr Olela said the launch of the facilities was not to just enhance the user experience of its customers, but to respond to the demands of a larger conference facility, adding that the hotel’s pre-existing conference rooms could only take up to 500 delegates; hence, the pavilion.
Commendation
The Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Andrew Egyapa Mercer, said he was impressed by the immense contribution the hotel had made to the country in its 26 years of existence.
“Alisa Hotel ensures that the expectation of guests is exceeded with commendable professionalism and versatile services with consistent upgrade of its facilities,” he said.
The ministry, he said, was ready to provide the hotel with the requisite support to ensure that the hotel industry became stronger.
In the same vein, he urged the hotel to continue to provide quality services to tourists who came to the country, as well as the entire Ghanaian populace through innovation.