Accra, Jan.24, GNA – Ghana Hotels Association (GHA) has appealed to the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture to support the hospitality industry with the GHC50 million funded World Bank Tourism Development Project.
The Ministry got the support from the World Bank to grow the tourism and hospitality industry, which experienced challenges of cancelled reservations, low occupancy, and payment of staff occassioned by COVID-19.
Dr Edward Ackah-Nyamike Jnr., President, Ghana Hotels Association, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, at the 5th Ghana Hotels Association Awards 2021, over the weekend, said players in the industry would need the fund to reposition their businesses, saying, the “devastating effects of COVID-19 are lingering.”
“I hope that they will be able to use part of the World Bank Tourism Development Project money to support the sector, we sent a proposal to them…”
He said though the sector had benefited from promotion, publicity, and training, they needed some direct support like soft loans to revive viable but distressed businesses, which were struggling to access money from the lending market.
The President said though some money was given to players in the sector under the Ghc 600 million support from the Ghana Enterprise Agency (GEA), not much was given to entrepreneurs in the tourism and hotel.
The 2021 awards had 28 awardees chosen from “Budget Hotels” through to “Five Star Hotels,” under the theme “Resilience and sustainability of the hotel industry in Ghana.”
New awards like “Most Digitalised” and “Most Resilient” Hotels of the Year were introduced.
Mr Mark Okraku-Mantey, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, said the World Bank project would help resuscitate domestic tourism, make the hospitality industry vibrant and profitable.
He said the Ministry in partnership with a foundation in Spain would provide training to industry members this year to equip them with the best customer service skills and standards in the globally competitive market.
GNA