The hotel which started operating in 2002 with 12 rooms, a restaurant and a conference room with 10 staff, now boasts of 101 luxury rooms, six conference rooms and a recently inaugurated world class restaurant.

The occasion brought together personalities from all walks of life including politicians, business owners, the clergy and representatives from the Ghana Tourism Authority and the Ghana Hotel Association (GHA), the media, family and friends.

Success story

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Airport View Hotel, Francis Fori Dzumah, said the inauguration of 21 additional rooms to the current 80 underscored the corporate success of the hotel.

He added that the 20th anniversary was evidence of hard work, dedication and concerted efforts behind a common vision.

Mr Dzumah said the managers also had to ride on the back of bold and calculated risks and the use of time-tested methods to achieve success.

“Twenty years in the life of any institution in our part of the world, especially one marked by consistent growth, is no mean achievement. This is in consideration to the challenges with financing, human resource, among many others,” he added.

He recalled some of the challenges he faced over the years trying to expand the hotel and its operations, with the pandemic key among them.

Fighting COVID-19

The CEO disclosed how Airport View Hotel contributed to fighting COVID-19 by hosting batches of travellers returning to Ghana at the height of the pandemic.

“We offered to undertake this civic duty at a time when the pandemic was at its height and the disease was then considered most mysterious and deadly”, he added.

He expressed gratitude to his parents, siblings, friends and staff as well as clients for the individual and collective parts they had played in the success of the hotel over the years.

Contributions

For his part, the President of the Ghana Hotels Association, Dr Edward Ackah Nyamike, said there was a need to put the celebration in a 20-year perspective to appreciate it the more.

He said for 20 years the Airport View Hotel had contributed to national development through the payment of taxes and regulatory fee,  making them exemplary in the industry.

“Twenty years of contributing to employment and about supporting livelihoods and families”, he added.

He added that the hotel had over the two decades provided excellent accommodation for clients, thereby contributing to the growth of the tourism and hospitality industry and successfully marketing Ghana to the world.

Domestic investment

In his remarks, the Director for Product and Investment at the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Ben Anane Nsia, said as a Ghanaian-owned establishment, the achievements of Airport View was worth celebrating because of its contributions to the economy.

According to him, with the hotel structure in popular tourist destinations, most of the hotels were foreign-owned, causing an economic leakage.

“They build the hotel and bring their own charters and their own people which at the end of the day brings leakage in the economy in terms of tourism”, Mr Nsia explained.

“So when you find domestic investments like this, the ripple effect will be seen in the economy,” he added.

Mr Nsia, therefore, encouraged the hotel to adapt to the constantly changing standards of the industry in order to meet the demands of the market.