GHA Hotels Forum In Sunyani
Forum Information
GHANA HOTELS ASSOCIATION
CHALLENGES FACING THE HOTEL SECTOR IN GHANA
Introduction
Tourism has over the past 30 years emerged as an important sector of the Ghanaian economy. Over the period the sector has grown on average at about 10% per decade. The tourism business is, by nature, broad and covers a wide scope of activities, creating an even wider range of industries. Generally, tourism –related industries are categorised around the needs of the tourist, namely, accommodation, food, transportation, beverage and entertainment/ attractions.
Tourism is inextricably linked to hotels. Hotels play multiple roles in the entire tourism set up. As the most popular form of accommodation, the hotels host visitors and create channels through which the benefits of tourism directly reach host communities where they are located. Aside air transportation, accommodation constitutes the single largest (approximately 30%) item of tourist expenditure. Hence, the hotel industry is an important element of a country’s tourism. The number and quality of rooms and the degree of professionalism of hotel staff are both important determinants of the attractiveness of a destination. For the tourists, the hotels do not only offer a place of stay, but also host the guest and provide other services such as food/beverage, and in some cases, entertainment. Consequently, the hotel serves as a microcosm of the wider tourism sector. Through its activities, the hotel creates jobs, and stimulates demand in other economic sectors, particularly Agriculture, thereby creating business opportunities and jobs for people in other sectors. Hence, a healthy hotel industry is beneficial to the wider tourism sector and the entire economy.
In recent times, however, the tourism trade has faced three major crises which can be summated in the acronym 3E, namely, the Ebola pandemic, the Energy crisis and the challenged Economy. The cumulative effect of these three crises has been telling on the entire tourism sector. The Hotel Industry in particular has been very hardly hit and has recorded some negative growths over the past four years.
GHA HOTELS FORUM IN SUNYANI
In this regard, GHA is hosting Hotels Forum on “The Current State of the Hotel Industry in Ghana: Challenges and Prospects” to be held on Thursday 16th May 2019 at Tyco City Hotel, Sunyani, Brong Ahafo Region, at 9am prompt.
The forum will precede the Association’s 2nd Quarter National Executive Council Meeting for 2019 and is in line with our efforts to inform and educate hoteliers, the authorities, and the general public on the issues confronting the industry.
Participants at the Forum will include: hoteliers in Sunyani and its environs; representatives of hotel regulatory bodies including Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) in the region; and members of the National Executive Council of Ghana Hotels Association. The Forum will offer you the opportunity to know more about the issues confronting the hotel industry as well as offer you the chance to throw more light on your organization’s policies and operations related to the industry.
For more information and enquiry, kindly contact Priscilla on 0241481846 or 0302249584 or email us on ghanahotelsassociation@gmail.com.