The Chamber for Tourism Industry Ghana has advised government to exhibit vested interest in making the tourism sector more conducive for tourists as the sector is currently grappling with the impact of the pandemic on its operation.
Prince Ntiamoah Boampong, the Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber noted in an interview that due to the halt in businesses there is the need for government to pay extra attention to ensure sustainability and sustenance of the sector.
Most hotels closed down during the lockdown phase, with restrictions imposed within the country which consequently obstructed patronage of their services.
“We are all competing for the tourists who will take the bold step to be visiting countries. And if a tourist is coming to your country and he has a budget he can go for a safari in Northern Ghana and do the same safari in Kenya. When he’s coming to your country and he gets to Kenya and maybe they will charge him a COVID-19 test of 30 dollars and you’re charging 150 dollars, and the airline which is refusing even to charge it, you’re going to charge them penalty, you are not making your country attractive.
“So, we as a chamber we’re saying that government should be looking at some of these things because it’s going to be a burden on the industry. Mind you, during COVID-19 and even now, a lot of our four, five- and three-star hotels became ghost towns. There was nobody there, they closed down, and workers were laid off. So, now we want to receive more international visitors to be able to jump start all these various hotels.”
Mr. Boampong further noted that surmounting tax payment has been a real challenge for the sector which is subsequently snowballing into the industry being “unattractive”.
“The hotels are having close to about 20 taxes they are paying. A lot of nuisance taxes in the price build up and so if things like this come on board again, we are making the whole industry unattractive and as a chamber we are very concerned about the businesses of these players and what they do to survive. So, if government wants to help the tourism sector, little things like these charges, penalties they’re giving airlines should be taken off.”
In September 2020, the Ghana Tourism Authority projected a strong pick up of the Tourism sector even before the end of this year.
This was based on some initial numbers that the Authority received following the easing of restrictions and opening of the Kotoka International Airport for international travels.
In a previous interaction with the Chief Executive of the Ghana Tourism Authority, Akwasi Aygemang, he noted that based on some engagements with players in the sector and initial numbers that the Authority was picking up, things could stabilize very soon.
“We have checked with some of the hotels and realized that bookings made for December 2020 have not been cancelled,” the Tourism Authority Boss added, as he maintained that things will pick up strongly in the coming months”.
