President of Ghana Hotels Association, Dr Edward Ackah-Nyamike, has disclosed that, the lifting of restriction by government doesn’t necessarily translate to businesses experiencing growth.

According to him, although there are some hotels experiencing a positive shift in their business, it doesn’t apply to all.

His comments follow the first quarter GDP growth which revealed that the tourism sector had contracted by 10.7%.

“It doesn’t come as a surprise to us. It’s consistent with what we’ve been saying all this while that the industry is yet to recover. It’s picking up a bit but nothing close to what we had in 2019 or before. So, it will be too early to talk about recovery in the sector and I think the data has supported that position.

“The lifting of restrictions does not automatically translate into occupancy or businesses. We should also be careful not to interpret a few hotels doing above average as representing the general picture of the industry. Yes, some hotels are doing very well and yes, some hotels have positioned themselves in a way to take advantage of the patronage in the country. However, on a wider scale, looking at it in the general level across country, the occupancies are still very low, the patronage of our businesses is still low. I believe that’s what the statistics have captured”.

Additionally, Mr Ackah-Nyamike noted that, the international arrivals “formed a substantial part of the performance of the industry”.

“It’s always informed a significant part on the performance of the industry and our area is still struggling. That also has a rippling effect on even the domestic performance. Once that one is still struggling, then the picture is still gloomy”.

Stimulus package disbursed by NBSSI

Commenting on the stimulus package disbursed by the Ghana Enterprises Agency, then NBSSI, Mr Ackah-Nyamike explained that, there aren’t any published data on the number of hoteliers who have received the stimulus package.

“I think that there’s a way to be clear about some of these information. The industry is massive… The tourism and hospitality industry is huge. When we talk about the hotels, I would love to see the information from now Ghana Enterprises Agency as to the number of hotels that received that stimulus package and the quantum…

“I wish I had the facts [and] figures to talk about, as we speak now. What happened was that, the NBSSI then started so well with us, they were very transparent. We sent all the list of our members to them and they were giving us information. Eventually, when the disbursement started, they gave a release of about eight names and that was it. We never heard or received further information from them. So, as we speak, I am unable to say [the] number of Ghanaians [who] received support from the NBSSI”.

Mr Nyamike noted that the Ghana Enterprises Agency is in the best position to disclose the exact number of hoteliers who have received the package.

“We know the way we also treat monies, the hotels are also not ready to come out and say I received this amount. Those who are supposed to give us the figures are not ready to give us the figure”.