The Ghana Hotels Association has called for a fair disbursement of the US$10 million tourism grant provided by the International Development Association of the World Bank Group to the tourism sector.

The President of the association, Dr. Edward Ackah-Nyamikeh, said members of the association were gravely affected by the pandemic hence the need for transparency in the disbursement of the funds.

The project, he indicated, should be seen as a perfect vehicle through which Ghana can grow its economy in the face of the global recession. As such, he called on industry players to take advantage of the grant, access it and use it judiciously to grow their businesses.

“The tourism sector is very large, so we are hoping that all members will benefit from this. It is necessary we have a fair disbursement of the funds that is what we are looking for. I charge the grant recipients to apply the funds wisely and make good use of it in times like this”.
Dr. Edward Ackah-Nyamikeh

The grant is to revitalize the tourism sector which was heavily hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The hospitality and creative arts sectors were a significant part of the national economy adversely affected by the pandemic, resulting in a 75 percent decline in international tourism arrivals in 2020 and a 45 percent reduction in 2021.

$10m SMEs grant launched

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on July 6, 2022, launched a $10-million Ghana Tourism Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Grant for players in the hospitality and creative arts sector to enhance and expand their businesses.

The grant, which is a government of Ghana initiative supported by the World Bank, will assist 1,500 SMEs operating in the sector to modernize and improve tourist sites, restaurants, tour operations, event organization and related businesses to become attractive and competitive.

Explaining the rationale behind the grant, President Akufo-Addo said it would be in three categories — COVID-19 relief support, SME support and site upgrade.

“These are intended to help transform the tourism sector to stimulate economic growth and create jobs,” he said.

He said in 2021, the government, through the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, disbursed the Ghana cedi equivalent of $10 million to some 1,400 SMEs.

The President noted that the new grant would target 60 per cent of the women in the tourism and creative arts sector because majority of operators in the sector are female.

He commended the World Bank for supporting the initiative through the Ghana Tourism Development Project, adding that “We continue to value the partnership of the World Bank in our development journey”.

He explained that some 10,000 operators in the tourism value chain were being trained by the Ghana Tourism Authority under the Ghana Cares Obaatanpa Programme to improve their skills set in customer service delivery, which was vital to the growth of the sector.

President Akufo-Addo noted that the government would stick to its responsibility of creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.

He added, however, that it was incumbent on the private sector to ensure that its businesses were properly structured and governed in accordance with the principles of good corporate governance.