By: Akosua Frema Frempong
The Ghana Hotels Association has held it 13th biennial congress in Kumasi with a call for crackdown on unregistered, unlicensed and substandard hospitality facilities by regulatory bodies to sanitize the sector and ensure safety standards.
The pushing for this action is to create a fair, competitive and safe environment for licensed operators, as the sector is recognized as an engine for Ghana’s economic development and growth of Gross Domestic Product.
Founded in 1975, the Ghana Hotels Association is the primary trade organization representing the interests of hotel owners and hospitality establishments across Ghana. Having celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2025, the Association stands as a pillar for the country’s tourism sector.
It began with a modest group of fewer than 24 hotel owners and today, can boast of over one thousand members ranging from budget guest houses to 5-star international luxury hotels.
The Association works closely with the Ghana Tourism Authority to ensure that members maintain the required international standards for hospitality.
The 13th biennial congress of the Ghana Hotels Association, held in Kumasi under the theme, “50 Years of Advocacy, Perseverance and Impacting Ghana’s Tourism Industry”, served as a platform to position hospitality facilities for better performance.
The event highlighted discussions on competitiveness, professional development and regulatory compliance. The the President of the Ghana Hotels Association, Dr. Edward Ackah-Nyameke Junior, called for governmental support for the hospitality industry.
“As we speak, we have a lot of hotels who are outside the membership of the two main hotels Association in Ghana can you know we have the Ghana Hotels Association, we have the Ghana Progressive Hotel Association. We’ve been pushing for government to make it compulsory for every hotel to belong. and you see it bothers with the sensitivity of the hotel industry. Talk about security as was mentioned, talk about comfort, talk about safety of our guests and this is a business that’s not only local but international as well. So you have people coming from other countries. So we cannot allow people to sit on the fence when it comes to regulation. Yes, the GTA will regulate them in some cases they don’t even get some of the hotels to regulate. There are unlicensed hotels in the system. These are ways that we as an association can help them. So together we make sure that every hotel is accounted for and that will be in the mandatory membership.The other thing that, I also need to mention is that, the tourism and hospitality industry from all the speakers it has huge potential for the economic growth to our country, we just need to give that extra attention. We are praying that the Black Star experience, which is the flagship program of this government, will be able to put all these issues surrounding the tourism and hospitality together and I believe that we will take our rightful position when they come to contribution to the GDP of our dear country Ghana” Dr Ackah-Nyameke explained.
The Ashanti Regional President of the Association, Mr. Akohene Mensah, explained that the biennial congresses brings together hospitality industry leaders to discuss crucial sector challenges to enhance operational efficiency.
The Paramount Chief of Tepa in the Ashanti Region, Nana Adusei Atwenewa Ampem who chaired the opening event, encouraged stronger cooperation among members.
“The strength of this sector depends on unity, professionalism and effective cooperation among regualtors, operators and the government. In this regard, I encourage stronger cooperation within the industry, a united and well organized association with full participation from all hotels across the country. I also wish to highlight that regulation must go hand- in – hand with capacity building, regular training for hotel owners, managers and staff to improve service delivery. To the government of Ghana, I respectfully present the following concerns for industry players. A review of tax burden on the industry to ease operational pressures and encourage growth and investment. There should be stable electricity supply and improved road network leading to major tourist destinations. There should be closer cooperation between the Ghana Police Service and hotel operators to address criminal activities including the cyber related offences that affect hotel operations” he indicated.
Members of the Association were advised to prioritize security for their facilities, while improving on customer care.
More Stories Here
Source:
www.gbcghanaonline.com