The Mirror's Health , Lifestyle and Fashion
Time with hoteliers
I was there to moderate the conference and my, things are happening! Did you know that some hotels spend more on utility tariffs than on staff salary?
Advertisement
I have said it before at this forum that the cost of hotel room for the average Ghanaian does not help our domestic tourism campaign. From what transpired, drastic measures have to be taken otherwise these prices will remain high if not increase. Worse, some hotels would bleed out of business.
The one-day event brought together all regional associations of hoteliers who were eager to find tangible solutions that would inform advocacy in developing the sector. The Ministry of Finance and the Ghana Tourism Authority and the managers of the Tourism Fund were there to engage the issues.
Missing in action
However, the ministry of local government was missing in action. Additionally, out of its 16 MMDA’s invited, only three were there to participate. A huge ayeeko to Adenta, Ga East and La Dadekotopon.
But why does it matter to involve local authorities in such a discourse? Well, because they are the landlords of every hotel business. They handle business operating permit, property rate and suitability report. They not only collect they determine these fees.
Long, long ago, I learnt in tourism school that the hotel subsector is the most tourism-specific component of the hospitality industry. Since then I always take issues confronting the business seriously.
From a humble beginning of less than two dozens members, the Ghana Hotels Association (GHA) can presently boast of over one thousand members made up Budget, Guesthouse, and one to five star hotels spread across the ten regions of Ghana.
Indirect jobs
Currently, hotels are estimated to contribute 250, 000 direct and indirect jobs to the economy. Evidenced presented by practitioners show a consistent decline in growth of the number of guests.
Other Trending Stories
About 12 agencies, including Ghana Revenue Authority, Ghana Tourism Authority, Food and Drugs Authority, Environmental Protection Agency, Immigration Service, Registrar General Department, Ghana National Fire Service, and the District Assemblies directly levy each hotel unit in Ghana.
Beyond these statutory regulatory bodies, government has also given legal backing to organisations such as Audio-Visual Rights Society of Ghana (ARSOG), Ghana Music Rights Organisation (GHAMRO), Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), and Insurance Companies, to licence and collect fees from operators of hotels on annual basis.
When these financial commitments are lined up together with the one per cent Tourism levy paid by hoteliers, the Value Added Tax (VAT) on services provided, Tier 1 Pension Contributions and the annual income tax, a real picture of an industry overburdened with taxes is created.
As Mr Herbert Acquaye, National President of the Ghana Hotels Association put it ‘the hotel industry has also become a major source of taxation point for most public sector agencies’
One reality that came out was how the one percent tourism levy was being spent. Obviously, there need to be wider consultation to encourage the participation of hoteliers.
Meanwhile action must be expedited to rope in other businesses such as airlines to get on board. According to the presentation by the Tourism Development Fund, hoteliers currently provide about 80per cent of that levy.
Security
Security was also an issue. In the face of rising terror threats the hospitality industry needs to be equipped to handle the situation. As experience has shown a good number of terrorist attacks worldwide target hotels and resorts. The question here is if a police guard is stationed at a hotel, who pays?
Another topic that generated much discussion was how the national tourism authority could market Ghana as a destination to bring in more tourists and more international conferences.
The hotelier’s conference was organised by the Greater Accra branch of the National Association.
The writer is a Communication and Tourism Specialist.[email protected]