Hospitality facilities honoured at Tourism Awards
Two separate tourism awards ceremonies to honour hospitality facilities that distinguished themselves in the Eastern and Brong Ahafo regions in 2015 were held at Senchi in the Eastern Region and Abesim in the Brong Ahafo Region last Saturday.
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At the Eastern Regional ceremony at Senchi, 18 hospitality facilities, two individuals and two media houses were honoured for their contributions to- the development of the tourism industry.
The Royal Senchi Hotel and Resort at Senchi in the Asuogyaman District was adjudged the Best Four-Star Hotel in the region.
The Royale Mac Dic Plaza Hotel in Koforidua took the prize in the three-star category; Mount Pleasantries and Apartments at Obosomase took the prize for the two-star category, while the VIP Lodge at Mamfe was adjudged the best in the one-star category.
Other award winners were Joefel Catering Services at Anyinam, which received the best food safety award; Linda Dor Plaza in Koforidua, best highway restaurant, while Charllote Court House at Akropong won the hotel of the year.
Other award winners were the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, the New Times Corporation, Kingdom Ventures of Boti Falls and the Lodge Tavern at Peduase.
Tourism sites
Addressing the ceremony, which marked the 10th Eastern Regional Tourism Awards, the acting Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Mr Gideon Aryeequaye, urged private investors to establish facilities at tourism sites to boost the sector.
He commended the award winners and further urged them to continue to work hard to raise the standard of the hospitality sector.
The Paramount Chief of the Akwamu Traditional Area, Odeneho Kwafo Akoto III, said the area abounded in numerous tourist attractions which must be explored.
He said the traditional authority was ready to partner any investor who would like to explore the tourism potential of the area.
"I am, therefore, inviting investors with the financial wherewithal to come and invest in our traditional area," he added.
Bad roads
For his part, the Eastern Regional Manager of the GTA, Mr Frederick Adjei-Rudolph, appealed to the government to expedite action on the construction of the Koforidua-Bunso, Suhum-Asamankese-Kade-Oda and Nkawkaw-Abirem roads.
He said tourism-related activities in those areas had been on the decline over the years due to the bad nature of the roads.
Brong Ahafo
From Abesim, Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah reports that the springing up of excellent hospitality facilities in the Brong Ahafo Region, particularly Sunyani, is gradually projecting the region as the most preferred conference destination in the country.
The second international conference centre in the country, the Eusbett International Conference Centre (EICC), will be inaugurated in the first quarter of 2017 to attract some of the international conferences which take place at the Accra International Conference Centre to Sunyani.
The Managing Director of the Eusbett Hotel, Mr Sam Bennett, announced that at this year’s Brong Ahafo Regional Tourism Awards Night at Abesim, near Sunyani, during which 19 operators in the tourism industry in the region were honoured.
The Eusbett Hotel, the only three-star hotel in the region, was adjudged the best in the hospitality industry.
The award in the two-star hotel category was won by Voglosam Lodge, Wenchi, while Hotel Degeorgio, Techiman, took the one-star hotel award.
The Villa Kam Hotel, Techiman, was adjudged the best guest house; the Tohaba Hotel at Wenchi won in the Budget Hotel category, while the Most Promising Hotel of the Year award was won by the Albama Hotel, with the Presbytery Hostel taking the best hostel award.
In all, 19 operators in the tourism industry in the Brong Ahafo Region were rewarded for their distinguished services and contribution to the industry.
In his address, the acting Brong Ahafo Regional Manager of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Mr Joseph Appiagyei, urged operators in the hospitality industry to adhere to quality standards in order to offer satisfactory services to clients.
He noted that in recent times service delivery had improved tremendously and that explained why the region was attracting so many conferences.
He urged tourism operators to work together and roll out excellent programmes that would attract both domestic and foreign tourists to the region in order to generate more employment for the people.