HOSPITALITY OPERATORS URGED TO SEEK COMFORT OF PATRONS (PAGE 29)

THE hospitality industry has been urged to position itself to cater for the comfort of their patrons in order that on their return to their countries of origin, they would carry good memories of their stay with them.
The Regional Chairperson of the Ghana Hotels Association, Mrs Francesca Addison, who made the call in Takoradi, said with the recent oil find and the influx of financial and other businesses to the metropolis, there was the need for the association to adopt new ways of doing things.
Mrs Addison told the Daily Graphic after the association’s meeting in the metropolis that the challenge for the hospitality industry was to provide more accommodation, as well as deliver quality service to their clients.
She said visitors to the facilities were looking for more than just a place to sleep, so hotels, guest houses and hostels had to ensure that their guests felt at home during their short stay.
Mrs Addison said the oil find, which was said to be in commercial quantities, was not just a normal business in the making, but rather a pregnant industry that would have a positive ripple effect on the economy and other sectors.
"There is the need for more hotels with quality services and facilities that will be needed by the business community, and we have to prepare for these opportunities," she said.
There are 45 members of the association at the metropolitan and regional levels.
"We are in discussion with some stakeholders to establish a hospitality school in the region to turn out qualified middle-level personnel to help keep standards in the industry."
She said one of the other areas that needed to be looked at was the various historical sites dotted in the metropolis and other parts of the region, which needed to be made more attractive by chronicling the rich history behind them to attract tourists at local and international levels.
The regional chairperson said to achieve that, there was the need for a strong collaboration between the regional administration and the traditional rulers.
She urged the government to commit itself more to the development of the tourism industry, which had been identified as one of the best in the country after cocoa and gold, in order to tap its full potential for the benefit of the country.
"It is our hope that the central government will continue helping the hospitality industry to bring development and create employment for the youth," she said.
Mrs Addison said although the sector was doing well, there were some challenges that it faced such as tax payments, marketing the industry and keeping the environment sound.
She said the industry was one of the greatest consumers of natural resources and its environmental impacts needed to be managed properly, especially where it impacted negatively on other stakeholders and sectors.
Stressing that the industry should not ignore environmental issues, Mrs Addison appealed to the government to assist it by instituting mechanisms for the recycling of its waste.
She also appealed to the revenue agencies to be patient with them as most of their services were not paid for off-hand.
She said some of the clients of the industry had to pay huge bills and could not pay off immediately. “We served them and later submit bills for settlement. Therefore, we are not deliberately delaying in payment of certain statutory taxes," she said.