Post on 16-May-2023
A PLACE FOR HOTELS AND CATERING ESTABLISHMENT IN GHANA’S TOURISM INDUSTRY.
ARC-11-01-3037
ERIC KARIKARI
Abstract ……............................................................................................. 2
Introduction …………....................................................................................... 3
o background
What is Tourism? .................................................................................... 4
Tourism Infrastructure ……………………………………………………………………………….. 5
Tourism in Ghana: Facts & Figures. ........................................................................ 7
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats ............................... 7 – 8
Tourism in West Africa ................................................................................... 9 – 10
Accommodation within the industry ........................................................ 11
Conclusion ................................................................................................ 12
Glossary ………….……………………………………………………………………………....... 13
Reference ................................................................................................ 14
Ghana’s rich heritage, her naturally hospitable people and her commitment to democratic governance
has made her a peaceful, secure and politically stable country. In terms of popularity, Ghana ranks third after
Nigeria and Senegal in the West African Sub Region. This notwithstanding, Ghana is not known as a tourist
destination site.
Something is not going right: Ghana has not been able to realise her full potential in tourism
development. Two obvious reasons for this are our lack of awareness of the importance of tourism sector to
Ghana and Ghanaians, and our lack of a marketing strategy.
The objectives of the report are to analyse the trends of international local tourist arrivals and receipts
into the country, the purpose of visits, tourist expenditure and all accommodation and catering
institution/organizations that make their visit a success. The purpose was to determine the number tourists’
sites and also whether Ghana Tourism Board (GTB) ensured that accommodation and catering facilities met
quality standards set in the New Harmonised Standards.
Background:
Tourism has become a global and highly competitive socio-economic and environmental activity in
both developed and developing countries. It has become the largest and fastest growing industry world-wide,
and stimulates other sectors such as agriculture, finance and manufacturing. Apart from generating foreign
exchange earnings and revenue for governments, tourism has the potential to become a powerful tool in pro-
poor development strategies. It has the ability to create jobs and wealth for local economies as well as
contribute to conserving natural resources. Ghana is fortunate to be endowed with a wide-range of cultural,
natural and historical attractions. Additionally, the strategic geographical central location of the country, the
excellent air transport access, political stability, coupled with the proverbial Ghanaian hospitality and
friendliness of Ghanaians are not just assets but have created a conducive environment for growth of the
tourism sector.
The tourism sector is an important contributor to Ghana’s economic development. In 2008, an
estimated 1.4 billion US dollars was realised from the tourism sector, making it the fourth highest foreign
exchange earner after gold, cocoa, and remittances from Ghanaians resident abroad. In the same year, 234,679
jobs were created (directed or indirectly) by the tourism sector.
When well planned, tourism can be a viable tool for environmental conservation and the preservation
of local cultures. Tourism can also induce central and local government to make necessary infrastructure
improvement in host communities.
Image showing wildlife and tourist
Ghana has a variety of natural, historical, cultural and other type (usually man-made) tourists’
attractions. Examples of these are national parks and forest reserves, forts and castles, festivals and
museums. These attractions need to be developed and managed to appeal to both local and
international tourists.
Historical background
A formal development of tourism in Ghana was an evaluation of the country's tourism
resources in 1970 which led to the formulation of a tourism development plan for 1972 -1975.
Subsequent plans have been developed including a 15-year tourism development plan which was
intended to guide tourism planning for the period 1975-1990 and the National Tourism
Development Plan formulated by the Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with the World Tourism
Organisation in 1995 to guide domestic and international tourism development from 1996-2010.
History of the Ministry of Tourism
The Ministry of Tourism was created in 1993, with the mandate to develop, promote and coordinate
all tourism activities in Ghana. In 2003, the functions of the Ministry were expanded to include the
Modernisation of the Capital City (MCC). From 2006, the Ministry was known as the Ministry of
Tourism and Diaspora Relations until it was renamed Ministry of Tourism in 2009. The Ghana
Tourism Board (GTB) is the implementing body for the development of tourism.
Statutory mandate
Ministry of Tourism
The Ministry of Tourism (MoT) was created by an executive instrument in 1993 with the
mandate to develop, promote and coordinate all tourism activities in Ghana.
Ghana Tourism Board
The Board was established by National Redemption Council Decree (NRDC 224) 1973,
amended by the SMCD 80 of 1977. It is the implementing agency of the Ministry of Tourism.
Major Activities
Ministry of Tourism
Establishes tourism development policies and planning
Coordinates with MMDAs and MDAs to develop and manage tourist sites
Identifies and develops products of public types of tourist attractions
Ghana Tourism Board
Sets standards for commercial types of tourist facilities and major infrastructure.
Monitors the activities of the private sector
Markets tourism domestically and internationally
What is tourism….?
Tourism comprises the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual
environment, for a period of not more than one consecutive year, for leisure, business and other purposes not
related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited.
The tourism industry can be defined as those firms, organisations and facilities that incidentally or
intentionally provide facilities and services for tourists, to cater for their needs from the time of planning for
their trip, to their return home. The tourism industry is one of the largest industries in the world, comprising
924 million international tourists in 2008, and accounting for 30% of the world’s exports of services. Global
tourism generated US$ 856 billion (€ 625 billion) in revenues, in 2007.
Global tourism is forecast to continue to grow in the long term, though at a slower pace for 2009, due to
the current global economic downturn. However, the good news is that Africa, as well as East Asia and the
Pacific, the rest of Asia, and the Middle East, will have higher growth percentages than the rest of the world.
TOURIST INFRASTRUCTURE
Tourism is a competitive industry that requires a good mix of attractions and support facilities to ensure
a sustainable tourism industry. Some of the facilities and services required to meet the needs of tourists include,
accommodation services; food and beverage services; transportation, services by travel agents, tour operators,
and tourist guides; recreation and entertainment services such as the performing arts, museums, botanical and
zoological gardens, nature reserves and wildlife preservation services; sports and recreation services such as
golf and race circuits, recreational parks and beaches, amusement park services, carnivals and casino services;
and other miscellaneous services such as banking and insurance services, rental and leasing services, trade
fairs and exhibitions, spa services, and tourist information services etc. These are discussed below.
• Accommodation
Accommodation is an essential component of tourism since it involves a stay away from home.
Accommodation services are wide-ranging and includes hotel and motel lodging services, letting services of
furnished accommodation, youth hostel services, children's training and holiday camp services, camping and
caravanning site services, sleeping car and similar services and residence of students.
As seen in Chart 13, the number of hotels, rooms and beds have increased significantly between 1991
and 2005. The number of hotels increased from 419 in 1991 to 1345 in 2005, which showed an average
annual growth of 9.7per cent.
The number of star-rated hotels also increased from 168 in 1995 to 504 in 2005 showing an average
annual growth of 11.9 per cent. The number of star-rated hotel rooms increased from 3,693 in 1995 to 8,791
in 2005, showing an average annual growth of 9.4 per cent.
Finally the number of star-rated hotel beds increased from 5,576 in 1995 to 11,469 in 2005, which
represents an average annual growth of 7.7 per cent.
• Food and Beverage
This is an essential service in the industry and includes meal serving services with full restaurant services,
meal serving services in self-service facilities and beverage serving services for consumption in the
premises.
The number of licensed restaurants by category also increased from 154 in 1996 to 372 in 2005, which
implies an average annual growth of 20.4 per cent.
• Travel Agency, Tour Operator and Tourist Guide
The above services provide the intermediation role to bring buyers and sellers together either to create
markets where they previously did not exist or to make existing markets work more efficiently and thereby
expand market size. For travel and tourism, intermediation comes about through tour operators who act as
wholesaler assembling the components of the tourist trip into a package and retailing the latter through travel
agents who deal directly with the public.
The number of licensed travel agents and tour operators increased from 72 in 1991 to 474 in 2005 which
showed an average annual growth of 18.4 per cent.
• Passenger Transport
Transportation provides the means to reach the destination and also the means of movement at the
destination.
Adequate transportation infrastructure is therefore crucial I tourism development. The passenger transport
infrastructure includes the following:
i. Air transport services
ii. Rail transport services
iii. Road transport services
iv. Water transport services
These findings suggest that the tourism industry in Ghana indeed has tremendous economic potential that
needs to be exploited. The nature of the industry is such that there are linkages across the economy, as its
tentacles spread into agriculture, industry and other service sectors like transport, storage and communication,
wholesale and retail trade, restaurants and hotels; finance and insurance, etc. Thus it has both a direct and
indirect potential impact on national output growth.
Structure of the Industry
The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) is the policymaking body for Ghana’s tourism industry, with its
implementing agency being the Ghana Tourist Board (GTB). The Ghana Tourism Federation (GHATOF) is
the umbrella association for private sector tourism organisations and their affiliates.
Tourism’s Contribution to the Ghanaian Economy
The tourism industry contributes greatly to the Ghanaian economy, through such means as corporate
tax, income tax, value added tax, National Health Insurance Levies, customs/excise duties, GTB licence fees,
property rates, property/asset fees, business registration fees, visa/work permits, airport service charges, and
so on. Between 2005 and the third quarter of 2008, the hotel sector had contributed GH¢ 647,296,664.15
directly to government revenue, and GH¢ 35,011,773.43 to nongovernmental/ quasi‐governmental agencies.
During the same period, the restaurant sector contributed GH¢ 28,129,876.26 directly to government revenue,
and GH¢1,888,216.42 to non‐governmental/quasi‐governmental agencies.
Share of the West African Tourism Market
In 2004, Ghana had its highest ever visitor arrival figures, amounting to 584,000 visitors in that year.
However, this figure must be doubled within three years, if we are to achieve our target of attracting one
million visitors to Ghana by mid‐2012.
This requires an increase of Ghana’s share of West African tourists from 12% to 20%, by mid‐2012.
By targeting visitors from the UK, Germany, USA, The Netherlands and Nigeria, and by the active
involvement of all at large, we need to increase our marketing efforts and close the widening gap between
Ghana and Senegal, so that Ghana may eventually be the top tourist destination in West Africa.
Ghana’s Strengths as a Tourism Destination:
o Authentic and unspoiled.
o Strong cultural and heritage tourism products.
o Nature and ecotourism.
o Safe and secure.
o Plenty of sunshine.
o High satisfaction rating by visitors.
o Friendly people.
o Anglophone country.
o Well‐connected flight network.
o Developing telecommunications.
o Political stability.
Ghana’s Weaknesses as a Tourism Destination:
o Lack of active promotion of Ghana as a tourist
destination.
o Lack of integrated channel strategy.
o Poor visa regime.
o Poor online strategy.
o Little tourist information.
o No international information offices (Senegal
has one in New York).
o Poor infrastructure (especially domestic and
international transportation, roads, rest
stops, and tourist information offices).
o Poor product quality and low excitement over
products and services.
o Lack of service and professional tourism
orientation.
o Inadequate accommodation facilities.
o High prices relative to quality.
Opportunities facing Ghana as a Tourism Destination:
o Worldwide trend towards special‐interest and
adventure tourism.
o Increasing interest on the part of African‐
Americans in their heritage.
o Tourist potential from West African
neighbours such as Nigeria.
o Currently a ‘best kept secret’: no established
image on the world tourism market.
o Attractive to business travellers due to
location and safety (potential conference
market).
o An estimated four million Ghanaians living
abroad.
Threats facing Ghana as a Tourism Destination:
o Increasing competition from other African
countries as emerging tourism destinations.
o High cost of travel to Ghana.
o Lack of appreciation of tourism’s importance
by government and society alike.
o Increasing worldwide security concerns about
overseas travel.
o Negative associations with qualities generally
associated with Africa (famine, disease,
poverty, instability).
o Global financial crisis.
It is expected that Africa will have an additional 27 million visitors by 2010, and 57 million visitors by
2020. We therefore have a good opportunity to grow Ghana’s share of African tourist arrivals. Currently, out
of the four sub‐regional blocs in Africa (northern, southern, eastern and western), West Africa has the smallest
share of visitors. Though West Africa seems to have lagged behind in attracting visitors compared to other
African regional blocs, this might present the countries in the West African sub‐region with an opportunity to
market themselves as virgin and unspoilt tourist destinations.
The current global financial crisis still calls for caution, since many households may cut back on travel
spending. However, in the more developed countries, holidays are considered essential. Research suggests that
the economic downturn will have less of an impact on holiday growth than on other areas of consumer
spending.
Selected Major Tourist Sites
The selected major tourist sites in the country include Aburi Botanic Gardens, Accra Zoological
Gardens, Cape Coast Castle and Elmina Castle. Others are Kumasi Zoological Gardens, Kakum National Park,
Shai Hills Resource Reserve and Mole National Park.
Aburi Botanic Gardens is located at Aburi in the Eastern Region. Accra Zoological Gardens is located
in the heart of the city of Accra, in the Greater Accra Region. Cape Coast Castle can be found in Cape Coast
in the Central Region. Elmina Castle is located in Elmina, also in the Central Region. Kumasi Zoological
Gardens is located in the center of Kumasi, in the Ashanti.
Region. Kakum National Park is located about 25 kilometers from Cape Coast in the Central Region.
Shai Hills Resource Reserve is situated at Shai, in the Greater Accra Region. It covers 52 square kilometers,
made up of five hills, and the highest is 290 metres. Mole National Parks is found in the Northern region, near
Damago. It is the Ghana’s largest national park covering more than 4,800 square kilometers of woodland
savannah with low hills and escarpments.
Selected Community-Based Eco-Tourism Sites
The selected community-based ecotourism sites are Amedzofe, Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary,
Bobiri Forest and Buffer fly Sanctuary and Bunso. Others are Liate Wote, Nzulezu, Paga Crocodile Pond,
Sirigu Traditional Pottery, Art and Architecture and Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary. The rest are Tano Boase
Sacred Grove, Tongo Hills, Wechiau Hippo Sanctuary and Xavi Bird Watching and Cultural Canoe Tours.
Amedzofe is a community-based eco-tourism site in the Volta Region. Boabeng Fiema Monkey
Sanctuary is Ghana’s most famous example of traditional African conservation. It covers 4.4 square kilometer
piece of forest. It is situated between two villages, Boabeng and Fiema in the Brong Ahafo Region. Bobiri
Forest and Butterfly Sanctuary is located at Bobiri in the Ashanti Region. Bunso is in the Eastern Region.
Liate Wote Monkey Sanctuary is located in Liate Wote in the Volta Region while Nzulezu can be found in the
Western Region, 90 kilometers west of Takoradi.
Paga Crocodile Pond is located at Paga in the Upper East Region. Sirigu is known throughout Ghanaian
history for its pottery, basket weaving and unique symbolic wall decorations. It is located in Sirigu, in the
Upper East Region. Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary is located in the heart of the Volta Region, 43 kilometres
south of Hohoe. The Tano Boase Sacred Grove is found in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. Tongo Hills
constitute a unique cultural landscape and is located in the Upper East Region. Wechiau Hippo Sanctuary, a
community protected area, is located at the extreme north-western corner of the Upper West Region of Ghana.
Xavi Birds Watching and Cultural Canoe Tours is a community-based eco-tourism project located in Akatsi
District in the Volta Region of Ghana.
Hotel, Catering & Tourism Training Institute (HOTCATT)
The Hotel, Catering & Tourism Training Institute (HOTCATT), a training wing of the Ministry
which was established for the purpose of training hospitality service providers has been restructured and
merged with GIMPA Hospitality Training Institute for effective and efficient training programmes for the
industry.
The number of hotels in Ghana increased from 1 345 (18 752 rooms) in 2005 to 1 775 (26 047 rooms)
in 2009, according to the Ghana
Tourist Board. The largest concentration is found in Accra, particularly in the 5-, 4- and 3-star
categories.
Nevertheless, according to the Oxford Business Group (2011), the 4-star and 5-star segments are still short of
an estimated 1 200 to 1 500 additional rooms – hence the high room rates. However, a few hotels have been
constructed in the past two years, largely driven by the emerging oil industry.
According to a Renaissance Capital (2011) study, Ghana’s hotels and restaurants sector expanded by
11.3% in 2010, attributable to business arrivals in Accra. Room rates in the 5-star hotel segment range from
USD 350 to USD 500, while average room rates for other star categories range from USD 50 to USD 350.
Renowned international hotel brands present in Ghana include the Holiday Inn, Novotel, Golden Tulip,
Best Western and Radisson Blue, amongst others. The Marriot and Hilton chains announced their entry into
the Ghanaian hotel industry in 2012.
Distribution of star rated hotels and hotel rooms in Ghana in 2010
The hotel occupancy rates, especially in star rated hotels, have been relatively high during the past
decade. The GTA statistics show roughly 80 per cent occupancy rates on average for 4-star rated hotels. This
was supported by the hotel representatives in Greater Accra. There is, however, a tendency that the
occupancy rates drop during the weekends and during the European holiday months (July-August and mid-
December – mid January).
Occupancy rates
Room occupancy rates in Ghana rose consistently over the period 2002 to 2007 in the 5-star segment,
with a similar trend recorded in the 4-, 3- and 2-star categories of the industry (with the exception of 2007,
when a drop was reported in the latter two categories). Occupancy rates in the 5-star segment reached 94.4%
in 2007, but declined to 74.1% in 2009 largely due to the global financial crisis. Occupancy rates in the 3-star
and 4-star hotel categories averaged 79% and 87%, respectively, in 2009. These high occupancy rates indicate
a shortage of accommodation in Ghana.
• Accra:
Establishment of upper market hotels and
accommodation; refurbishment and/or rebranding
of existing hotels, refurbishment of the existing
conference centre.
• Kumasi & Takoradi: Establishment of new hotels and other
accommodation.
Identified gaps in the hotel industry
Accra is deemed to have a sufficient overall number of hotels, although a shortage appears to be evident
at the upper end of the industry.
Outside the capital city, the business segment is driving tourism sector growth in cities such as Kumasi and
Takoradi. Allegedly, Takoradi residents are renting out their houses to corporate clients attracted to the city
by the developing oil industry.
The shortage of hotels in these cities presents opportunities for the establishment of upmarket hotels
or internationally branded, yet affordable, facilities. Ghana has the opportunity to establish itself as the
conference destination of West Africa. Demand for conferences and other business events is taking off due to
the expanding volume of business travellers to Ghana. A dedicated and large conference centre has been
operational in central Accra for a number of years, but is in need of refurbishment and possible expansion.
Furthermore, there may be a need for the establishment of hotels around the city.
The government recognises that the enhancement and promotion of tourist attractions is very important
towards the development and promotion of Ghana as a competitive and diverse tourist destination. The tourism
authorities, realising the importance of the sector to reduce poverty and boost foreign earnings, have launched
a marketing strategy aimed at making Ghana the preferred tourism destination in West Africa. If successful,
this three year strategy (2009-2012) will pull in more tourists, turning the ambitious million tourist mark into
reality. With adequate resources and focus, tourism could become the number one foreign exchange earner in
Ghana, surpassing the traditional commodity like cocoa.
The foregoing analysis has portrayed a picture of what is entailed in the tourism industry, what Ghana
currently has to offer in the industry, problems in the industry and attempts to solve the problems to make the
sector contribute significantly to the country's economic development. The analysis has shown that Ghana has
vast tourism potentials both in terms of natural features and her rich cultural heritage to make tourism a
booming sector of the country's economy.
After extensive evaluations of the tourism industry in Ghana it is recognized that the nation has a lot
of tourism potential. Yet that potential is wasted if it is not developed. Domestic tourism is established as one
of the keys to developing the tourism industry to its full potential. It is also discovered that the lack of good
maintenance culture and a false sense of time poverty contribute to the poor patronage of tourism by
Ghanaians. Hence recommendations were made to policy makers and stakeholders to help promote
maintenance culture and teach time management.
o Tourism: It is the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual
environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes.
o Tourists’ Product: It comprises the tourist attractions and activities, accommodation and
other tourist facilities and services, and the infrastructure that serves the attractions and activities,
facilities and services.
o Historical sites: This consists of castles and forts which constitute the country’s historical
legacy. They serve as tangible history of Ghana and represent the treasure and monuments to the
memory of the early European contacts with Africans. With the designation of Ghana’s castles and
forts as World Heritage Monuments their maintenance is of paramount importance to the Nation and
other stakeholders.
o Visitor Facilities: These are facilities which provide the tourists with the reception they might
need, and give tourists the opportunity to buy souvenirs. They include reception rooms, toilets and
urinals, souvenir shops, and food joints.
o Accommodation Units: These are hotels, guest houses, lodges and home stays (individual
homes which are used to house tourists during their visit). They include rooms and beds of a housing
unit. The number of accommodation units is determined by the number of rooms and beds available
to tourists.
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