The Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, has advised proprietors in the hospitality industry to build succession plans to sustain their businesses.

He said research conducted showed that only about 50 per cent of hotels and restaurants in the country survived their proprietors.

Dr Awal mentioned names of some hotels which were vibrant in the past but were no more in business because their owners probably did not lay out workable succession plans.  

He, therefore, entreated proprietors to build the capacity of their relations or reliable employees with the necessary managerial competences and network to enable them to take over their facilities seamlessly upon their retirement or demise.

“Let them know the values that made your businesses succeed.

Yes, financial confidence and managerial competence is good, but give them the social capital as well.

“Let them know the networks, your contacts with the government, suppliers and buyers,” the minister added.

He gave the advice at a stakeholder engagement with players in the sector in Accra yesterday.

In attendance were representatives from the Tour Guides Association, the Tour Operators Association, the Ghana Hoteliers Association, the Car Rentals Association, the  Airport Company Ltd, Traditional Caterers Association and the Immigration Service.

Issues discussed included youth in tourism, visa acquisition by people in the diaspora to Ghana, poor service delivery and “December in GH” initiative.

On successes of indigenous businesses, Dr Awal said there was currently no single Ghanaian company in the 100 successful businesses in Africa.

“I did a research last year and the year before which showed that Ghanaians spent $8 million just on holidays in Dubai and Europe on airlines, hotels, foods and shopping,” he said.

The minister said the country could have gotten a substantial percentage of the amount spent if the people were enticed to stay back in “our hotels and buy from our Ghanaian domestic tourism sector; that is how we can build the economy”.

He also said that the government was building a domestic tourism sector that can offer excellent services as pertains in cities such as Dubai.

Dr Awal further gave an assurance that the government was working assiduously to fix the economic challenges in the country to bring more relief to businesses.

Interventions

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Akwasi Agyeman, mentioned some interventions in the sector to include upgrading of tourism sites such as the Salaga Slave Market and Tano Boase Sacred Groove.

He also said that the authority was collaborating with other stakeholders to improve on service delivery to attract more clients and tourists into the country.

Mr Agyemang added that as part of its tourism drive, the GTA was working assiduously to make nightlife vibrant in Accra.

SOURCE: GraphicOnline