Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has revealed that hotel occupancy rates are down from 70% to under 30% due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Ghana.

According to him, even before the impact of the partial two-week lockdown directive by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, restaurants in the country were already experiencing an average of drop in patronage of 60%.

“Hotel occupancy rates are down from 70% to under 30% and staff are being sent home. Even before the impact of the current lockdown, restaurants were already experiencing an average drop in patronage of 60%,” Ofori Atta told Parliament House in a briefing on Monday, March 30.

Due to low patronage of their services as a result of the outbreak, some businesses in the hospitality industry; hotels, restaurants and car rental services, have begun laying off some staff, particularly, contract staff.

Ken Ofori-Atta also stressed transportation services, have been among the worst hit, due to social distancing, closure of schools and the ban on mass gatherings by government.

Meanwhile, the Ghana Hotels Association has described the Coronavirus pandemic as having a severe negative impact on their business and urged the government to provide some tax cuts to reduce the probable increase in operational expenses.

Minister of Tourism, Barbara Oteng Gyasi, said an impact assessment of the coronavirus outbreak on the country by the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) has revealed the hospitality industry is likely to lose US$130 million in the formal sector.

The informal sector of the hospitality industry, she added, is likely to also lose US$41 million. This makes a total loss of US$171 million for both sectors.