... GTB goes back to the drawing board

The Second Vice Chairman of the Ghana Hoteliers Association, Mr. Yaw Ofori Kuregu, has revealed that the proposed 384% increment in operation license fee announced by the Ghana Tourist Board has been suspended and that if there would be any increment at all, it would be moderate.

He said the 384% increment was nothing but an attempt to collapse the hotel business in the country.

He was therefore happy that after a marathon meeting with the GTB, the latter understood the position of the hoteliers and decided to scrap the new tax.

Mr. Ofori Kuregu, who is also the Member of Parliament for Amansie-East in the Ashanti region, was speaking at the swearing in ceremony of the nine-member executive committee to steer the affairs of the Western Region branch of the Ghana Hoteliers Association.

The Second Vice Chairman underscored the need for government to provide financial support for the association, adding that the key role hoteliers play in the development of our country could not be taken for a ride.

He announced that the association had secured funds from the Ghana AIDS Commission to help fight the HIV-AIDS menace through educational campaigns.

He therefore called on the members of the association to commit themselves to the fight to ensure that the association achieved its desired goals.

The National Secretary of the association, Mr. Seth Asare noted that the major challenge facing the association now was how to work and achieve the standard that had been set by the ECOWAS before the year 2006.

He however did not explain the nature of the said standard.

On her part, Mrs. Francisca Addison, the newly elected Chairperson of the regional branch of the association called on members to freely voice out their grievances, which she noted would go a long way to enhance the image of the association.

She hinted that the association would, this year, intensify their membership drive so that non-members could come and register, adding that the association had plans as well to build it own offices.