Elmina, (C/R), Nov. 4, GNA - The Central Regional Minister, Mr Isaac Edumadze on Friday tasked hoteliers and others in the hospitality industry to assist in ensuring that they offer quality services as the region host some of the matches of the Confederation of African Football (CAN) in 2008.

He said they should also leave nothing to chance by offering decent accommodation, hygiene and proper handling of their guests. The Central, Western, Greater Accra, Ashanti, and Northern Regions have been chosen to host the soccer fiesta with the construction of a new sports stadium in Cape Coast and Tamale.

Mr Edumadze made the call in an address read on his behalf at a 'round table conference' on the theme, "Service Quality Management in the Hospitality Industry in the Central Region" at Elmina. The meeting attended by hoteliers, restaurant operators 'chop bar' keepers and others in the industry was organised by the Central Regional Development Commission (CEDECOM).

Mr Edumadze also called on the participants to sustain the interest of tourists to the region, since the area has been dubbed the 'heart beat' of the tourism industry by identifying new assets and to re-package the existing products.

He described the workshop "as a major and comprehensive forum", which has been organised to plan and develop strategies to enhance service delivery in the region.

The Regional Minister said he was hopeful that conference would therefore come out with pragmatic plans and policy recommendations to facilitate the sustainable development of the industry in the region. Dr Oheneba Akyeampong, a senior lecturer at the Geography and Tourism Department of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) also urged the participants to add value to their services to enable them keep pace with the current competition in the industry.

He said that it behoves on them to "add touch and quality" in order to stay in a healthy competition with other operators in the country adding that statistics indicate that as a result of quality services, luxury hotels have for the past 15 years recorded higher occupancy rates.

Mr Spencer Taylor, Head of Investment Promotion and Enterprise Development of CEDECOM in his welcoming address, stressed the determination of the Commission to promote tourism in the Region. He said it is in this regard that CEDECOM spearheaded the study of tourism at the UCC and that it was also collaborating with the University of Maryland, Eastern shore in the United States to enhance the tourism potentials in the Region.

He said the workshop was therefore geared towards developing strategies for enhanced quality service delivery in the Region.