Mr Charles Osei-Bonsu, Deputy Executive Director in-charge of Finance and Administration at the Ghana Tourist Board has said that the Board would start monitoring activities of hotel operators to ensure high standards and quality service.

He said staff of the board would pay unannounced visits to hotels and other hospitality facilities to assess if they were operating according to standards.

Where the operators were not doing well, GTB would invite them and advise them accordingly, Mr Osei-Bonsu said at the end of a three-day training programme organized by the Board for hotel managers with support from the International Finance Corporation to build and enhance their capacities.

"We will also bridge the communication gap between the GTB and hotel operators by occasionally sending information about arrivals, tourists' comments and many others to enable operators to know what was happening in the industry at any point in time."

Mr Osei Bonsu noted that hotel management was about practice, competency and skills saying "theory without practice is empty, practice without theory is blind".

He said the tourism industry in Ghana was growing in an environment where there was peace, democracy and stable government and urged them not to take things for granted.

Mrs Stella Appenteng, President of the Ghana Tourism Federation stressed the need for the participants to put into practice what had been taught.

She reminded them of the CAN 2008 football event and urged them to prepare for it since it was a tourism event.

Mr George Amedzi, the class prefect said the training had been successful.

The 28 participants were educated on "Facility Management", "Having a Positive Attitude Towards Work", "Basic Accounting", "Front Office", "Food and Beverage" and "Housekeeping".

Source: GNA