Fifty years is a long time in any industry, but in Ghana’s hospitality sector, it feels almost miraculous.

In an environment where businesses rise, wobble, and sometimes quietly disappear, the Ghana Hotels Association (GHA) has not only survived it has grown, adapted, and asserted itself as a critical voice in tourism development. 

As the Association prepares to climax its Golden Jubilee celebrations with an Awards Night on Saturday, January 31, 2026, it is worth pausing to reflect on what exactly is being crowned.

From a modest beginning of fewer than two dozen members a little over five decades ago, the GHA today boasts a membership of more than one thousand establishments. 

These range from budget hotels and guesthouses to one-star to five-star facilities, spread across every region of Ghana.

That growth alone tells a story: of entrepreneurship, of persistence and of a sector that has gradually come to understand its own importance in the national economy.

Hotels are often taken for granted. We check in, complain about Wi-Fi, demand hot water and breakfast by 7:30 a.m., and move on. Yet, behind every functioning hotel is a web of regulation, taxation, staffing, utility bills, and compliance headaches.

The GHA has, for 50 years, positioned itself as the collective shield and megaphone for these operators—advocating, negotiating, and sometimes simply insisting that the hotel industry deserves to be heard.

Under the leadership of its president, Dr Edward Ackah-Nyamike Jnr., and the National Executive Council, the 50th anniversary celebrations were deliberately designed to be more than cake-cutting ceremonies.

The year-long activities began in Ho, the Volta Regional capital, with a 10-kilometre Health Walk on Thursday, April 24, 2025. It was symbolic: an industry that has had to build stamina over the years, quite literally stretching its legs.

In July 2025, the Association unveiled its GHA @50 Anniversary Cloth - colourful, commemorative, and unmistakably Ghanaian—and donated it to one of the departments at the Tema General Hospital. It was a reminder that hospitality is not only about hosting guests but also about community and care.

From then on, the celebrations took on a more reflective tone. On Thursday, October 23, 2025, the GHA held a high-level symposium in Cape Coast under the theme “50 Years of Advocacy, Perseverance, and Impacting the Tourism and Hospitality Industry in Ghana.” Cape Coast, with its layered history and tourism significance, was an apt choice. 

The conversations at that symposium echoed what hoteliers have long known: the sector has recorded undeniable achievements, but not without bruises.

The expansion of accommodation facilities across the country, the steady improvement in service standards, and the role of hotels in supporting domestic tourism and major events—from festivals to conferences—are all successes to the credit of GHA’s advocacy.

Yet the challenges remain stubborn. High operational costs continue to haunt hotel operators. Electricity and water tariffs rise with uncomfortable regularity, while the cost of imported equipment and consumables fluctuates with the exchange rate, though recently stable.

Add to this the burden of multiple taxes and levies—from local assemblies to national agencies—and the picture becomes even more complex. For many small and medium-sized hotels, survival is an act of daily negotiation.

No discussion of the past 50 years would be complete without mentioning COVID-19. The pandemic did not merely slow down the hotel industry; it brought it to a near standstill.

Empty rooms, cancelled bookings, and layoffs tested the resilience of operators and the effectiveness of advocacy. The GHA’s engagement with government during that period—seeking reliefs, guidelines, and survival strategies—remains one of its most critical interventions in recent history.

All of this context feeds into the significance of the Awards Night scheduled for Saturday, January 31, 2026. Beyond the glitz, glamour, and fine dining, the night represents recognition of personalities and hospitality institutions that have distinguished themselves through service, innovation, and commitment to the growth of the industry. 

The presence of the Guest of Honour, Chief of Staff Julius Debrah, underscores the Association’s national relevance. Also gracing the occasion are the Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture, Abla Dzifa Gomashie, and Madam Efua Houndzeto, CEO of the Ghana Tourism Authority.

Awards, when given properly, also serve as markers. They tell younger operators what excellence looks like. They remind veterans that their struggles were not in vain. And they reinforce the idea that hospitality is a profession worthy of pride, not just patience.

As the Ghana Hotels Association crowns its fifty years, it is not merely celebrating longevity. It is asserting relevance in a fast-changing tourism landscape. The next fifty years will undoubtedly bring new challenges—technology, sustainability demands, skills shortages but if the past is any indication, the Association will continue to walk, sometimes uphill, on behalf of its members

On Saturday night, when the lights dim and the applause rises, it will not just be an awards ceremony. It will be a collective salute to an industry that has learned, often the hard way, how to keep Ghana’s doors open to the world.