Tourism Minister, Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, has bemoaned the high cost of hotel charges in the country, saying, it is denying many Ghanaians from using hotels and thereby affecting local tourism.

According to him, his ministry is bent on developing the domestic tourism to generate significant revenue for the country, hence the need for hotel rates to go down.

Speaking at the launch of the 10th Year Anniversary Celebrations of Movenpick Ambassador Hotel, Dr. Awal said government and the hotel players should dialogue to help reduce the cost of hotel rates.

“We want to eat Ghana, we want to sell Ghana. As a ministry, as government we’ve embarked on a domestic tourism drive to bring lots of people – Ghanaians to go round the country. I want to urge you and to entreat you help us to get Ghanaians around. To achieve this, the hotel industry players and government, we must find common grounds to ensure that we reduce the cost of hotels in this country.”

“The cost is too high, we can’t be competitive with this cost. Together with government we must find ways to make Ghanaian hotels competitive so that when people come from all over the world, Ghana will be their preferential choice”, he explained.

Movenpick urged to maintain standards

The Tourism Minister urged managers of Movenpick Ambassador Hotel to maintain the standards that has seen it as one of the leading hotels in the country.

"The discipline that brought you Movenpick up to this level, let that discipline permeates your next 100 years. In this regard, I want you to pay attention to customer care. We are in a global village competing for the same customers, how you distinguish your hotel from others is how you treat your customer. Customer care, training, building capacity of workers should be paramount in the next 10 years and beyond”.

Dr. Awal added that “staff welfare, the staff help us to create opportunities, they bring the clients, please General Manager and your team let us put staff welfare above everything else. When we treat the staff well, they will deliver and retain the customers. I’m looking for the day when Ghanaian chefs, Ghanaian cooks, Ghanaian managers will be managing all the big hotels in Africa.”

Let’s observe covid-19 protocols

The Minister said covid-19 pandemic is still lingering around and therefore hotels must adhere to the covid-19 protocols to help reduce infections.

“The covid-19 pandemic is still here, there is a little surge around the world, I want to urge you to keep the health protocols so that our hotels do not become bleeding grounds for the pandemic.”

“Ghana is very peaceful, the most peaceful country in West Africa and we have very good attraction in terms of tourism. We have very diverse culture, very diverse tourism sites, we are peaceful, we want to leverage the assets that we have to bring a lot of tourists”, he pointed out.

Movenpick brand is hospitable

General Manager of Movenpick Ambassador Hotel, Deborah Lee-Ann Sivertsen, said Ghana is famed for its genuine and warm hospitality, and these values are what define the Mövenpick brand which include demonstrating quality and care for guests.

She further said her outfit is intimately involved in the lives of guests and have a long-term commitment to sustainability and environmental awareness.

“Being my first time in Ghana, I’ve witnessed and experience, the undeniable authenticity through the personalities of our staff, our Heartiest. These values are what define the Mövenpick brand; demonstrating quality, reliability, care for guests, partners and fellow heartists, and doing it all with a personal touch.”

“We are proud to have achieved sustained excellence over the last 10 years, serving as market leaders with standards others aspire to attain and being driven to attain higher heights”, he noted.

The theme for the anniversary is “Doing the Ordinary in Extraordinary Ways -10 Years and Beyond”.

The celebrations will continue till November 2021.