Hospitality industry boosts domestic tourism, creates jobs - Semira Mohammed

Managing Director of Alexander Palace Hotel Apartment, Semira Seyram Mohammed, has said the hospitality industry helps boost domestic tourism, as well as, create jobs for the teeming unemployed youth in the country.

She made this known at the launch of the plush hotel at Ashieyie in Accra on Saturday, May 6, 2023.

Semira Seyram Mohammed further noted that the Ghanaian-owned business formed part of moves to give back to society.

While commenting on the taxes on the hospitality industry, she called on government to review the taxes for them to heave a sigh of relief.

“Government should work on the hospitality taxes. We have a lot of taxes that kind of hit us back and forth…We have about 30 taxes or levies that we pay to government. A lot of people say hotels in Ghana are very expensive and it is one of the reasons because we have a lot of authorities that we need to pay levies, allowances and taxes to so you can imagine. The business owner would have to put all together and find a way of distributing it to the client or customer and that makes it very expensive,” she said.

While listing some solutions to this problem in the hospitality industry, Semira Seyram Mohammed said, “Maybe, they would need to come together, put all the bodies together and charge maybe one large sum amount of money and then distribute it at their end and that could help in support as a little bit.”

Speaking in the same vein, the President of the Ghana Hotels Association, Dr Edward Ackah-Nyamike entreated the staff of the hotel to give their all to help the company grow.

He said, “beyond the employment that has been given to you through the establishment of this hotel, you are also contributing to the economic development of this country.

The Deputy Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mark Okraku-Mantey, Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Tourism Authority, Kwasi Agyeman, President of the Car Rental Association of Ghana, Mr. Seth Yeboah Ocran were present at the launch of Alexander Palace Hotel and Apartment.