Law on hotel operations to be reviewed

Takoradi, Oct 27, GNA - The existing law on hotels, Legislative Instrument 1205, is to be reviewed to bring it in line with standards set by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Mr Edwin Owusu-Mensah, Deputy Executive Director of the Ghana Tourist Board in-charge of Operations, announced this at a day's seminar organised by the Board for members of the Western and Central Regional branches of the Ghana Hoteliers Association in Takoradi on Monday. He said the ECOWAS standards were adopted by the Council of Ministers of the Economic Community in 1999 in a bid to promote tourism in the West Africa sub-region and to make the sub-region a major and peaceful tourist destination.

Mr Owusu-Mensah said the standards outlined by Legislative Instrument 1205 is out of step with the ECOWAS standards and are no longer tenable in the present tourism setting.

There was therefore, the need to harmonise the ECOWAS standards with the International Standards incorporated into the legislative instrument to enable the ECOWAS to achieve its tourism objectives, he said.

Mr Owusu-Mensah hoped the Tourism Development Fund would be established soon to make it possible for hoteliers to access loans to upgrade facilities in their hotels to meet the ECOWAS standards.

Miss Adeline Boateng, Quality Assurance Manager of the Ghana Tourist Board, said the country has up to July 2005 to start the implementation of the ECOWAS standards.

She urged Hoteliers to endeavour to adhere to, at least the minimum requirements of the ECOWAS standards as inspection would be conducted on Hotels when a new legislative instrument on hotels comes into force. Miss Boateng said the inspection would be done by a committee appointed by ECOWAS, which would also see to grading of hotels. 27, Oct. 03