By Buertey Francis BORYOR
The Group General Manager of Alisa Hotels, Mr. Yusuf Olela, has urged government to prioritise investing into the country’s tourism destinations to encourage and attract investors into the industry while addressing media at the ceremony to unveil the hotel’s multi-purpose, ultra-modern pavilion in Accra.
According to him, the sure way by which the country can capitalise on the current increasing number of tourist arrivals for economic gains is for government to continue to invest heavily into its tourist destinations.
“Ghana’s tourism landscape has significantly changed since the Year of Return and Beyond, and we are getting so many numbers that we were not getting before. The only way to take advantage of these numbers is to continue investing in the destinations,” he elaborated.
Additionally, he expressed optimism about the hospitality industry’s future.
“If you look at the current status of the hospitality environment, you would realise that things have normalised after being severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The international tourists have started coming in and the projection this year, in terms of arrival, is above 1. 5 million. So the industry has indeed recovered and the sky is the limit for businesses operating within it.”
The breath-taking event facility has a capacity to a maximum of a thousand delegates. The motivation behind the investment is to address the demand for a larger conference capacity, Olela said.
“The essence of this huge investment is in response to the customers’ needs – in terms of larger capacity for conference – and also to upgrade the experience of the conference. Our pre-existing conference facilities could only host up to 500 delegates, but the one that we have just launched can host up to a maximum of thousand delegates.
“The Alisa Pavilion’s atmosphere is conducive and presents a suitable ambience for all important meetings, conferences and social events. Some of is distinctive features are its ultra-modern audio-visual appliances, as well as its functionality; it could be partitioned for smaller conferences and could be opened up for bigger ones,” he elaborated.
The ceremony, with pomp and pageantry, also witnessed the unveiling of Alisa’s Sky Bar and the Oasis Lounge, presenting a contemporary feel for service users that would want to enjoy a memorable social experience.
However, he stated that running a hotel business in the country is very expensive due to utility cost and high inflation rate, and cited 2023 as the year when tariff rates reached a crescendo. “2023 was worse because the changes of the tariff rates were very erratic, but I am happy to say that there has been a lot of stability this year.”
“It is also difficult to run a hotel when there is power fluctuation – as one must heavily invest on bigger power generators to keep operating,” he also noted.
He, therefore, urged government to revise some of its policies on the hospitality industry to enable business proprietor to operate with ease.
Alisa Hotels is one of the biggest employers in Ghana’s hospitality industry, with 450 employees currently. With this additional conference facility and the outlets, it has added 20 more employees to its establishment.
Meanwhile, Ghana’s Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Andrew Egyapa, speaking at the event as the Guest of Honour, said the occasion of the opening of this multi-purpose pavilion is testament to a culmination of years of quality service and innovation on the part of the leadership of the company.
“Indeed, Alisa is one of the most recognisable brands in our country with an international reputation of making a difference in the lives of visiting tourists and indigenous Ghanaians who patronise it.
“I have closely followed the good work of the Alisa Hotels Group over the years and have been impressed by the immense contribution the organisation has made to all aspects of our national life through its trusted brand that has positively resonated the thoughts of all its many and various users. The brand holds the torch, as one that ensures that the expectations of guests are exceeded with commendable professionalism, versatile service and consistent upgrade of facilities,” he added.
