Hoteliers welcome new tax
The national president of the Hotels Association of Ghana, Herbert Acquaye has welcomed a proposal to impose a 1% levy on hotel rates. The levy will go into a Tourism Development Fund and forms part of modifications to the tourism bill currently being considered by parliament. Members of Parliament are divided over the effects of the tax. Some believe the levy would add to the already high hotel rates while others are of the opinion the rate should be higher. But according to Mr. Acquaye, the association has been advocating for the levy for some time now.
"We are all aware that the tourism industry is underfunded and this will be a way to raise funds into a pool which can be used in areas such as training prospective hotel staff and also those in industry. This will provide great capacity and help to improve our level of service which is fundamental to tourism growth," he explained.