The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has engaged key stakeholders in the hospitality sector in the Northern Region ahead of the 2024 Accommodation Unit Survey (AUS) in the country. The project is one of the components of the Tourism Satellite Account which includes the Domestic and Outbound Tourism Survey, Ghana International Travellers’ Survey and the Tourism Supply Establishment Survey being spearheaded by the Ghana Statistical Service.
The forum organized last Friday, October 4, 2024, in the northern regional capital, Tamale, brought together officials from the Ghana Tourism Authority, Members of Ghana Hotels Association, Ghana Progressive Hotels Association, the media among key collaborators to brainstorm over critical issues pertaining to conduct of the survey.
The Vice Chancellor of Cape Coast Technical University, who is also the Chairman of the National Technical Advisory Committee of the Tourism Satellite Account Project, Professor Kwaku Boakye, stated that the tourism sector has a very strong potential to become a major driver in Ghana’s economy. However, he lamented that it has suffered many years of misunderstanding and subsequent neglect duty bearers.
According to him, one symptom of this neglect is the prolonged absence of credible data as a base for developing the sector. He argues that, it is perhaps, owing to the lack of data that successive authorities have been unable to appreciate and address the perennial concerns of a difficult operating environment, multiple taxes, high overheads and low profitability raised over the years by tourism operators.
“It is therefore commendable that the Ghana Statistical Service in 2022 took a very bold decision to lead the process of collaborating with key stakeholders to conduct a Tourism Satellite Account to provide a clearer picture of the size and importance of the country’s tourism sector” Prof Kwaku lauded.
Meanwhile, the main objective of the survey is to obtain baseline data to measure the level of supply and demand for commercial accommodation in Ghana. It will further profile accommodation units in terms of the characteristics of products, facilities and rates and determined operating expenses, sales, and revenue from accommodation units among others.
The 2024 Accommodation Unit Survey Coordinator at GSS, Dr Ebenezer Kojo Ocean, for his part highlighted an overview of the scope of the survey. He disclosed that, “With a total of 9,602 accommodation units identified, we will sample 1,077 units, including large, medium, mall-sized, and micro-sized establishments.”
“This survey will utilize a nationally representative sample of commercial accommodation units from the Integrated Business Establishment Survey (IBES) list across all 16 regions,” he emphasized.
Mr. Gilbert Dery, the Northern Regional Chairman of Ghana Hotels Association in a media interview described the intervention as a game changer for the hospitality and tourism value chain.
Mr. Dery in his remarks underscored the importance of data and information collection in business planning and operations.
“…As we sit now, we cannot tell the number of hotels that are operating, their locations, the kind of services they provide, the kind of remunerations they give to staff and the kind of information they give to tourists who come into the country” he stressed.
