Akwasi Agyemang, CEO of Ghana Tourism Authority
The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) has begun a three-day exercise in the Ashanti Region to enforce voluntary payment of the one per cent tourism levy.
Stipulated in the Tourism Act 817 of 2011, the levy is meant to provide the requisite resources for sustainable development of the tourism industry.
According to GTA, the exercise is also to promote quality standards, safety and security in the tourism industry.
The administrator of the Tourism Development Fund, Prince Yaw Essah, said the exercise would ensure strict compliance in the payment of the levy.
He added that it is also meant to recover arrears owed by facility operators to put GTA in a better position to market and promote Ghana’s tourist resources.
Speaking to the media, Mr. Essah urged stakeholders, especially key players in the tourism industry, to strive to do the right thing to enable the sector to attract more tourists into the country.
He said the levy is ultimately to the benefit of the nation if it is paid by users of tourism establishments or units in the form of indirect tax.
The administrator explained that the exercise would see the taskforce visiting more than 50 tourism facilities in the region to verify how they are complying with the payment of the levy.
The Deputy Chief Executive Officer in charge of Operations at GTA, Mr. Ekow Sampson, indicated that tourism has huge potentials which can be tapped for job and wealth creation.
“Stakeholders should, therefore, be supportive of the work of the GTA in the interest of all and sundry,” he said.
The first day of the exercise saw the closure of Hotel La Sab and Abeh Cabayaro Hotel, all in Kumasi, for defaulting in the payment of the levy for a number of years.