President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has announced the establishment of a state-of-the-art tourism and hospitality training school in Accra.
This, according to the President is in line with measures by his government to make the country the tourism and investment hub of West Africa and Africa as a whole.
The $10-million project will train people in the tourism and hospitality value chain to enhance customer service and other best practices in the sector.
President Akufo-Addo who made this known during the official opening of the Alisa Hotel Tema on Friday September 30, 2022, said the construction of the school would be funded under the Ghana Tourism Development Project supported by the World Bank.
He further stated that the project formed part of efforts to build a thriving tourism economy where hospitality, arts and culture will be used as a tool for economic growth.
For his part, Kwame Fosu Bamfo, Chief Executive, of Alisa Hotels Group believes that Alisa Hotels is the true definition of the Ghanaian hospitality.
Giving information on how he established the Alisa Group, the CEO mentioned “During the early days of Sikkens, when my principals from Holland visited Ghana to train local artisans in car spraying, housing them was a challenge.
“This is when the idea of Alisa Hotels was conceived and the 14-rooms boutique hotel came on board at Labone. On completion, I deemed it appropriate to name it after my cherished mother Alice Amanua.
What started as a niche market, eventually attracted increased demand, and this inspired the Hotel to secure another property at North Ridge in Accra to accommodate our expanding international and local clientele.”
He continued that “Over time, we noticed the high demand for conferences and events and adopted a concept to position Alisa North Ridge as the Business Haven in Accra. We built multiple conference rooms to cater for different corporate, residential conferences and social events. To date, we have 278 rooms with 14 conference and meeting facilities at North Ridge and Labone in Accra.”
According to him, within the last 20 years, the Alisa Hotels group has grown into a trusted brand offering maximum comfort at each of its unique locations, with Alisa Tema being the latest addition.
The Chief Executive of Bamson Group; Sikkens Paints, Glostal Aluminium and Alisa Hotels explained that his outfit decided to establish a branch in Tema because “the significance of Tema cannot be over-emphasized in my journey as a businessman. Tema is where my business foundation was laid. At a young age of about 20 years, before bringing Sikkens into Ghana in 1983, I used to supply building materials such as iron rods, galvanized pipes, copper pipes, steel plates, bolts and nuts, among others to the industrial hub of Tema.”
He mentioned that his business have grown, impact lives and sustained as it has succeeded in providing employment for over 750 persons as a Group, with Alisa alone employing up to 500.
He has therefore appealed to government to offer some support to the tourism industry in relation to access to credit and concessional interest.
“Mr. President, the hospitality industry is a powerful generator of career opportunities. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council, one in 10 jobs on the planet is supported by travel and tourism. Ghana is no exception and the hospitality industry has great prospects in assisting Government to achieve one of their key agenda of employment creation. I take this opportunity to appeal to Government to offer some respite to the industry in relation to access to credit and concessional interest. This will help boost operations within the industry and create jobs for our teeming youth both skilled and unskilled,” he appealed.
He was optimistic that following the Government’s initiative of the Year of Return and Beyond the Return, the Alisa Hotel Group expansion project would cater for the increased international guests demand and drive the tourism agenda of Ghana as an attractive destination.
Touching on future ambitions, he said his hotels would be expanding as there are plans for a dedicated 1000 seating conference center at the North Ridge branch and plans for additional rooms to complement the current Alisa Hotel Tema.
The Deputy Minister of Tourism, Art and Culture, Mark Okraku Mantey congratulated the Alisa Group for how far they have come.
He assured them of government support, providing the enabling environment for their business to thrive, adding that his outfit is currently training some 8,000 people in the hospitality industry in customer service among others.
The Tema Alisa Hotels is made up of 50 rooms and suites featuring ultra modern conference halls, leisure facilities-SPA and massage, swimming pool with beautiful cabanas, a tennis court and gym, bar and restaurant.
By Vincent Kubi
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