Accra, Aug. 31, GNA- The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) has shut down some unregistered and unlicensed tourism enterprises in Accra during an enforcement exercise.
The exercise was carried out by GTA officers in the Standards and Quality Assurance Department in areas including, Dzorwulu, Abokobi, Oyarifa and Pantang, all in the Greater Accra Region.
Some of the establishments that were shut down are, Akorli’s Inn Restaurant and Hotel, the Catfish Grill, Adziban Fast Food, Eduanipa, the Cencor VENUE, Gold 7 Hotel, Kleine Park Event Centre, Woodcote Guest house, and Kittiwake Gardens.
Mr Kofi Atta Kakra Kusi, the Deputy Head of Corporate Affairs at the GTA, said the closure was not to punish the operators, rather, to ensure that the they comply with standards necessary to protect businesses.
“The goal is not to victimize anyone but to ensure that the standards in place are kept and to help to safeguard our dear country,” he said.
He said the exercise served as an advice to diverse tourism-related businesses to standardize their operations by visiting the GTA offices to register.
He said the exercise was in accordance with Act 817, a law introduced in 2011, to ensure that all tourism-related businesses had GTA licenses.
Mr Kusi said when an establishment received a license from the GTA, it implied that the Standard and Quality Assurance section of the Authority had registered and examined the business.
He said, “when we got here their license had expired and it contravenes the Tourism Act 817 section 25 sub section 2 that is why the GTA is here to enforce the law and make sure that they do the right thing.”
He stated that the standards and quality of tourism enterprises could not be conceded by the GTA because the Authority expected inhabitants in the country to patronize tourism businesses.
“Remember that the GTA is running several programmes, including the year of return, beyond the return, and destination Ghana. We anticipate that our domestic customers, who are essentially our citizens, will be able to support our tourism businesses and demand high standards as they do so and the GTA cannot compromise these standards,” he emphasised.
Mr Kusi urged the various tourism enterprises to register with the GTA to avoid inconveniences such as having their operations shut down.
He said the Authority anticipated the opportunity for the shuttered businesses to return to the GTA and resume operations after registering, passing inspection, and receiving a license from the Authority’s Standards and Quality Assurance Department.
