Hike in fuel prices indirectly affecting our operations – Ghana Hotels Association
Dr. Edward Ackah-Nyamike Jnr, the president of the Ghana Hotels Association (GHA), has stated that the hospitality industry largely depends on the movement of people; as such, an increase in fuel prices has the tendency to cripple the rate at which people move around – a situation he noted will indirectly affect their operations.
He asked the government to step in and deploy mechanisms to coil the continuous hikes in fuel prices.
As the hospitality sector continues to find ways of recovering from the impact of Covid-19, Dr. Edward Ackah-Nyamike Jnr argued that the poor nature of roads also serves as another hindrance to the movement and that limits continuous visits to tourism centres.
“To speed up the industry’s recovery process, attention must be paid to road networks and transportation – a reason why we are so concerned about the hiking of fuel prices because that has implications on travelling”, Dr. Ackah-Nyamike Jnr reiterated.
He further mentioned that as of the end of 2021 the association had realized a much-improved performance of the general hotel, events, tours and hospitality industry, as compared to 2020 when the sector was severely hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“By the end of 2021 we saw gradual improvement in terms of occupancy, events; and by end of the year, we were averagely doing about 65 per cent. But like a normal curve, we have those who didn’t do very well and we have those who did well beyond the 65 per cent. We are also looking at collaborations and partnerships with other tour associations to boost growth”, he stated.
As cited by B&FT on Monday, January 17, 2022, Dr. Ackah-Nyamike Jnr said the sector is hoping to make more progress this year, and hence deemed it necessary to add its voice to urge the government to check fuel price hikes as it is a factor capable of hindering its efforts.
It will be recalled that in a statement dated January 10, 2022, the Concerned Drivers Association of Ghana (C-DAG) announced a 40 per cent increment in transport fares across the country from Monday, January 17, 2022. Similarly, the Institute of Energy Security (IES) also predicted another increment in fuel prices. The IES projections for January’s second pricing window indicated that it expects a further increase in fuel prices at the pumps, of between GHp30 to GHp40 per litre.
The IES based its projections on the back of the 7.42 per cent increase in the price of Brent crude, the 9.46 per cent increase in the price of Gasoline, the 8.52 per cent increase in Gasoil price and the 0.3 per cent depreciation of the local currency against the US dollar.
Source: Richard Mensah Adonu | Join our Telegram Group
