Cape coast: The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) in the Central Region has temporarily shut down four hospitality establishments for breaching various tourism regulatory requirements. The affected facilities are the Elmina Beach Resort in Elmina, Savoy Hotel, Veke Executive Lodge, and Wiz Homes, an Airbnb property, all located in Cape Coast.
According to Ghana Web, some of these establishments operated without the required licences, while others were penalized for non-payment of the tourism levy, operating substandard facilities, and providing poor services, among other regulatory breaches. Caution notices were also placed at some facilities that are yet to be licensed and operational, but intelligence suggested they were preparing to receive visitors during the Oguaa Fetu Afahye.
The affected facilities were part of an ongoing enforcement exercise by the GTA to clamp down on non-compliant establishments ahead of the Fetu Afahye celebrations in September. Charles Buabin, the Regional Director of Tourism, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), noted that the facilities were shut down after ignoring several cautions issued by the Authority.
Buabin explained that accommodation establishments, including Airbnb properties, are required by law to register and obtain the necessary licence before commencing operations. 'In the laws of Ghana, Airbnb is not stated as a facility. All accommodation enterprises are supposed to be registered and licensed before they can operate,' he stressed.
He further explained that the establishments would be required to rectify identified defects and pay the applicable regulatory fines before they could be reopened. He also cautioned the public and patrons of hospitality establishments to check the licensing status of facilities and ensure that their licences were valid before patronising them.
Buabin assured the public that the enforcement exercise would continue unabated across the region, particularly during the festive season, to sanitise the hospitality industry and ensure that patrons received standard services.