Hotels and Restaurants Ready For Ghana 2008

With barely 13 days to the 26th edition of the African Nations Cup, hotels and restaurants across the country have begun gearing up towards the tournament.

The hotels and restaurants have begun putting in place adequate measures to attract huge patronage during the event.

About one million football fanatics are expected to troop into Ghana, beginning the middle of this month to catch a glimpse of the competition.

Most of them would come from the continent, especially fans of participating teams.

According to Ebenezer Hammond, Western Regional Manager of the Ghana Tourist Board (GTB), the majority of licensed hotels and restaurants in Sekondi-Takoradi which will host Group B that will constitute Nigeria, Cote d'lvoire, Benin and Mali are ready to host guests during the forthcoming Ghana 2008 tournament.

Many of the hotels and restaurants have undertaken renovations to enable them offer better services, he told newsmen in Takoradi.

Mr. Hammond said the GTB was offering technical assistance to new hotels and restaurants that are springing up in the metropolis to make it possible for them to accommodate visitors during the tournament.

He pointed out that visitors who are unable to find hotel accommodation in the metropolis during the period of the tournament would be accommodated in hotels in nearby communities.

So far GTB had has trained 70 hotel managers and 100 frontline staff of hotels and restaurants in the region to improve service delivery, he emphasized.

He said the Board would come out with a map on Sekondi-Takoradi, incorporating the Sekondi Sports Stadium Complex at Essipong and a brochure as well as a directory of tourists' facilities and attractions.

From Business desk