GTA to Harmonise Taxes in Tourism Sector

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Tourism Development Company (GTDC), Kojo Odame Antwi has said that the company will harmonize all the taxes and levies paid in the tourism industry by industry players.

According to him, the GTDC was still engaging government on some taxes and levies that could be reduced to bring relief to the industry players.

He said GTA has outline about 14 levies that they believe could be reconsidered to help more people invest heavily for the improvement and development of the tourism Industry.

Mr. Antwi made the remarks in an interview with the media at a two-day Ghana Tourism Summit held in Koforidua.

He said the multiplicity of taxes and levies has been one of the challenges confronting the industry.

The summit which was under the auspices of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) aimed at reflecting on the successes the industry had achieved.

He said his organization is considering the introduction of tax incentives and also resolving the challenges faced by industry players to attract more investors into the industry.

He said the marine drive project when started will create 15,000 jobs from the launch through the construction stage and about 150,000 jobs in the next 10 years.

He said the marine drive will have a banking enclave, casinos, restaurants, apartments, hotels and a host of other sites and scenes which will create a lot of tourism opportunities and attract visitors to boost the industry.

The CEO of the GTA, Akwasi Agyeman said the summit was going to afford stakeholders the opportunity to formalise and agree on a certain blue print that will serve as a guide for all to use.

He said the Authority is seeking to build trust with the private sector to understand each other and find possible measures to deal with challenges confronting the industry.

The President of Ghana Tourism Federation (GHATOF) Mrs Bella Ahu charged members of the industry to contribute their one percent levy to enhance the positive growth of the industry.

She said there was the need for stakeholders to renew their mandate and assurance for a high productivity in the industry.

Mrs. Ahu noted that, the higher they pressed for positive outcomes in their productions, the better they will maintain and achieve huge success.

As part of the two-day training, participants were trained on corporate governance and leadership, financial management and fund raising for trade associations, marketing and promotion of tourism, registration and licensing procedures of tourism enterprises and Tourism Development Fund update since implementation.