Training and Other Activities
Recent activities organized for the benefit of member associations have included Regional Training programmes coordinated by GHATOF and
supported by MOTDR and JICA

Members too participated in various Conferences to learn from the best practices of others together with interactions with development partners and the media to sensitize them about the ongoing renewal and revitalization exercise to strengthen GHATOF.
Organizational Structure

The main organ of the association is the Governing Council, which is made up of Presidents of all member associations. The Executive Secretary is responsible for the day-to-day running of the GHATOF Secretariat.

Under the new re-structuring exercise, a number of committees are to be set up in the following areas to facilitate the effectiveness running of the organization for the benefit of members. They include Finance and Investment; Human Resource; Research and Policy; Marketing and Public Relations; Advocacy and Legal. The financial affairs of GHATOF will be scrutinized by external auditors.

The highest decision making body of the organization is the Annual General Congress. Congress delegates for each main association consist of the President and 5 members. The affiliate associations are represented by their President and 3 members. Congress meets once a year and is responsible for elections and voting on crucial matters.

GHATOF Centre
For sometime now GHATOF has operated from a temporal office at the Regency Coconut Grove Hotel in Accra. Efforts are ongoing to refurbish and move into a new 2-room office allocated by the MTDR in the premises of the Hotel Catering and Tourism Training Institute (HOTCATT).

Conclusion

Described as the association of associations, GHATOF, is poised to re-enforce its leadership role as the chief advocate for all stakeholder associations in the private sector to mobilize and utilize available resources for mutual advantages.

On behalf of members, I would like to express appreciation to both Government and the tourism authorities for the granting of favourable concessions and reliefs for investors in the sector as well as instituting new charter guidelines to guide the various requirements of operators towards the smooth running of their businesses. Meanwhile, we will continue to push for the establishment of a Tourism Development Fund to support various aspects of the industry.

GHATOF is convinced that with the goodwill demonstrated by Government so far, Ghana’s tourism development has been laid on a firm foundation and everything points to the fact that the industry will continue to play a leading role to make Ghana the preferred tourist destination in West Africa and make the tourism industry the leading foreign exchange earner for the country.