Mr Caleb Kofie, Founder and Executive Director of the Service Excellence Foundation-Ghana, has warned that persistent service delivery failures could undermine Ghana’s competitiveness as a tourism destination.
He said weaknesses in service culture, employee engagement and accountability could gradually erode the country’s reputation for hospitality and negatively affect visitor experiences.
Mr Kofie made the observation in an interview with the media saying, Ghana’s peace, democratic stability, cultural heritage and reputation for hospitality had provided the country with a strong competitive advantage in tourism.
However, he said weaknesses in service delivery could undermine those advantages if not addressed.
Mr Kofie said the cost of poor service was not always immediately reflected in financial statements but could result in declining customer satisfaction, low staff morale, reduced productivity, high employee turnover, damage to brand reputation and loss of repeat business and referrals.
He said although the hospitality industry had made significant investments in modern accommodation facilities, restaurants and technology, people remained central to shaping visitors’ experiences.
“Guests may admire the architecture, enjoy the food, appreciate the facilities and remember the ambience, but what often stays with them longest is how they were treated by people,” he said.
Mr Kofie recalled concerns raised by President John Dramani Mahama during the Presidential Media Encounter on September 10, 2025, regarding poor service delivery in Ghana’s tourism and hospitality sector.
He said those concerns should encourage industry players to examine persistent challenges, including indifferent customer reception, delays in service delivery, weak ownership and accountability, and inadequate recognition of high-performing employees.
Mr Kofie said the absence of a strong culture of recognising and celebrating service excellence at the organisational, industry and national levels had contributed to the challenges facing the sector.
“If service excellence is fundamental to Ghana’s competitiveness as a tourism and hospitality destination, then recognising the people who consistently deliver it should not be treated as an organisational norm. It should be regarded as a strategic investment in the culture, reputation, productivity and future competitiveness of Ghana’s hospitality industry,” he said.
He called on tourism and hospitality stakeholders to recognise and reward frontline service professionals, whom he described as the “forgotten heroes” of the industry.
Mr Kofie said their dedication, professionalism and passion formed the foundation of Ghana’s hospitality brand and played a critical role in shaping visitors’ experiences.
He urged the industry to move beyond measuring the financial cost of poor service and instead institutionalise service excellence as a core component of tourism development.
Such an approach, he said, would help strengthen Ghana’s reputation, improve visitor satisfaction and support sustainable growth and competitiveness in the tourism and hospitality sector.
