Jumia Travel, Africa’s leading online travel agency, on 25th January 2018, celebrated the 2nd edition of the Ghana Travel Awards, that were marked by pomp and color.

The awards are aimed at celebrating hoteliers, airlines and travel websites for their contribution to the success of the travel, hospitality and tourism industries in 2017, as well as to encourage provision of improved quality services to Ghanaians.

‘’Tourism remains one of Ghana’s leading foreign exchange earners. Travel and hospitality accounts for a great portion of tourism revenues which makes hotels, airlines and all other stakeholders very important. Acknowledging their efforts to maintain high levels of professionalism and providing great customer service is just one of the many ways we can encourage and incentivize them,” said Bennet Otoo, Country Manager of Jumia Travel Ghana.

The 2017 Ghana Travel Awards Winners were announced as follows, under seven categories:

  • Jumia Travel Booking Award 2017 – Aqua Safari Resort

  • Travelers’ Choice Award 2017 – Bays Lodge & Apartment

  • Best Leisure Hotel in Ghana 2017 – The Royal Senchi Resort

  • Best Business Hotel in Ghana 2017 – Labadi Beach Hotel

  • Customer’s Favorite Hotel in Ghana 2017 – Accra City Hotel

  • Customer’s Favorite Airline Company in Ghana 2017 – Emirates

  • Best Destination Website in Ghana 2017 – MyJoyOnline.com

“For the second time, we have awarded excellent service and commitment to develop our industries. To all winners, a very big congratulations for such achievements. We can only work harder in the coming years, to ensure that our industry which has a great potential develops abundantly,’’ added Bennet.

In attendance were dignitaries from The Ministry of Tourism Creative Arts and Culture, The CEO of the Ghana Tourist Development Company, Representatives from the Ghana Tourism Authority, Hoteliers, Airline Companies, the media and corporate partners.

Upon receiving the award as Customer’s favourite hotel, The Head of Marketing & Events at Accra City Hotel, Mr. Yaw Mamphey had this to say. ‘’ We are indeed very much proud and honored to win such a prestigious award. Winning such an award amid some very prominent hotel nominees goes a long way to enhance our status as a leading player in Ghana’s hospitality industry. Our goal and desire is to provide excellent customer service with top notch facilities at our hotel to better satisfy the needs of both domestic and international travelers. We really appreciate Jumia Travel’s contribution to tourism and hospitality development in Ghana and Africa as a whole. Our industry can only get better with such incentives from key stakeholders’’.

His sentiments were echoed by Mr. Kwadwo Odame Antwi, CEO of the Ghana Tourist Development Company (GTDC). ‘’It is very encouraging to see that private stakeholders such as Jumia Travel go that extra mile to appreciate the efforts of key players in the Tourism and Hospitality industry. Realizing that government alone cannot drive this agenda and actually taking steps to support is really a great achievement. We as authorities always welcome such innovative actions and our doors are always open for productive collaborations with private entities in order to grow and develop Ghana’s tourism and hospitality. Congratulations to all winners and we believe that this will encourage other hotels, airlines and websites to work even harder in 2018. Ghana will always be the winner with such positive drives’’.

The event also marked the launch of a “Think Tank”, an African Hospitality Club by Jumia Travel, AccorHotels and other local tourism players, whose main objective is to bring together ideas towards improving African tourism. This follows the successful launch of the 2017 African Hospitality Report in collaboration with French multinational hotel group, Accor Hotels, and a series of other country-based reports.

The inaugural awards held in 2016 ascertained Jumia Travel’s commitment to keep bettering the travel experience in Africa, positioning the awards ceremony as a key event in the travel and tourism sector in each country. This year, they were simultaneously held in 7 African cities including Algiers, Dakar, Abidjan, Accra, Douala, Dar Es Salaam, and Kampala. Kenya and Nigeria will hold the ceremony on 1st February 2018.

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