The hospitality sub-sector for the fourth quarter of 2020, posted a negative growth of 35.1 percent.
That’s according to recent data released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) on the performance of the various sectors of the economy for Q4 2020.
The 35.1 percent contraction of the sub-sector mainly driven by low patronage of services of hotels and restaurants reflects the huge toll the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the sub-sector.
Globally, the hospitality sector has been the hardest hit by the pandemic with government revenues generated from the sector – especially for economies dependent on the sector – significantly reduced.
In Ghana, several workers in the sector have been laid off with businesses operating in the sector struggling to survive the impact of the pandemic despite numerous initiatives such as the provision of stimulus packages by government to support the sector during the height of the pandemic last year.
The continuous impact of the pandemic on the sector has compelled the government to further announce a 30 percent income tax rebate for businesses in the industry for the remaining three quarters of 2021.
According to the GSS, other sectors that contracted in Q4 2020 include; Mining and Quarrying (-10.9%); Professional, Administrative & Support Service activities (-5.2%); and Forestry & Logging (-9.3%).
Sub-sectors that expanded in Q4 2020 are: Information & Communication (22.5%); Public Administration, Defense & Social Security (16.4%); Health & Social Work (15.8%); Crops and Cocoa (10.6%); Trade, Repair of Vehicle, Household Goods (5.5%); Real Estate (43.5%); Manufacturing (14.2%) and Construction (8.5%).
Meanwhile, Ghana for the fourth quarter of 2020 recorded a non-oil Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of 4.5 percent.
Including oil and gas, recorded GDP growth rate for Q4 2020 is 7.8 percent as GDP in volume terms increased by 3.3 percent in Q4 2020.
According to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), the recorded GDP growth was mainly driven by the agricultural sector which recorded a growth rate of 8.2 percent in Q4 2020.
Followed by the Services sector with a growth of 4.6 percent. There was however a contraction of 0.4 percent in the Industry sector.
