The hospitality and leisure industry in Imo is facing serious challenges, says Okolie
THE CAPITAL OF IMO STATE is dotted with avalanche of hotels with world class status making the state the hub of hospitality in the Southeast and South south regions of the country. In this short interview with DIKACHI FRANKLIN, ANTHONY OKOLIE, Secretary General, Imo State Hoteliers Association (ISHA) and General Manager, Regisgate Hotels, Owerri, speaks on the challenges and what Imo State government should do.
Could you vividly let us into the challenges facing the hospitality and leisure industry in Imo State?
The management of the hospitality and leisure sector is one of the toughest businesses in this part of the world because of the Nigerian factor. There are so many limitations to the growth of the sector but I will tell you but a few. First and foremost is maintenance.
If you lack the maintenance culture you will be out of business. And considering the fact that Owerri is the hub of hospitality and leisure industry in Nigeria, there are so many hotels of world class standard, it is a challenge.
There is a lot of competition in this sector because hotels of world class standard are springing up almost quarterly in the state. If you don’t maintain your facilities another that maintains its facilities will poach your customers and guests. And the kind of guests you will get will be commensurate with the facilities you have. To retain your standard you have to maintain your facilities, if not you will be swallowed up by competition, and you will pack up.
Now, because you want to maintain a higher standard and maintenance, you will have to run 24 hours electricity. Your power generators will always be on because there is just the near absence of electricity in the Southeast and we don’t switch off the light except on exigencies or when we want to do maintenance of power generating sets.
This brings to you the high cost of spending on buying diesel and you know what a litre of diesel is now and the profits you make you will also spend them to maintain equipment and buy diesels.
For example, Regisgate Hotel is three years old but it is like a six months old hotel because the hotel itself and the facilities are always being maintained.
The location of some hotels like yours are impassable when it rains because access roads are flooded. Do you experience such in this area?
Every year we spend not less than N2.5 million to fix this road so that it could be motorable, when it rains you cannot pass this road, so it becomes a serious challenge for us and our guests to have access to the hotel.
Are you also worried over multiple taxation system like your members in the Imo State Hoteliers Association?
Multiple taxation system is a very, very big challenge in Imo State. You will see more than three groups coming and demanding money for one tax and that is very ridiculous and it is the reason why the ISHA will stand on its feet and say no to this obnoxious tax system. This type of taxation kills the business and the government is only after what you can give them, they are not for the growth of your business.
They will stay in their offices and generate figures you will pay them.
Now, with all these challenges what would you want to tell government of Imo State?
We want to beg the government to help us and ensure that EEDC supplies power to us so that we can enjoy electricity and for our business to thrive.
Let them fix the roads and remove the multiple taxation system. If the multiple taxation system continues, many businesses will close.