Ghana has cemented its reputation as a leader in African tourism and leisure, taking home the top honors at the seventh Hospitality Awards Africa (HAA) in Lomé, Togo. The HAA is the continent’s leading awards program, celebrating excellence, innovation, and leadership in the hospitality and tourism sector.
Ghanaian professionals and brands scooped an impressive 14 prestigious awards, outshining all other participating countries, while Nigeria and the host nation, Togo, also took home notable honors.
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In the end, Ghana topped the continental rankings with 14 awards, followed by Nigeria with six and host nation Togo with three. Ethiopia picked up two awards, while Kenya, Burundi, South Africa, Cameroon, and Tanzania each walked away with one.
This impressive performance highlights the rich talent and excellence in Ghana’s hospitality scene. Under the theme ‘Celebrating Africa’s Authentic Hospitality Culture,’ the event was a lively display of tradition and skill, with guests dressed in beautiful traditional outfits. The evening reflected a shared dedication across the continent to raising service standards and driving innovation.
Creating a unified continental industry
In his keynote address, Nigerian hospitality and tourism expert and Head of the Hospitality Business School (HBS) in Lagos, Dr. Eric Mekwuye, emphasized the importance of building a unified continental industry that stands apart from those in Europe, America, and Asia.
He highlighted that Africa has a unique edge in language, food, and fashion, which can be interconnected to strengthen the hospitality industry and draw more tourists from around the world, leading to increased cash flow for economic growth. Africa’s cultural strengths in these areas are powerful tools for driving hospitality expansion and boosting tourism-led development.
A tribe in Ghana uses the word ‘Akwaaba,’ meaning welcome. This language is a powerful one, often heard in Nigeria. I even spotted it in the lobby of the Hotel 2 Fevrier in Lomé, Togo, and it’s also common in other African countries. We could start with that and make it the official greeting across Africa, replacing the word welcome, he said.
Dr. Mekwuye also highlighted the need to strive for professionalism in the hospitality industry, stressing that excellence in this sector is about service provision – the human factor, and not the edifice or grand decorations in the building.
The path ahead for the hospitality industry
Ghana’s High Commissioner to Togo, Captain (Rtd.) George Nfojoh, commended the hospitality industry in Ghana for the remarkable performance in Togo. He emphasised that the way forward for consolidating the gains made in the hospitality industry is training and retraining to keep newly-employed and existing staff updated with the best global practices.
He encouraged hospitality businesses to stop hiring just anyone and immediately putting them in a uniform, and instead, to offer basic training on the dos and don’ts of service. “Training is crucial in this industry. Facility managers should avoid simply picking people straight out of SHS and putting them in uniform to work. Every new employee should be trained on what customers want going forward, and with that, Ghana will continue to lead on the continent,” he said.
Celebrating the continent’s finest
The ceremony recognised outstanding individuals across a wide range of categories, from management and operations to digital influence and lifetime achievement. The strong performance across management, service and influential categories signals a robust and high-quality standard for Ghana’s travel and tourism sector, positioning it as a continental leader committed to world-class service delivery.
A smart and well-planned move to Togo
Eugene Vidzro, Executive Director of HAA, shared that bringing the awards to Togo was a deliberate move to highlight another lively hospitality hotspot in Africa. He noted that the night was about more than just recognizing individuals—it was about bringing the industry together. Ghana’s impressive showing, along with winners from across the continent, shows that excellence unites us all. He added that they’re proud to have built a platform that not only celebrates achievements but also genuinely honors Africa’s rich cultures.
The 2025 HAA’s smooth move to Lomé delivered on its core goal of rotational hosting. It’s also raised the bar for honoring pan-African excellence, sparking high hopes for the future of the continent’s hospitality and tourism scene.
The evening’s standout winners included:
- Daniel Ludwig – General Manager of the Year- 5-star category (Ethiopia)
- Ann Peggy Ashira – General Manager of the Year- 4-star category (Kenya)
- Lolita Fiadjoe – Front Office Manager of the Year- 4-star category (Ghana)
- Esther Asare Bediako – Front Office Manager of the Year 3-Star (Ghana)
- Sandra Essel – Hospitality Professional of the Year, Female category (Ghana)
- Ekua Zara Ghartey-Tsagli – Honorary Award & Top 50 Women in Hospitality and Tourism Industry in Africa (Ghana)
- Eyram Kodjo – Honorary Award (Togo)
- Nadia Buxton – Rising Star Female category (Ghana)
- Ernest Owiredu – Engineer of the Year (Ghana)
- Melissa Bediako – Sales and Marketing Director of the Year (Ghana)
- Olivia Bimpeh-Tetteh – Human Resource Manager of the Year (Ghana)
- Omololu Olumuyiwa – Top 5 Hospitality & Tourism Influencer in Africa (Nigeria)
- Kwabena Ackon (Wode Maya) -Top 5 Hospitality & Tourism Influencer in Africa (Ghana)
- Kojo Aidoo – Top 5 Hospitality & Tourism Influencer in Africa (Ghana)
- Herman Wandji – Top 5 Hospitality & Tourism Influencer in Africa (Cameroon)
- Udey Precious Enyiomachi – Top 5 Hospitality & Tourism Influencer in Africa (Nigeria)
- Lydia Nduati – The Legacy Award, Female category (Ghana)
- Abena Twumwaa Asubonteng – Honorary Award (Ghana)
- Thomas Noll – HAA Hall of Fame (Togo)
- Stanley Agade – General Manager of the Year (Burundi)
- Ds Souza Lucile Christiane – Honorary Award (Togo)
- George Osae – Executive Chef of the Year (Ghana)
- Tiaam Schultz – Food and Beverage Director of the Year (South Africa)
- Alex Essilfie – Rooms Divisions Manager of the Year (Nigeria)
- Mercy Orleans-Lindsay – Executive Housekeeper of the Year (Ghana)
- Joshua Alabi – Bar Manager of the Year (Ghana)
- Adhiraj Mitra – Honorary Award (Nigeria)
- Emmanuel Elle – Honorary Award (Nigeria)
- Uzoamaka Oshogwe – The Legacy Awards, Female category (Nigeria)
- Williams Thompson – The Legacy Award, Male category (Ghana)
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Samuel Kwame Boadu is a Ghanaian entrepreneur, writer, and digital consultant passionate about creating impactful stories and business solutions. He is the Founder & CEO of SamBoad Business Group Ltd, a dynamic company with subsidiaries in digital marketing, logistics, publishing, and risk management.
