African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure (Feb 2017)
The socio-cultural impact of ecotourism on park-adjacent communities in Ghana.
Abstract
Ecotourism can be an incentive for conservation and may also provide socio-cultural impact on the host communities. This study examined the negative and positive socio-cultural impacts of ecotourism activities in the park-adjacent communities around Mole National Park, Kakum National Park and Shai Hills Resource Reserve in Ghana Three communities were selected around each protected area. The study employed primary data collection, where questionnaires were used to interview 648 respondents around the three protected areas concerning the socio-cultural impact of ecotourism. The study revealed a loss of farmland and pasture lands, local residents paying equal inflated prices for goods and services just like tourists and increased pressure on existing infrastructure and amenities and these were the major socio-cultural concerns of ecotourism in the fringe communities. Increased awareness and respect for local culture, putting the communities in the global spotlight and increased support for conservation, were the top sociocultural benefits of ecotourism in the park adjacent communities. The findings suggest that the numerous positive socio-cultural impact of ecotourism outweigh the negative impacts, and as such, the local people are positive towards ecotourism and what it offers the community.
