Abstract:
Community participation in tourism development is essential for their socio-economic well-being and the sustainable management of natural and cultural resources. In view of this, community-Based Ecotourism Projects (CBEPs) have assumed popularity in most parts of the world including Ghana. However, due to the heterogeneity of communities not all community sub-groups have equal opportunity to participate in tourism planning and development. Yet studies on community participation have hardly examined the relationships between peoples’ characteristics and their levels of participation in tourism development activities as well as the effects of perceived benefits of tourism on community participation. This study examined the effects of socio-demographic characteristics and perceived impacts on level of participation in tourism development at the Mesomagor Area of the Kakum National Park in Ghana. A survey involving 252 adult community members was conducted. The results of the study show that gender and income were the only socio-demographic variables which significantly related to community participation, with men showing greater participation than women. Also, the effect of perceived economic benefits of tourism on community participation was significant whilst the effect of perceived environmental benefits was insignificant. It is recommended that tourism product in the community should be repackaged to provide income-earning opportunities for farmers
