Preferences for Biodiversity and Habitat Protection in Kakum National Park in Ghana

Abstract

This study investigated the preferences for biodiversity and habitat protection among tourists at the Kakum National Park (KNP) in Ghana using primary data collected from a total of 472 tourists of whom 202 were foreign tourists and 270 were Ghanaian tourists. The main objective of the study was to estimate the total economic value for the attributes associated with the KNP and to understand the role they play in ecotourism promotion. The choice experiment method was employed as a valuation method to elicit the associated marginal willingness to pay (MWTP) of these attributes. Using a mixed logit, the only significant MWTP for the Ghanaian model was access to information on biodiversity and cultural heritage which they were willing to pay GHS 1.29 more on entrance fees per trip. International tourists were willing to pay statistically significant amounts of GHS 1.37, 3.55, 82.88, 22.79 on improvements in human traffic, reducing encroachment, improving biodiversity and accessing information via printed materials whereas they were willing to pay GHS 5.29 and 51.08 to move away from options of higher canopy walkway and accessing information via QR codes. The study recommends that park management should focus on revamping biodiversity protection efforts as well as improve information on biodiversity in the form of printed materials to ensure that the lesser-known activities like animal viewing, hiking and camping are well advertised both locally and internationally to increase patronage and revenue generation.