Abstract:
Tourism which has been described by some tourism scholars as
multifaceted industry, generating huge revenue for various governments may
impact positively or negatively on socio-cultural, economic and environmental
segments of local tourism communities or destinations. The study assessed local
residents` perception of tourism impact on socio-cultural and economic activities
and the environment in communities surrounding Ankasa Conservation Area.
Though, there are many factors which influence residents’ perception of tourism,
ten factors were examined. The Social Exchange Theory which is a behavioural
theory was employed to guide the research. Since, the research is purely
quantitative, a total of 267 respondents were sampled from Ghana-Nungua and
Old Ankasa for interview. Questionnaires were administered using face-to-face
interview strategy to gather the needed information. Analysis of the data obtained
identified that though, tourism had some positive impacts on the environment its
contribution to socio-cultural and economic benefits was very insignificant in the
local communities. As a result, it is recommended that the District Assembly,
Ghana Tourism Authority, the Forestry Commission, Civil Society groups as well
as residents meet periodically to discuss and share opinions on how best to
strategize to ensure sustained growth of the industry in the local communities so
that its positive impacts are felt in the lives of the people.
