Residents’ perspectives on the environmental impacts of urban tourism in Cape Coast: implications for sustainable tourism development

Abstract

As a corollary to urbanization, cities and towns have become increasingly attractive to tourists, because of the concentration of museums, galleries, shopping centres, theatres, restaurants and other cultural attractions. Though the growth in urban tourism offers a number of socio-economic benefits for residents of host cities and towns, it has also affected the local residents in many ways, including pollution and degradation of the environment. There is, however, increasing concern about the environmental impacts of tourism in urban areas. This study sought to analyze the perceived environmental impacts of urban tourism from the perspective of residents of Cape Coast and examine the implications for sustainable urban tourism development. A cross-sectional household survey of 245 local residents was conducted. Results of the study indicate that though residents perceived urban tourism as having some positive environmental impacts, they were concerned about its negative impacts in terms of crowding, traffic congestion, littering, and waste disposal problems. It is recommended that city authorities and the Ghana Tourism Authority should capitalize on the perceived positive environmental impacts of tourism by using tourism as a tool for the reinforcement of environmental conservation