SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF DOMESTIC TOURISTS IN GHANA

BYJOSHUA SEBU

INTRO

• Ghana is blessed with several tourist sites • These include national parks, waterfalls, caves,

hills, castles, botanical gardens, etc.• Most of these sites are natural • These natural tourist sites are still in their raw

state yet to be developed to enhance its value as a tourist site.

INTRO

• Tourism contributes to the development of an economy through the provision foreign exchange Employment Income Development of tourism communities and facilities, etc.In 2005, US$836.09 thousand dollars was received as

foreign exchange increasing to US$1,875.0 million dollars in 2010. (Ohene-Ayeh, 2012) (Director of corporate affairs, GTA).

INTRO

• The fact remains that international tourist arrivals to tourist sites in Ghana far surpasses that of domestic tourists.

• According to GSS (2008), over 97% of Ghanaians hardly visit tourist sites.

• This rather reduces benefits that could be obtained from their visits.

INTRO

• According to Akyea (2009) among the excuses given by Ghanaians for not visiting tourist sites includedLack of fundsNo time to travel• Among these excuses my students also added thatThere are no organisation of such toursGate fees are expensive, among others

INTRO

• Fact sheet from GTA indicate rising trend in domestic tourism

• By the end of 2010, total arrivals to tourist sites by Ghanaians was 659,325 with an accompanying total revenue of GH¢1,407,444.99.

• According to Ohene-Ayeh (2012) this was a greater improvement in domestic tourism over the past five years.

Objective

• The study therefore seeks to explore the socio-demographic characteristics of domestic tourists in Ghana.

• Specifically the study will answers questions likeWhere domestic tourists are going?Where they are coming from?What was the main purpose of their visit?

Methodology

• The study uses data from the last round of the GLSS (GLSS 5) collected in 2005.

• The sample includes only domestic tourist site visitors totaling 328 individuals out of 37,128.

• The results are weighted to take care of the disproportionate sampling.

• Exploring the data through descriptive analysis to answer the above questions

Results

• Same day visitors were 214, overnight visitors were 127, whiles 13 were overlapping

• 57.3% males, 42.7% females• Mean age was 28 years with a standard deviation of

14.9• About 95.46% have had some level of education• Average real income of visitors was GHȼ639.42 whiles

non visitors was GHȼ422.80 showing a 34% difference between the two.

• A T-test showed a significant difference (p=0.000)

Same day Same day Overnight Overnight

Freq Weighted percent Freq Weighted percent

Funeral 19 7.75 20 16.55

Marriage ceremony 5 2.81 2 1.45

Birthday parties 3 1.72 3 3.00

Open days - - 1 0.39

Business/Professional 17 8.06 8 5.75

Holidays/Vacation/Leisure

52 25.46 12 7.19

Visiting family/Friends 39 16.76 53 42.29

Convention/Conference/workshop

2 1.12 11 10.47

Religious/Pilgrimage 10 3.60 1 0.86

Government affair 2 1.08 - -

Studies 3 1.38 4 3.55

Teaching - - 1 0.97

Health 1 0.30 - -

Sports/Recreation 13 8.43 2 2.05

Other 6 3.14 2 0.95

Missing System 42 18.39 7 4.51

Total 214 100.0 127 100.0

Same day tourist site visited Frequency Weighted percent

cape coast castle 22 9.4

elmina castle 10 4.5

kumasi zoo 32 15.4

accra zoo 16 8.7

shai hills reource reserve 3 1.6

aburi botanical gardens 9 4.2

kakum national park 33 13.8

mole national park 6 2.0

ankasa wildlife resource reserve 1 0.4

kwame nkrumah mausoleum 2 1.4

akosombo dam 1 0.5

digyae national park 1 0.3

wui water falls 7 2.7

boti water falls 18 9.6

47 1 0.3

amedzofe 2 0.8

boabeng-fiema monkey sanctuary 2 0.9

tongo hills 1 0.5

paga crocodile pond 1 0.2

bobiri forest and butterfly sanctuary,nobewam

1 0.6

kintampo waterfalls 4 1.6

lake bosomtwe 15 7.4

other (specify) 26 13.0

Total 214 100

Over night tourist site visited Frequency Weighted percent

cape coast castle 15 10.8

elmina castle 11 8.8

kumasi zoo 19 12.9

accra zoo 12 8.7

aumatsa resource reserve 1 1.0

aburi botanical gardens 3 1.9

kakum national park 15 14.6

mole national park 1 1.0

kwame nkrumah mausoleum 5 4.2

manhyia palace,kumasi 1 0.9

kalakpa resource reserve 1 0.7

kogyae strict nature reserve 1 0.5

wui water falls 2 0.6

boti water falls 6 5.6

amedzofe 5 3.2

paga crocodile pond 2 1.2

kintampo waterfalls 2 2.3

lake bosomtwe 6 5.0

other (specify) 19 16.2

Total 127 100.0

Same day Western Central G. Accra Volta Eastern Ashanti B. Ahafo Northern U. East U. West Total

Cape Coast 20.0 15.3 15.3 11.5 31.4 5.5 1.0 100.0

Elmina castle

35.1 19.9 13.5 11.9 19.5 100.0

Kumasi zoo

3.6 1.9 71.6 17.1 4.7 0.9 100.0

Accra zoo 8.1 6.1 24.7 7.7 29.8 23.6 100.0Shai hills 29.9 46.6 23.5 100.0Aburi gardens

72.5 14.6 13.0 100.0

Kakum park

20.2 29.9 14.2 10.8 22.2 2.0 0.7 100.0

mole national park

46.8 38.3 14.9 100.0

Ankasa wildlife

100.0 100.0

Kwame Nkrumah m

100.0 100.0

Akosombo dam

100.0 100.0

Digyae park

100.0 100.0

Wui water falls

96.4 3.6 100.0

Boti water falls

21.2 10.6 68.2 100.0

Amedzofe 62.4 37.6 100.0Boabeng-fiema monkey

54.5 45.5 100.0

Tongo hills 100.0 100.0Paga crocodile

100.0 100.0

Bobiri forest

100.0 100.0

Kintampo waterfalls

68.0 32.0 100.0

Lake bosomtwe

7.4 92.6 100.0

Other 32.1 8.8 4.5 20.1 30.3 2.9 1.1 100.0Total 8.1 12.0 12.7 4.8 16.3 34.5 8.9 1.6 0.2 0.9 100.0

overnight Western Central G. Accra Volta Eastern Ashanti B. Ahafo Northern U. East U. West Total

Cape Coast cast

41.0 22.0 22.0 14.9 100.0

Elmina castle

34.7 6.9 26.3 29.1 2.8 100.0

Kumasi zoo

7.6 21.8 21.2 12.1 35.0 2.3 100.0

Accra zoo 16.9 22.4 8.4 41.8 6.9 3.6 100.0Aumatsa reserve

100.0 100.0

Aburi gardens

38.3 61.7 100.0

kakum national park

6.7 81.4 5.4 6.5 100.0

mole park 100.0 100.0

kwame nkrumah

59.7 17.6 22.7 100.0

Manhyia palace

100.0 100.0

Kalakpa reserve

100.0 100.0

Kogyae nature reserve

100.0 100.0

Wli water falls

71.3 28.7 100.0

Boti water falls

34.2 65.8 100.0

Amedzofe 15.7 84.3 100.0Paga pond

22.9 77.1 100.0

Kintampo waterfalls

42.1 57.9 100.0

Lake bosomtwe

54.9 45.1 100.0

Other (specify)

16.2 12.3 5.4 3.7 49.7 4.7 4.0 2.3 1.7 100.0

Total 10.1 13.0 11.7 4.9 14.3 29.4 9.5 3.4 2.6 1.2 100.0

Packaged tripSame day Same day Overnight Overnight

Frequency Weighted percent

Frequency Weighted percent

packaged tour 57 27.9 20 15.0

self arranged 109 51.0 97 76.6

other 7 3.3 3 3.9

Total 173 82.1 120 95.5

Missing System 41 17.9 7 4.5

Total 214 100.0 127 100.0

Sponsored trip Same day Same day Overnight overnight

Frequency Weighted Percent Frequency Weighted percent

self-sponsorship 105 48.9 80 63.9

household member 49 24.6 27 20.4

private organisation 7 2.8 2 2.2

government international organisation

5 2.0 6 4.6

other 1 0.6 1 2.1

6 6 3.3 4 2.4

Total 173 82.1 120 95.5

Missing System 41 17.9 7 4.5

Total 214 100.0 127 100.0

Accommodation stayed in by overnight visitors

Frequency Percent Weighted percent

Hotel (other lodging services)

9 7.1 7.3

Guest house 3 2.4 2.0

Health establishments 3 2.4 3.2

Educational institutions 10 7.9 8.3

Holiday resorts 1 0.8 0.4

Tourist camp sites 1 0.8 0.7

Friends'/relative's residence

70 55.1 57.0

Private home 13 10.2 8.8

Other (specify) 3 2.4 1.8

Total 113 89.0 89.5

Missing System 14 11.0 10.5

Total 127 100.0 100

Conclusion

• Income of domestic sites visitors are greater than non-visitors

• Visits to these tourist sites were a secondary matter and not the main motive for travelling to areas endowed with these tourist sites.

• Places mostly visited included Kakum National park, Kumasi zoo and cape coast castle.

• Majority of domestic visitors were from the Ashanti region.

• Visits were mostly self-arranged and also self sponsored.

Recommendations

• Income levels of individuals when increased might encourage domestic tourism.

• GTA and other tourism agents should develop these tourist sites especially the least visited to encourage increased domestic visits.

• Intensified education and marketing should be carried out to encourage those who visit areas with tourist sites to visit these sites. Future research on regional disparities could be done to find

out the factors influencing more visits by some regions than others.

THANK YOU