Residents’ empowerment for sustainable ecotourism: insights from Ghana

Abstract

Ecotourism can be sustainable and contribute to environmental preservation if community members are empowered. However, few studies have investigated the empowerment of community members for sustainable ecotourism, particularly in developing countries. To address this knowledge gap, this study employs a mixed-method approach to investigate the extent of residents’ empowerment in four communities at two eco-tourism destinations in Ghana. The study looked at six aspects of empowerment, which are social, political, psychological, environmental, human, and economic. The findings indicate the need to build the human empowerment of and enacting ecotourism policies to regulate ecotourism practices. The inclusion of human empowerment in the empowerment framework proved useful in analysing the strengths and weaknesses in the delivery of sustainable ecotourism objectives.