negative effect of tourism in ghana

Entertainment

• GhanaWeb TV
• Home - Features
• Archived Articles
• Home - Wall
• Club Members

Opinions of Tuesday, 7 November 2017

Columnist: Gilbert Abeiku Aggrey

Challenges facing Ghana's tourism industry

« Prev

Next »

Comments (1)

Listen to Article

The Unprecedented growth in the Tourism sector during the last fifty years has created major challenges in tourism marketing. As more and more areas are of the World are developed for tourism, the destination choices available to consumers continue to expand. Destination Ghana, The most peaceful, stable, homogeneous society with rapid social and infrastructural development in west Africa must be our Unique selling Point (USP).Ghana must be favourably differentiated from its competitors like Kenya, Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, Mauritius etc. A key component of this positioning process is the creation and management of a distinctive appealing perception or Image. Sometimes the notion people have about a brand affects the market of the brand. challenges to tourism planning in Ghana must be addressed. 1. Poor Institutional Arrangement : The separation Of public and private sector institutions involved in tourism coupled with the complications associated with it makes consensus building and partnership formation very difficult 2. Lack of Legal Backing for Plans : Tourism plans implantation gets mixed up with unnecessary legal battles on issues of land acquisition, prolonged period of time.The Korle lagoon project in Accra is a classic example. 3. Availability of Funds to tourism projects: Funds is very crucial to the sustainability of tourism development. 4.Manpower Constraints: Ghana has numerous institutions offering HND and Degree Courses in Tourism and related programs, yet Ghana’s tourism is severely constrained by shortage of qualified staff needed for plan formulation and implantation. Catering, lodging, travel and tours, tour guiding inject more professionalism and capacity building. There is therefore the need to work thoroughly towards overcoming these challenges in order to make tourism planning and development more effective in Ghana

Tamale nurse who bathed husband with boiling water jailed 6 years

Give Partey a lifetime contract - Arsenal fans plead after exceptional performance against Tottenham

NDC accuses Akufo-Addo of attempting to cover up corruption in KPMG report on SML deal

How Fella Makafui reacted to the 'smoking with D-Black' controversy

Pastor arrested for detaining patients in church

Prof. Dr Grace Ayensu-Danquah, the high-achiever fighting for the welfare of women and children

• Advertising
• Privacy Policy

COVID-19 Impact and Recovery on Tourism in Africa: An Introduction and Background

• First Online: 30 April 2024

Cite this chapter

• Peter Chihwai   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1888-832X 2  

This chapter provides the context in which the book ‘COVID-19 Impact on Tourism Performance in Africa’, is written, including highlights in the rest of the book. The COVID-19 pandemic came amid global trends toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which were dealt a major blow as all attention globally shifted toward reducing the devastating effect on all sectors of the economy including global tourism. Global tourism including Africa was heavily impacted by the lack of mobility and sociability which are the key success factors to tourism flourishment. Global lockdowns inhibited tourism in many aspects including reduced hotel occupancy or zero occupancy in some instances, no passenger travel, and no local travel affecting both international and local tourism and resulting in a detrimental effect on the performance of the tourism sector both strategic financial and non-financial objectives, Mission, and Vision. Governments globally and in Africa attempted to employ different means including economic stimulus packages to thwart the devastation like deaths and zero movement while tourism enterprises employed different means to comply with government regulations. African tourism organizations and enterprises employed various strategies to rejuvenate both local and international tourism as lockdown restrictions eased until the present post-COVID-19 situation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

Asatani, K., Takeda, H., Yamano, H., & Sakata, I. (2020). Scientific attention to sustainability and SDGs: Metaanalysis of academic papers. Energies, 13 (4), 975.

Google Scholar  

Bello, M. B., & Bello, Y. O. (2021). Consequences of COVID-19 pandemic on hospitality industry: The Nigeria experience. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 5 (1), 422–425.

Article   Google Scholar  

Bogale, M., Kelkay, S., & Mengesha, W. (2020). COVID-19 pandemic and tourism sector in Ethiopia.  Horn of African Journal of Business and Economics (HAJBE) , 1–9.

Chihwai, P.& Dube, K. ( 2023, September). Exploring forced innovations and continuous improvement during COVID-19 in South Africa. Social Science Research International Conference 10–13 (pp. 1114–1129).

Chiwona-Karltun, L., Amuakwa-Mensah, F., Wamala-Larsson, C., Amuakwa-Mensah, S., Abu Hatab, A., Made, N., Taremwa, N. K., Melyoki, L., Rutashobya, L. K., Madonsela, T., & Lourens, M. (2021). COVID-19: From health crises to food security anxiety and policy implications. Ambio, 50 , 794–811.

Danso, B. A., Osei-Tutu, N. A., Whyte, T. N. M., & Ocquaye, E. N. N. (2020). Ghana hotel industry (three-five star rated) and Covid-19: Present scenario and the way forward. East African Scholars Multidisciplinary Bulletin, 3 , 279–292.

Ezra, P. M., Kitheka, B. M., Sabuhoro, E., Riungu, G. K., Sirima, A., & Amani, A. K. (2021). Responses and impacts of COVID-19 on East Africa’s tourism industry. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 10 (6), 1711–1727.

Kauatuuapehi, C., Abel, S., Mukarati, J., Abel, D. Z., & Le Roux, P. (2023). Covid-19 and the performance of hotels and lodges in Windhoek, Namibia. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 12 (1), 226–238.

Lekgau, R., & Tichaawa, T. M. (2022). Exploring the use of virtual and hybrid events for MICE sector resilience: The case of South Africa. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 11 (4), 1579–1594.

Matanzima, J., & Nhiwatiwa, T. (2023). The COVID-19 pandemic and tourism in Kariba town. Lived experiences of borderland communities in Zimbabwe: Livelihoods, conservation, war and Covid-19 (pp. 181–194). Springer International Publishing.

Chapter   Google Scholar  

Mendes, L. (2020). Bye Bye Lisbon: Tourism gentrification impacts on Lisbon’s inner-city housing market. In Handbook of research on the impacts, challenges, and Policy Responses to overtourism (pp. 136–155). IGI Global.

Mseleku, Z. (2022). Youth high unemployment/unemployability in South Africa: The unemployed graduates’ perspectives. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, 12 (4), 775–790.

Muragu, M. M., Nyadera, I. N., & Mbugua, C. W. (2023). Gearing up for the new normal: Kenya’s tourism sector before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events, 15 (1), 88–105.

Ndlovu, M., Matipano, G., & Miliyasi, R. (2021). An analysis of the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on wildlife protection in protected areas of Zimbabwe in 2020. Scientific African, 14 , e01031.

Nhamo, G., Dube, K., Chikodzi, D. (2020). Restaurants and COVID-19: A focus on sustainability and recovery pathways. Counting the cost of COVID-19 on the global tourism industry (pp. 205–224).

Ranke, P. S., Kessy, B. M., Mbise, F. P., Nielsen, M. R., Arukwe, A., & Røskaft, E. (2023). The threat of COVID-19 to the conservation of Tanzanian national parks. Biological Conservation, 282 , 110037.

Roos, C., Alberts, R. C., Retief, F. P., Cilliers, D. P., Hodgson, W., & Olivier, I. (2022). Challenges and opportunities for sustainable solid waste management in private nature reserves: The case of Sabi Sand Wildtuin, South Africa. KOEDOE-African Protected Area Conservation and Science, 64 (1), 1710.

Rwigema, P. C., & Celestin, R. P. (2020). Impact of Covid-19 pandemic to meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (Mice) tourism in Rwanda. The Strategic Journal of Business and Change Management, 7 (3), 395–409.

Samunderu, E. (2023). Africa’s air Transport infrastructure: Challenges, complexities and opportunities. In African air transport management: Strategic analysis of African aviation market (pp. 151–187). Springer International Publishing.

Souza, C. N., Rodrigues, A. C., Correia, R. A., Normande, I. C., Costa, H. C., Guedes-Santos, J., Malhado, A. C., Carvalho, A. R., & Ladle, R. J. (2021). No visit, no interest: How COVID-19 has affected public interest in world’s national parks. Biological Conservation, 256 , 109015.

Škare, M., Soriano, D. R., & Porada-Rochoń, M. (2021). Impact of COVID-19 on the travel and tourism industry. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 163 , 120469.

Statistica. (2023a). https://www.statista.com/topics/962/global-tourism/#topicOverview

Statistica. (2023b). https://www.statista.com/statistics/233223/travel-and-tourism--total-economic-contribution-worldwide/#:~:text=Overall%2C%20the%20contribution%20of%20travel,percent%20below%20pre%2Dpandemic%20levels .

Tolcha, T. D. (2023). The state of Africa’s air transport market amid COVID-19, and forecasts for recovery. Journal of Air Transport Management, 108 , 102380.

United Nations World Tourism Report. (2014). Annual report 2014.

UNWTO. (2021). UNWTO 2021: A year in Review. https://www.unwto.org/2021-a-year-in-review

UNWTO. (2023). World Tourism Day 2023: Tourism and Green Investments. https://www.unwto.org/events/worldtourism-day-2023 .

World Tourism Barometre. (2023). Excerpt Volume 21 • Issue 4 • November 2023.

Zhang, J., & Zhang, Y. (2019). Trade‐offs between sustainable tourism development goals: An analysis of Tibet (China). Sustainable Development, 27 (1), 109–117.

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Tourism, and Integrated Communication, Vaal University of Technology, Vanderbiljpark, South Africa

Peter Chihwai

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peter Chihwai .

Editor information

Editors and affiliations.

Vaal University of Technology, Vanderbiljpark, South Africa

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Chihwai, P. (2024). COVID-19 Impact and Recovery on Tourism in Africa: An Introduction and Background. In: Chihwai, P. (eds) COVID-19 Impact on Tourism Performance in Africa. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-1931-0_1

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-1931-0_1

Published : 30 April 2024

Publisher Name : Springer, Singapore

Print ISBN : 978-981-97-1930-3

Online ISBN : 978-981-97-1931-0

eBook Packages : Business and Management Business and Management (R0)

Share this chapter

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Publish with us

Policies and ethics

• Find a journal
• Track your research

The Negative Impacts of Overtourism in Ghana

Many popular destinations in Ghana need help managing the large number of tourists they receive, especially during the high season. Although the high leads to job creation, more income, and better infrastructure, it is associated with various negative impacts on the traveler and those living in those areas. Most sites are very Busy and destinations during the peak season. The overall growth of the Ghana tourism industry, Cheap travel budgets, and increased international connectivity through social media platforms such as Instagram are the main causes of overtourism. Overtourism impacts vary from destination to destination, but some are common. Many Ghanaian destinations are working on balancing the overall benefits of tourism with the desire to preserve their environment and cultural heritage, finding sustainable solutions to over-tourism. The major negative impacts include;

1. Overcrowding

Overcrowding is the leading negative impact associated with over-tourism in many areas of Ghana. Destinations are busy with many tourists, downgrading the traveler’s experience. Resorts, historical sites, and shopping streets receive a huge number of tourists, especially during the weekends and holidays. Some destinations have so far managed to deal with this issue by raising the entrance fee during peak seasons to ensure it is not accessible to everyone.

2. Economic Inequality

Although tourism generates significant economic benefits for Ghana, these benefits are not equally distributed to all regions of Ghana. The unequal distribution of attraction sites results in economic inequality. It is only the areas with attractions and sites that benefit from tourism. The residents of those areas benefit from jobs and infrastructure development. Areas without attraction sites do not benefit and continue living in poverty. Overtourism can lead to the concentration of tourism in certain areas, resulting in unequal wealth distribution. Wealthy investors and businesses may benefit the most from the increase in tourism, while local communities may not see as much of a benefit. This can contribute to social and economic inequality in the area.

3. Environmental Degradation

Overtourism is associated with negative environmental impacts, for instance, pollution, waste accumulation, and damage to natural habitats. When the number of tourists is high in one place, the resources and infrastructure of the area may not be enough to support them, resulting in excessive use of resources, such as energy and water. Excessive usage of resources can lead to long-lasting damage to the environment and wildlife. For instance, tourists may litter or leave trash, harming the vegetation and animals in those areas. Additionally, using cars and other transportation can cause air pollution and contribute to climate change.

4. Cultural Erosion

Cultural erosion is a serious issue that arises from the interactions of the locals and tourists. When a destination receives tourists, locals may be tempted to adapt to the new cultures, which can lead to the erosion of traditional beliefs and cultural identity. Cultural erosion can result in a decline in decent cultural experiences and probably demotivate potential visitors seeking a unique travel experience from visiting those areas. The loss of local cultures can lead to a lack of diversity, making destinations less attractive to tourists who value cultural experiences.

5. Excessive use of Avaialbel Resources

Overtourism overuse of the local resources results in the strain on the resources. The crowding of tourists can lead to high demand for resources such as water, electricity, and food, which can result in shortages and higher prices for locals and visitors. This overuse of resources can also lead to depletion, causing other problems in those destinations. Sometimes, those destinations may be forced to import resources from other areas, which can further strain the environment. The strain on resources eventually decreases the quality of life for locals and makes a destination less attractive.

The Ghana HIT

Why ghana guarantees safety and good health to tourists, reasons you should visit ghana in october, you may also like, how to stay in budget during a vacation..., choosing the perfect wellness retreat in ghana, a memorable one-week vacation itinerary in ghana, exploring incredible adventures in ghana, things to consider when booking accommodations for holidays, positive and negative impacts of tourism development in..., strategies to solve unsustainable tourism in ghana, exploring the enthralling amedzofe canopy walkway in volta..., exciting tourist hotspots in ghana for your festive..., the impact of globalization on tourism in ghana.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More

Tourism amid COVID-19 pandemic: impacts and implications for building resilience in the eco-tourism sector in Ghana's Savannah region

Affiliations.

• 1 Department of Community Development, Faculty of Planning and Land Management, University of Business and Integrated Development Studies, P.O. Box UPW3, Wa, U.W.R, Ghana.
• 2 Mole National Park, Wildlife Division of Forestry Commission, Mole, Savannah Region, Ghana.
• 3 Regional Health Directorate, Ghana Health Service, Savannah Region, Damongo, Ghana.
• PMID: 34493990
• PMCID: PMC8412235
• DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07892

The novel coronavirus which first emerged in Wuhan, China has affected many sectors of the global economy particularly, the tourism sector. While prior studies have explored how pandemics and crisis in the tourism sector can be managed, only a few have tackled how the tourism industry, especially in developing countries can be restructured to withstand shocks and remain resilient in the face of crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic in the future. This article sheds light on the socio-economic and ecological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the eco-tourism sector of Ghana's Savannah region while offering short and long term strategies for building resilience to withstand shocks. Between September and October 2020, data was collected in the tourism enclave of the Savannah region in Ghana using focus group discussions and interviews. Results show that the major socio-economic impact of the pandemic was the loss of livelihoods. Ecological impacts were however mixed - both positive and negative. The study concludes that socio-economic impacts have been severe because they are closely tied to tourism. The study therefore recommends that immediate measures including stimulus packages be offered to local enterprises affected by the pandemic. In the long term, efforts should be made to diversify the local economy and promote domestic tourism in the country.

Keywords: Coronavirus; Crisis management; Eco-tourism; Hospitality industry; Pandemic impact; Resilience theory.

© 2021 The Author(s).

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to  upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

• We're Hiring!
• Help Center

THE IMPACT OF TOURISM ON ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE IN GHANA

This study examined the impact of tourism on economic performance in Ghana using Johansen's cointegration approach. It was found that all the variables, nominal gross domestic product per capita, domestic tourism per capita and international tourism per capita were integrated at first order. The results of Johansen's cointegration test indicated that there exist only short run relationships among all the variables being considered. The study found out that previous record of the international tourism had a positive impact on nominal gross domestic product per capita and this impact is elastic. As a result, improvement in international tourism will lead to increase in nominal gross domestic product per capita. The Granger Causality test also showed that was unilateral causality between international tourism and nominal gross domestic product per capita and domestic tourism as well as international tourism. Finally, it was recommendations that international tourism should be encourage in all media to publish the tourism centers in Ghana to the outside world to attract more international tourists. Also, Ghanaians should be encouraged to patronize the tourist centers as domestic tourism caused international tourism to improve.

Related Papers

BİROL ERKAN

Patrick Enu , Mariyah Joniwaa

The article looks at the impact of macroeconomic indicators on industrial production in Ghana. The ordinary least squares estimation technique is utilized given the sample size of 21 due to the unavailability of data. The study identified real petroleum prices (-), real exchange rate (-), import of goods and services (+) and government spending (+) as the key macroeconomic factors that influence industrial production in Ghana. Based on the findings, we recommend that the government of Ghana should continue to stabilize the macroeconomic environment of Ghana in order to achieve industrial growth and development.

European Scientific Journal ESJ , Cuneyt SADIC

Tourism is rapidly developing around the world and it effects the economic, social and cultural development of the country. In this study based on the effect of tourism on the economic growth, the effect of tourism investments on tourism income was examined using Panel VAR model. The yearly data from the period 2001-2014 on the most popular touristic towns in Turkey, namely, Antalya, Mugla, Izmir, Aydin and Nevsehir, was used. When the results of the analysis are examined, it can be said that tourism investments have stimulating effect on tourism income, but it was noticed that the tourism investments from the last year had a decreasing effect on tourism income.

European Scientific Journal ESJ

This study aims to analyse the link between industry value added and electricity consumption in Turkey for the years between 1970 and 2015. The sectoral distribution of net electricity consumption has been obtained from Turkey Electricity Distribution and Consumption Statistics on GWh basis while industry value added data have been obtained from World Development Indicators' data bases on dollar basis with the fixed prices of the year 2012. The correlations between the variables have been examined by means of Johansen cointegration test and error correction model. According to the results of the study, it has been seen that there exists bidirectional relationship between the electricity consumption and value added variable in the long term. On the other hand, in terms of the Error Correction Model used for a short-term relationship, no short-term relationship has been identified between the variables. Introduction Energy consumption has vital importance for sustainable growth. The change in the economic output depends on the consumed energy, and electricity is required for all the industries to survive. This need becomes more obvious during the takeoff periods of economies. The main aim in the industrial production is to obtain maximum output with minimum cost. As it is known, energy is one of the most important inputs of the production process. Gaining maximum output with each unit of consumed energy decreases the costs and increases the sectoral competitive power. In this respect, the relationship between energy consumption and output quantity has been taking the interests of the researchers to an increasing extent.

The paper examined the determinants of foreign direct investment inflows to Ghana. The main objective of this study was to find out the major macroeconomic determinants of foreign direct investment in Ghana between the periods 1980 to 2012. All the variables considered were integrated at first order, as a result the Johansen's cointegration approach was used and the result showed that the variables were not cointegrated. Therefore, the vector autoregressive model was estimated. The result showed that the first past year of foreign direct investment , the last two years of exchange rate and trade openness were statistically significant. Based on the findings we recommend that policies that encourage foreign direct investment, moderate exchange rate depreciation and increasing trade openness should be implemented.

Patrick Enu , Charles Opoku

The study is on Macroeconomic Determinants of Economic Growth in Ghana using cointegration approach. The main objective of this study is to examine the major macroeconomic determinants of economic growth in Ghana between the periods 1970 and 2011 applying the Johansen method of cointegration. All the variables are integrated at first order, as a result the Johansen's cointegration approach was used. The study find out that physical capital and foreign aid had a positive effect on growth in real gross domestic product per capita. In the long run, physical capital, labour force, foreign direct investment, foreign aid, consumer price index, government expenditure and military rule are the significant determinants of growth in real gross domestic product per capita in Ghana. Also, in the short run, foreign direct investment and government expenditure are significant determinants of growth in real gross domestic product per capita. The result shows that there is unilateral directional causality between labour force and physical capital, physical capital and foreign direct investment, foreign aid and physical capital, physical capital and consumer price index, physical capital and military rule, labour force and foreign direct investment, consumer price index and labour force, foreign direct investment and foreign aid. Also, there is bidirectional causality between consumer price index and foreign direct investment. Base on the findings the following policy recommendations are made: Policies should be put in place to increase physical capital and foreign aid. Educational institutions should link up with the corporate organizations to train productive larbour force. Military rule had negative impact on growth in real GDP per capita, therefore, the Government must put in place strategies to protect and sustain democratic rule in Ghana.

European Scientific Journal

Dr. Zakaria Lincoln

Keshab Bhattarai

European Scientific …

adegbemi onakoya

for the period of 1975 to 2010. Secondary time-series data were analyzed using co-integration and ordinary least square techniques. Co-integration results show a long run relationship among the variables. The result shows that in the long run, total energy consumption had a similar movement with economic growth except for coal consumption. The empirical results reveal that petroleum, electricity and the aggregate energy consumptionhave significant and positive relationship with economic growth in Nigeria. However, gas consumption although positive, does not significantlyaffecteconomic growth. The impact of coal was negative but significant; therefore this is just the time to increase the use this resource to the nation's benefit. Therefore, the study recommends that government should encourage a level- playing field for all energy forms available in the country by diversifying its power-generation portfolio. Also, the government should continue to collaborate with the private sector within the context of public-private- partnership (PPP) to further exploit the opportunities in the sector in order to increase economic growth.

Among various stimulus for growth in economy, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is being considered as a significant one even though there are lot of studies that shows otherwise. The relation of FDI and economic growth is been studied vigorously, but there is hardly any study in-depth about Bangladesh which can give us a rich insight into economic growth and bring out other factors to the picture of economic growth. To do that, this study explores the impact of FDI inflows on economic growth in Bangladesh in a period of 1989-2017 employing time series analysis techniques that recognize the problem of nonstationary. To ensure the regression is valid the Unit root test and Cointegration test is been used. Findings from empirical results show as FDI inflow, government consumption, population size and joining WTO have a positive impact on economic growth. Also, the exchange rate seems to be less significant in economic growth.

RELATED PAPERS

Olayinka I Kareem

Isaac Bentum-Ennin

Evans john barnes

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS)

Musa Sawaneh

Hettige Don Karunaratne

China-USA Business Review ISSN 1537-1514 Chinese Business Review ISSN 1537-1506

European Scientific Journal ESJ , Korede Ajogbeje

Tourism Economics

Bibiana Lanzilotta , JUAN GABRIEL Brida

International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues

Ferhat Citak

Bebi Assefa

Nanthakumar Loganathan

The International Trade Journal

Brian Francis

Aicha EL Alaoui

nasiru inuwa

Stefania Lionetti

shaharia pavel

Tourism Economics 19(3), 477-508

Stanislav Ivanov

Jeremiás M . Balogh

murat bayraktar

RELATED TOPICS

•   We're Hiring!
•   Help Center
• Find new research papers in:
• Health Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Cognitive Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Academia ©2024

Kwahu festival: insights into how Ghana could boost tourism potential

Senior Lecturer, Marketing, University of Professional Studies Accra

Disclosure statement

Alexander Diani Kofi Preko does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

View all partners

Over the past few decades the boundaries of tourism have grown to include festival, cultural and ecological attractions . But the benefits of this development haven’t been extensively explored. These include attracting tourists who in turn make contributions to the development of the community. And stimulating the diffusion and commemoration of local culture as well as custom and ceremonies.

I conducted research to understand the effects of festival tourism on the socio-economic capital of the people of Kwahu in Ghana. I looked at how festival tourism in the region brings economic benefits to businesses and the community. I also wanted to identify the ill-effects of festival tourism (if any).

Ghana has numerous festivals in its 16 administrative regions that attract both domestic and international tourists. The Kwahu Easter Festival stands out as one that’s shaped festival tourism in Ghana because of its successful performance over the years. The festival takes place during the Easter period. Known as that Kwahu Easter and Paragliding Festival, it stretches over three days and involves a range of activities. These include paragliding and street carnivals.

I found that the festival has brought community cohesion as well as economic benefits. Nevertheless, it has also brought negative social benefits and social cost to the residents.

Tourism is said to be the fourth highest foreign exchange earner for Ghana. The economy benefits immensely from tourism and tourism-related activities. Recognition of this has been growing in the country, as is evident in the fact that management courses are being included in in universities and higher education institutions.

Benefits and challenges

I interviewed 398 residents, all over 18 years old, living in the catchment communities of Kwahu festival. These included Mpraeso, Abetifi, Nkawkaw, Obo, Obomeny and Atibie. Nearly 60% participated in the festival.

The residents said they saw the festival as a way of developing community cohesion and development of social amenities. While the economic benefits were not the principal reasons for the holding of the festival, many took advantage of it to increase their earnings. Those who did so said they made significant economic gains.

It was also clear that the festival fostered unity and pride.

There were, however, also some negative outcomes. This included traffic congestion, increased crime rate, overcrowding, sexual abuse, prostitution, noise pollution, and pressure on public services and public utilities.

The pressure on infrastructure were identified as increase in the services of the police, water and electricity supply to the businesses and homes, ambulance services and paramedics, fire service among others.

The conclusion I reached from my research was that festival tourism is a significant catalyst for economic activity. And that it must be given more focused attention.

Some Ghanaian festivals are still celebrated in the conservative fashion. This means that they don’t include entertainment. Examples include outdoor musical events, open mic nights, live show, movie theatres, carnival, sporting events and special food offerings. This means that outsiders aren’t attracted, limiting the impact of the occasion.

In addition, the negative effects of festival tourism should be at the forefront of government and stakeholder focus. Issues include: the overuse of public infrastructure, the impact on local residents of a rise in the cost of goods and services, improper tourist behaviour and crime.

Players, including the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Ghana Tourism Authority and traditional rulers, should make sure they understand the push and pull factors of festival tourism better.

First, the Ghana Tourism Authority needs to ensure festivals don’t erode entrenched traditional values. It needs to put in place measures to reduce the negative effects of the festivals. For example, providing awareness programmes that will educate attendees as well as maintaining traditional values of the custodians of the festival. They also need to educate the public about the environmental effects of activities.

Second, it’s imperative that government agencies such as the Ghana Tourism Authority , the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture as well as traditional rulers and festival organisers factor the positive gains as well as the negative ramifications of festivals into the planning and organising of the events.

Ghana stands to enjoy enormous benefits if its cultural heritage can be marketed effectively through tourism.

• Foreign exchange
• Peacebuilding

Executive Dean, Faculty of Health

Regional Engagement Officer - Shepparton

Lecturer/Senior Lecturer, Earth System Science (School of Science)

Sydney Horizon Educators (Identified)

Deputy Social Media Producer

Making a digital and financial leap towards sustainable tourism in Ghana

IIMBG Journal of Sustainable Business and Innovation

ISSN : 2753-4022

Article publication date: 19 September 2023

Issue publication date: 7 December 2023

The study investigates the impact of information and communications technology (ICT) and financial development on tourism development in Ghana.

Design/methodology/approach

The researchers employ data covering from 1995Q1 to 2020Q4 and apply the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) estimation technique.

The findings reveal that ICT exerts a positive significant impact on tourism development in both long- and short-term periods. The authors find that financial development has a negative significant effect on tourism development in the long run. However, financial development significantly increases tourism revenue in the short term. The results further reveal a significant positive link between infrastructure development and tourism receipts in the long run.

Originality/value

This study is a pioneering effort to investigate the impact of ICT and financial development on tourism development in Ghana, as far as the researchers are aware. Additionally, the use of an index of ICT adds novelty to the literature. In terms of policy, the findings of this study can inform policymakers on the importance of investing in ICT and financial development to boost the tourism industry in Ghana.

• Financial development

Musah, A. , Yakubu, I.N. and Shaibu, A.-F. (2023), "Making a digital and financial leap towards sustainable tourism in Ghana", IIMBG Journal of Sustainable Business and Innovation , Vol. 1 No. 2, pp. 98-113. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSBI-03-2023-0008

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2023, Alhassan Musah, Ibrahim Nandom Yakubu and Abdul-Fatawu Shaibu

Published in IIMBG Journal of Sustainable Business and Innovation . Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

1. Introduction

Tourism is among the most prominent and expanding sectors in the world economy. The sector contributes significantly to national growth through diverse means including employment creation ( Manzoor, Wei, Asif, Haq, & Rehman, 2019 ). Tourism also increases a country's foreign exchange reserves and fosters infrastructure and human capital development ( Fauzel & Seetanah, 2023 ). Inarguably, on a global scale, countries have seen an uptick in the significance of the international tourism industry. The World Travel and Tourism Council estimated that the contribution of travel and tourism to the world GDP in 2017 was $8,240.74bn which rose to $8,811bn and $9,127bn in the years 2018 and 2019 respectively.

For developing nations, tourism frequently offers the most environmentally friendly means of economic growth while also lowering the degree of poverty ( Mo, 2021 ). Also, given the low cost of travel, emerging and developing economies continue to receive a large number of tourist arrivals. According to Okupe, Ward, and Adeola (2018) , Africa plays a significant role in the world tourist business due to its cultural and historical landmarks. The demand for tourism in Africa has improved over the past few decades as a direct result of increased investment in the industry by both the private and public sectors ( Adeola & Evans, 2020 ).

In recent times there has been a growing interest in sustainable tourism, which the World Tourism Organisation defines as tourism that takes account of current and future economic, social and environmental impacts while addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities ( United Nations Environment Programme, 2005 ). We infer from this definition that the concept of sustainable tourism hinges on the ability of the industry to deliver prosperity to a broad range of actors into the foreseeable future. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) articulates this clearly, arguing that sustainable tourism should deliver viable, long-term economic operations, providing socio-economic opportunities including stable employment and income-earning schemes to all groups thereby contributing to poverty alleviation.

The tourist industry in Ghana has expanded rapidly in recent years and has contributed significantly to the economic growth of the country. There are several distinctive and spectacular tourist sites in Ghana. Given its central location on the globe coupled with a stable political environment, the country is easily accessible and attractive. Travel and tourism contributed to Ghana's GDP to the tune of 3.5bn US dollars in 2018 and 3.8bn US dollars in 2019. The overall revenue from tourism has been increasing in Ghana, as indicated in Figure 1 , especially since the year 2004, notwithstanding volatility in some of the years. For example, there was a significant drop in overall receipts in the year 2020 compared to the previous years. In 2019, total receipts amounted to $1490m, which drastically reduced to $191m in 2020. Similarly, there was a sharp decline in the number of international tourist arrivals in the year 2020 as shown in Figure 2 . Obviously, the reduction in tourism receipts and tourist arrivals in the year 2020 could be attributed to the COVID-19 outbreak, which disrupted travel as a result of the enforcement of several restrictions and protocols by national governments.

Considering the growth potential of tourism in Ghana, there is an urgent need for extensive empirical research to guide policy. In reality, until relatively recently, the majority of empirical research on the drivers of tourism were mostly undertaken in the context of industrialized nations, with an emphasis on its relationships with revenue generation and economic growth ( Baumann & Matheson, 2013 ; Lickorish, 1987 ; Smith, 2005 ). Only a few of such studies are conducted in the developing world, particularly Africa and with little focus on the impact of ICT. This study, therefore, adds a dimension to the discussion by analyzing the short and long-term determinants of tourism development in Ghana by examining the role of ICT and financial development.

The tourism literature has uncovered a number of factors that influence tourism development. However, the role that information and communications technology (ICT) plays in boosting tourism has been largely disregarded in empirical studies, despite the fact that ICT applications have dramatically revolutionized the tourism industry in recent years ( Zaidan, 2017 ; Adeola & Evans, 2020 ). ICT, for instance, makes it easier to promote and sell local tourist services directly to international customers. Thanks to technological advancements, visitors may now exchange information and give feedback on the level of service and the surroundings of tourist destinations ( Farkhondehzadeh et al. , 2013 ). Moreover, in response to the increased competition for international tourism, tourism-related organizations have enthusiastically embraced modern ICTs to boost their competitiveness in the tourism market ( Abrhám & Wang, 2017 ; Lee, Chen, Wu, & Xing, 2021 ).

In essence, ICTs continue to be essential for the tourism industry and offer a wide range of innovative opportunities for tourism growth. Nonetheless, there is currently almost no empirical research exploring the ICT-tourism development nexus in Ghana. As a result, we aim to fill this gap in the literature by empirically investigating whether ICT matters for Ghana's tourism growth.

In addition to ICT, we examine the impact of financial development on tourism development. Tourist decision-making particularly destination choices may be significantly influenced by financial development. From a demand-side perspective, a highly developed financial sector in the host country is likely to stimulate tourism, given that tourists are able to access banking and other financial services while on vacation ( Tsaurai, 2018 ). Financial development also stimulates foreign direct investment (FDI) in the tourism industry, which carries with it several additional benefits including the transfer of cutting-edge technologies and managerial competencies ( Fauzel & Seetanah, 2023 ). While many studies have examined the impact of tourism on financial development (such as Cannonier & Burke, 2017 ; Shahbaz, Benkraiem, Miloudi, & Tiwari, 2019 ; Yenişehirlioğlu & Bayat, 2019 ; Musakwa & Odhiambo, 2022 ; Musakwa, Odhiambo, & Nyasha, 2022 ), there is comparatively little empirical research that examines the impact of financial development on tourism to reinforce the relationship between the two (see Liao et al. , 2018 ; Shahbaz et al. , 2019 ; Fauzel & Seetanah, 2023 among others). Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to add to the little literature on the link between financial development and tourism in the context of Ghana. Essentially, we seek to answer the following research question: Do ICT and financial development influence sustainable tourism in Ghana?

Generally, the contribution of this study is twofold. First, per the researchers’ knowledge, this study presents an initial attempt to specifically examine the impact of ICT and financial development on tourism development in Ghana. Second, given the dimensions of ICT, we use the principal component analysis to construct an index of ICT based on two key indicators of ICT (individuals using the internet (% of population) and mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 people) which are commonly employed in the literature. With this, the study departs from the use of single indicators to gauge ICT. Besides, by using ICT index, we are able to reduce the high correlation between the variables. Also, by employing the ARDL technique, we examine the long- and short-run impact of ICT and financial development on tourism development in Ghana.

The rest of the work is organized as follows: Section 2 provides a review of the literature. Section 3 outlines the research methodology. Section 4 presents and discusses the empirical results. Section 5 concludes the study while policy recommendations are documented in Section 6 .

2. Literature review on the determinants of tourism development

The factors influencing tourism development have been extensively investigated in the literature. For instance, Jovanoviä and Ivana (2016) demonstrated that an increase in investment in infrastructure is a significant factor affecting tourism development in Southeast Europe. The empirical analysis of Giap, Gopalan, and Ye (2016) reported that government expenditures on tourism and infrastructural investment significantly drive tourism growth in Malaysia. Yashobanta, Parul, and Chowdhury (2017) also evidenced that increasing government expenditure on tourism and economic development exert a significant positive effect on tourism receipts in Indian states. In a panel analysis, Javid and Katircioglu (2017) found that globalization (in economic, social and political aspects) has a significant impact on tourism development. In assessing the determinants of international tourism demand in Africa, Adeola et al. (2018) applied the Poisson regression model with data covering the years 1995-2015. The study found that institutional quality factors (political stability and absence of violence), real exchange rate, FDI, trade openness and per capita income are the significant variables influencing tourism demand in Africa. Vítová, Harmáček, and Opršal (2019) reported that economic and infrastructure development, political stability and accessibility to destinations significantly influence tourism inflows in Small Island Developing States. Wamboye, Nyaronga, and Sergi (2020) showed that tourist income level and infrastructure development of the host country are the primary factors that determine the demand for tourism in Tanzania. In a comparative study, Nyasha and Odhiambo (2021) investigated the key drivers of tourism development in South Africa, Brazil and Vietnam using data covering the period 1995-2018. Employing the ARDL technique, the findings generally revealed that while political stability and the disposable income of tourists have a positive impact on tourism development, environmental pollution (measured by carbon dioxide emission) and exchange rate negatively influence tourism. Applying the logistic regression, Moghal, Mukhopadhyay, Jena, and Joshi (2021) noted that tourism development in Jammu and Kashmir is influenced by economic stability, poverty alleviation and income generation. Ibragimov et al. (2022) assessed the economic factors driving tourism in Central Asia with data spanning from 2008 to 2018. The authors established that language similarities and common borders boost tourism in Central Asia whereas political instability negatively affects tourism flows in the host country. Khan, Alim, Begum, Han, and Mohamed (2022) revealed that the tourism industry in Pakistan is negatively affected by terrorism and inflation levels, while tourism expenditure enhances the growth of tourism. Soudager & Wani (2023) reported that tourist arrivals in India are reduced by geopolitical risk and real exchange rates. The authors also established that an increase in gross domestic product per capita results in higher foreign tourist arrivals, suggesting a positive correlation between income and tourism. Using data covering the period 1996–2018, Aydin (2022) demonstrated that tourism development in Turkey is positively and significantly driven by political stability and renewable energy consumption. Sharma, Mohapatra, and Giri (2023) documented that currency stability and income are crucial factors that induce tourism in India. Noonan (2023) investigated how cultural amenities affect tourism demand in various European cities. The study results showed that cultural amenities such as landmarks, sights, museums, concerts and shows have a positive impact on tourism demand in the selected cities.

For the impact of ICT on tourism, Adeola and Evans (2020) found that ICT has a significant positive effect on tourism development in Africa. Shehzad et al. (2019) revealed that the emergence of ICT has a significant effect on tourism development in China. Employing different panel estimation methods, Tsaurai and Chimbo (2019) established that ICT significantly enhances tourism development in some selected emerging economies. Kumar and Kumar (2020) documented that ICT positively drives tourism demand in some selected major tourist destinations. Applying the second-generation techniques, Bano, Liu and Khan (2022) reported that tourism in the BRICS economies is motivated by ICT.

Despite the fact that some related studies, including those by Liao et al. (2018) , Katircioglu, Katircioğlu, and Altinay (2018) , Shahbaz et al. (2019) , Goh, Koh, Lee, Gan, and Lee (2020) , Fauzel & Seetanah (2023) , attempted to shed more light on the relationship between financial development and tourism in Asia and a few European countries with mixed results, we believe that the relationship between the two is still relatively new and under-investigated. While the majority of these studies revealed a strong positive correlation between financial development and tourism, few found a negative correlation. By including ICT in our model with a special indicator of the population's access to the internet and mobile cellular subscriptions as a composite variable, and further examining both the short- and long-term impacts, we offer a new dimension to the issue.

3. Methodology

The study employed quarterly data covering from 1995 to 2020. Quarterly data is measured and recorded every three months, or four times a year, and it provides a more detailed view of the underlying patterns in the data compared to annual data. It is important to note that the study focuses on Ghana, utilizing country-level data. This implies that the analysis and findings of the study are based on a representative dataset from the entire country.

The authors collected the data from the World Bank. In accessing the data, the researchers visited the World Bank's World Development Indicators (WDI) database, which provides users with access to a vast array of datasets covering different countries, regions and thematic areas. The researchers navigated through the available datasets and selected the required variables for the study. The data was downloaded into Excel for cleaning and further analysis. In cleaning the data, the authors ensured that it was in a consistent format and thoroughly checked for any inaccuracies or inconsistencies, promptly correcting any errors that were found. This rigorous data cleaning process aimed to maintain the integrity and accuracy of the dataset, ensuring its suitability for analysis.

3.2 Description of variables

The dependent variable is tourism development measured by international tourist arrivals (TARR) and international tourism receipts (TREC) in US dollars. The independent variables of interest are ICT and financial development which are estimated alongside economic growth and infrastructural development as additional variables. In measuring ICT, we use the principal component analysis (PCA) to construct an ICT index based on two key dimensions of ICT. The sub-indices include individuals using the internet (% of population) and mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people). Financial development is gauged by domestic credit provided by the financial sector (% of GDP). The study controls for the effect of economic growth and infrastructure development on tourism development. Economic growth is measured by GDP growth in annual percentage ( Bunyaminu & Yakubu, 2022 ). In line with Adeola and Evans (2020) , we use gross fixed capital formation (% of GDP) as a proxy for infrastructure development.

3.3 Model specification

To examine the impact of ICT and financial development on tourism development, the basic empirical model is specified as: (1) TOUR t   = α 0   + β 1 ICT t   + β 2 FIND t   + β 3 ECG t   + β 4 INFR t   + ε t

From equation (1) , the abbreviations TOUR, ICT, FIND, ECG and INFR are tourism development, information communications and technology, financial development, economic growth and infrastructure development respectively. The error term is denoted by ε and t is the time period. The intercept is represented by α , and β 1 to β 4 are the coefficients of the regressors.

Based on the measures of tourism (TOUR), equation (1) is restated as follows: (2) TARR t   = α 0   + β 1 ICT t   + β 2 FIND t   + β 3 ECG t   + β 4 INFR t   + ε t (3) TREC t   = α 0   + β 1 ICT t   + β 2 FIND t   + β 3 ECG t   + β 4 INFR t   + ε t where TARR and TREC are international tourist arrivals and international tourism receipts respectively.

3.4 Analytical approach

In time series analysis, various techniques are utilized, including the ordinary least squares (OLS), fully modified OLS (FMOLS), autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL), vector autoregression and others. In this study, we aim to investigate the short- and long-run effects of ICT and financial development on tourism development. For this purpose, we employ the ARDL model. Compared to other techniques such as OLS and FMOLS, the ARDL method is considered a better technique for a number of reasons. For instance, the ARDL is appropriate for studies with small samples ( Yakubu, 2020 ). The technique is robust to the issue of endogeneity and can be used for both I(0) and I(1) variables, making it more flexible and applicable to a wider range of datasets. Several previous studies (see Aydin, 2022 ; Khan et al. , 2022 ; Soudager & Wani, 2023 ; Sharma et al. , 2023 ) that explored the determinants of tourism development have utilized the ARDL as an analytical technique.

The ARDL method has several assumptions that must be satisfied to obtain accurate and reliable results. These assumptions include the requirement that the variables used in the model should be stationary, or the non-stationarity should be removed through differencing. In addition, there should be no serial correlation or heteroscedasticity, meaning that the residuals of the model should not be correlated with each other and the variance of the residuals should be constant across all observations.

Prior to the ARDL estimation, we assess the level of integration of the variables by using the Phillips–Perron (PP) unit root test which is consistent with the studies by Amaefula (2021) , Firat (2016) , Yakubu, Abokor, and Gedik Balay (2021) . To apply the ARDL technique, the variables are required to be integrated at level (I(0)) or first difference (I(1)). In order to estimate the short-run and long-run effect of our variables, the ARDL model is specified as follows: (4) T O U R t = α 0 + ∑ i = 0 n α 1 i Δ T O U R t − 1   + ∑ i = 0 n α 2 i Δ I C T t − 1   + ∑ i = 0 n α 3 i Δ F I N D t − 1   + ∑ i = 0 n α 4 i Δ E C G t − 1   + ∑ i = 0 n α 5 i Δ I N F R t − 1   + δ 1 T O U R t − 1   + δ 2 I C T t − 1   + δ 3 F I N D t − 1 + δ 4 E C G t − 1   + δ 5 I N F R t − 1 + ρ E C T t − 1 + ε t where Δ is the difference operator. α 1 – α 5 and δ 1 – δ 5 are short-run and long-run coefficients respectively. The coefficient of the error correction term (ECT) is represented by ρ and ECT t−1 is the error correction term lagged by one period.

In analyzing the long-term relationship between the variables, the authors employ bound testing. The null hypothesis, which states that there is no long-run relationship between the variables, is tested against the alternative hypothesis of cointegration as follows: (5) H 0 : δ 1   = δ 2 = δ 3 = δ 4 = δ 5   = 0 (6) H 1 : δ 1   ≠ δ 2 ≠ δ 3 ≠ δ 4 ≠ δ 5   = 0

The upper and lower bounds critical limits are used to test for the presence of cointegration. A long-run relationship is established when the estimated F -statistic exceeds the upper critical bound I(1).

4. Empirical results

4.1 descriptive statistics.

In Table 1 , we present the descriptive statistics of the variables. On average, international tourist arrivals are estimated at 646,226 with a minimum of 286,000 and a maximum of 1,130,307 tourists for the study period. The mean value of tourism receipts is 673.654 million US dollars and it ranged from 30 million US dollars to 1,490 million US dollars. The number of individuals using the internet (as a percentage of the total population) is approximately 13 while those with mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) is approximately 56. Financial development gauged by domestic credit by the financial sector has an average value of 12.677%. The mean of economic growth is 5.531% with a maximum growth rate of 14.047%. Whereas international tourist arrivals, internet users, mobile cellular subscriptions, and economic growth are positively skewed, tourism receipts, financial development and infrastructure development (measured by gross fixed capital formation) are skewed to the left.

4.2 Unit root tests

The unit root test results based on the Phillips–Perron (PP) unit root test are reported in Table 2 . From the test results, while ICT, financial development and economic growth are stationary at level (I(0)), all the variables are integrated at order 1 or show stationarity at the first difference (I(1)). Evidently, our study satisfies the requirements for applying the ARDL model due to the mixed order of integration of the variables.

4.3 Bounds testing for cointegration

Table 3 displays the cointegration test results. We test for the presence of cointegration in two scenarios. First, we consider international tourist arrivals as the dependent variable where ICT, financial development, economic growth and infrastructure development are the explanatory factors. In the second scenario, tourism receipts serve as the dependent variable which is tested together with the explanatory variables. In both cases, the bounds-testing results established a long-run relationship among the variables given that the F -statistics in both scenarios are greater than the upper critical bound value at 1% significance level.

4.4 Regression results

In Table 4 , the regression results on the long-run and short-run impact of ICT, financial development and the control variables on tourism development are presented. The estimates show that in both long- and short-term periods, ICT exerts a positive significant impact on tourism development (measured by both international tourists’ arrival and tourism receipts). This means that advancement in information and communication technologies in Ghana will lead to significant growth in the country's tourism sector. The implication is that ICT allows tourist locations to improve their online presence, which is essential to remain competitive in the international tourism market by enhancing tourism demand and revenues. Our results sync with the findings of prior research that document a positive link between ICT and tourism growth ( Adeola & Evans, 2020 ; Tsaurai & Chimbo, 2019 ; Kumar & Kumar, 2020 ; Bano et al. , 2022 ).

We find that financial development has a negative significant effect on tourism development in the long-run. This shows that the growth of Ghana's financial sector does not influence the decisions that tourists make regarding their travel plans to the country. Our finding refutes the claim that a highly developed financial sector in the host country is likely to stimulate tourism, given that tourists are able to access banking and other financial services while on vacation ( Tsaurai, 2018 ). However, in the short-term financial development significantly increases tourism revenue in Ghana.

As a control variable, economic growth has a significant influence on tourism development in the long-run, though the effect on tourists’ arrival is negative. The inverse relationship between economic growth and tourists’ arrival contradicts the results of Seetanah (2019) and Fauzel & Seetanah (2023) . The short-run results indicate that economic growth significantly motivates tourists’ arrival and reduces tourism receipts in Ghana. The results further document that infrastructure development influences tourism receipts positively in the long-run. Nonetheless, the impact on tourists’ arrival is inimical. For the short-run results, infrastructure development significantly boosts tourist demand but decreases tourism revenue.

For both Models 2 and 3, the coefficient of the lagged error correction term (ECT t−1 ) is negative and statistically significant, and it depicts the speed of the adjustment back to the long-run equilibrium after a short-run shock. The F -statistic and its probability value suggest that the regression models are statistically significant in overall, demonstrating that the independent variables in the models are significant factors determining Ghana's tourism development.

4.5 Diagnostic tests results

The diagnostic tests are reported in Table 5 . By using the Breusch-Godfrey Serial Correlation LM test, we check for serial correlation in the study. Similarly, the heteroscedasticity test is performed to eliminate heteroscedasticity issues in our analysis. At 5% significance level, the test results indicate that there are no serial correlation and heteroscedasticity issues in the study. Also, the Ramsey RESET test is utilized to check for the presence of omitted variables or incorrect functional forms in the regression model. The test results indicate that there is no functional form misspecification. We further infer that there is normal distribution in the study when Model 3 is employed. We test for the stability of the models using the cumulative sum (CUSUM) and the CUSUM of squares. If the CUSUM plot is within the critical bounds, it indicates that the model is stable with no structural change in the relationship over time. However, if it exceeds the bounds, it suggests an unstable model with a structural break or changes in the relationship between variables. In this study, at 5% significance level, the CUSUM and CUSUM of squares plots in Figures 3 and 4 respectively show that Model 2 is stable given that the CUSUM lines are in the critical boundaries. However, for Model 3, though the CUSUM is stable, the CUSUM of squares is not stable as illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 respectively.

5. Conclusion

This study assesses the impact of ICT and financial development on tourism development in Ghana using data from the World Bank’s World Development Indicators for the period 1995Q1-2020Q4. By applying the ARDL estimation technique, the paper examines the short- and long-run effects of ICT and financial development on tourism development. The ARDL estimation shows that ICT exerts a positive significant impact on tourism development in both short- and long-term periods. We find that financial development has a negative significant effect on tourism development in the long run. However, in the short-term, financial development significantly increases tourism revenue, and the impact on tourist arrivals is insignificant. In the long run, economic growth has a significant influence on tourism development albeit a negative effect on tourists’ arrival. The results further reveal that infrastructure development influences tourism receipts positively in the long run. Nonetheless, the impact on tourists’ arrival is negative. In the short term, infrastructure development significantly enhances tourist demand but reduces international tourism receipts.

6. Implications for policy and practice

We provide the following major policy recommendations based on our findings that might help make the tourism sector in Ghana and other developing nations, especially in Africa, more sustainable: To begin with, ICT should be viewed as crucial to the effective development of tourism in Ghana since it has a positive and significant short- and long-run impact on both tourist arrivals and tourism receipts. Thus, policymakers and key players in the tourism sector should closely monitor ICT trends and advancements to improve operational efficiency, enhance digital marketing strategies and leverage innovative technologies to attract and serve tourists more effectively. This proactive approach to incorporating ICT in tourism can lead to increased revenue and improved overall performance of the sector.

In addition to prioritizing ICT, Ghana should make substantial efforts to integrate well into the global financial market. This integration will enhance the efficiency of banking services provided to residents and foreigners alike. By ensuring accessible and efficient financial services, the country can mitigate the negative long-term impact of financial development on tourism growth. Strengthening financial infrastructure and facilitating international transactions can contribute to a more conducive financial environment for the tourism sector.

Furthermore, building resilient infrastructure that includes park facilities, accommodation options, cultural and arts attractions, transportation networks and interchanges is paramount for attracting tourists and ensuring sustainable tourism growth. With a resilient infrastructure, the country can enhance the overall tourist experience, accommodate larger numbers of visitors and ultimately increase tourism revenue. Likewise, investing in infrastructure not only boosts the tourism sector but also contributes to broader economic development.

While embracing actions that seek to boost tourism, policymakers should also incorporate measures that address environmental concerns to ensure that the benefits accruing from tourism deliver prosperity to all sections of society — current and future generations.

7. Limitations of the study

Although the study carries significance for both literature and policy, there are certain limitations that should be acknowledged. For instance, while this study provides insights into the impact of ICT and financial development on tourism development in Ghana, it is important to note that the findings may not be generalizable to other countries or regions with different economic and tourism development characteristics. Ghana's unique socio-economic and cultural context may limit the transferability of the study's findings to other contexts. Therefore, future studies can enhance the comprehensiveness of the analysis by exploring the impact of ICT and financial development on sustainable tourism development across different country groups or key tourism destinations in Africa. Also, the study only investigated the direct impact of ICT and financial development on tourism, without considering potential moderating variables. Thus, future research should explore the extent to which factors such as institutional quality may moderate the relationship between the variables. This will provide a more comprehensive understanding of the complex interplay between ICT, financial development, institutional quality and tourism development in Ghana. An additional limitation of the study is that it relies solely on the ARDL technique, without using other methods to test the robustness of the findings. To overcome this limitation, future research may consider incorporating other techniques to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the results.

International tourism receipts (million US$)

International tourist arrivals

Plots of CUSUM for model 2

Plots of CUSUM of squares for model 2

Plots of CUSUM for model 3

Plots of CUSUM of squares for model 3

Descriptive statistics

Source(s): Authors’ own computation

Abrhám , J. , & Wang , J. ( 2017 ). Novel trends of using ICTS in the modern tourism industry . Czech Journal of Social Sciences, Business and Economics , 6 ( 1 ), 37 – 43 .

Adeola , O. , & Evans , O. ( 2020 ). ICT, infrastructure, and tourism development in Africa . Tourism Economics , 26 ( 1 ), 97 – 114 .

Amaefula , C. G. ( 2021 ). A simple integration order test: An alternative to unit root testing . European Journal of Mathematics and Statistics , 2 ( 3 ), 77 – 85 .

Aydin , M. ( 2022 ). The impacts of political stability, renewable energy consumption, and economic growth on tourism in Turkey: New evidence from Fourier Bootstrap ARDL approach . Renewable Energy , 190 , 467 – 473 .

Bano , S. , Liu , L. , & Khan , A. ( 2022 ). Dynamic influence of aging, industrial innovations, and ICT on tourism development and renewable energy consumption in BRICS economies . Renewable Energy , 192 , 431 – 442 .

Baumann , R. and Matheson , V. ( 2013 ). Infrastructure investments and mega-sports events: Comparing the experience of developing and industrialized countries . Working Paper , Holy Cross, Worcester, MA .

Bunyaminu , A. , & Yakubu , I. N. ( 2022 ). Green energy demand and financial development: Evidence from Africa . In A. Rafay (Ed.). Finance for Sustainability in a Turbulent Economy (pp.  26 – 48 ). IGI Global .

Cannonier , C. , & Burke , M. G. ( 2017 ). Tourism and financial development in small states: Evidence from Caribbean countries . Tourism Economics , 23 ( 6 ), 1369 – 1377 .

Farkhondehzadeh , A. , Robat Karim , M. R. , Roshanfekr , M. , Azizi , J. , & Legha Hatami , F. ( 2013 ). E-Tourism: The role of ICT in tourism industry . European Online Journal of Natural and Social Sciences , 2 (3(s)) , 566 – 573 .

Fauzel , S. , & Seetanah , B. ( 2023 ). Does financial development spur tourism growth? A dynamic time series analysis for the case of an SIDS . Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events , 15 ( 1 ), 52 – 68 .

Firat , H. ( 2016 ). Is real GDP stationary? Evidence from some unit root tests for the advanced economies . Journal of Social and Economic Statistics , 5 ( 2 ), 60 – 80 .

Giap , T. K. , Gopalan , S. , & Ye , Y. ( 2016 ). Drivers of growth in the travel and tourism industry in Malaysia: A geweke causality analysis . Economies , 4 ( 1 ), 1 – 15 .

Goh , W. C. , Koh , B. S. , Lee , W. W. , Gan , S. L. , & Lee , S. X. E. ( 2020 ). The influence of financial development towards the international tourism in Malaysia . Malaysia : Doctoral Dissertation, UTAR Institutional Repository .

Ibragimov , K. , Perles-Ribes , J. F. , & Ramón-Rodríguez , A. B. ( 2022 ). The economic determinants of tourism in central Asia: A gravity model applied approach . Tourism Economics , 28 ( 7 ), 1749 – 1768 .

Javid , E. , & Katircioglu , S. ( 2017 ). The globalization indicators-tourism development nexus: A dynamic panel-data analysis . Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research , 22 ( 11 ), 1194 – 1205 .

Jovanoviä , S. , & Ivana , I. L. I. Ä. ( 2016 ). Infrastructure as important determinant of tourism development in the countries of Southeast Europe . Ecoforum Journal , 5 ( 1 ), 288 – 294 .

Katircioglu , S. , Katircioğlu , S. , & Altinay , M. ( 2018 ). Interactions between tourism and financial sector development: Evidence from Turkey . The Service Industries Journal , 38 ( 9-10 ), 519 – 542 .

Khan , N. U. , Alim , W. , Begum , A. , Han , H. and Mohamed , A. ( 2022 ). Examining factors that influence the international tourism in Pakistan and its nexus with economic growth: Evidence from ARDL approach . Sustainability , 14 ( 15 ), 1 - 15 .

Kumar , N. , & Kumar , R. R. ( 2020 ). Relationship between ICT and international tourism demand: A study of major tourist destinations . Tourism Economics , 26 ( 6 ), 908 – 925 .

Lee , C. C. , Chen , M. P. , Wu , W. , & Xing , W. ( 2021 ). The impacts of ICTs on tourism development: International evidence based on a panel quantile approach . Information Technology & Tourism , 23 ( 4 ), 509 – 547 .

Liao , K. C. , Yue , M. Y. , Sun , S. W. , Xue , H. B. , Liu , W. , Tsai , S. B. , & Wang , J. T. ( 2018 ). An evaluation of coupling coordination between tourism and finance . Sustainability , 10 ( 7 ), 1 – 23 .

Lickorish , L. ( 1987 ). Trends in industrialized countries . Tourism Management , 8 ( 2 ), 92 – 95 .

Manzoor , F. , Wei , L. , Asif , M. , Haq , M. Z. U. , & Rehman , H. U. ( 2019 ). The contribution of sustainable tourism to economic growth and employment in Pakistan . International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health , 16 ( 19 ), 1 – 14 .

Mo , S. ( 2021 ). Tourism dependency of island and developing countries . Available from: https://globaledge.msu.edu/blog/post/55658/tourism-dependency-of-island-and-develop ( accessed 1 July 2022 ).

Moghal , A. , Mukhopadhyay , D. , Jena , P. K. , & Joshi , D. P. ( 2021 ). Determinants of tourism development in Jammu and Kashmir: An empirical analysis . Academy of Marketing Studies Journal , 25 ( 4 ), 1 – 5 .

Musakwa , M. T. , & Odhiambo , N. M. ( 2022 ). Tourism and financial development in South Africa: A trivariate approach . Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events , 14 ( 2 ), 148 – 164 .

Musakwa , M. T. , Odhiambo , N. M. , & Nyasha , S. ( 2022 ). Does tourism influence financial development in Kenya? . Acta Economica , 20 ( 36 ), 155 – 173 .

Noonan , L. ( 2023 ). The role of culture as a determinant of tourism demand: Evidence from European cities . International Journal of Tourism Cities , 9 ( 1 ), 13 – 34 .

Nyasha , S. , & Odhiambo , N. M. ( 2021 ). Determinants of tourism development: Empirical evidence from three developing countries . Economia Internazionale/International Economics , 74 ( 3 ), 335 – 368 .

Okupe , A. , Ward , T. , & Adeola , O. ( 2018 ). Enhancing hospitality and tourism industry competitiveness in Sub-Saharan Africa . Africa’s competitiveness in the global economy (pp.  137 – 167 ). Cham : Palgrave Macmillan .

Seetanah , B. ( 2019 ). Telecommunication and tourism development: An island perspective . Tourism Review , 74 ( 4 ), 815 – 829 .

Shahbaz , M. , Benkraiem , R. , Miloudi , A. , & Tiwari , A. K. ( 2019 ). Tourism-induced financial development in Malaysia: New evidence from the tourism development index . Tourism Economics , 25 ( 5 ), 757 – 778 .

Sharma , M. , Mohapatra , G. , & Giri , A. K. ( 2023 ). The determinants of inbound tourism demand in India: New evidence from ARDL Co-integration approach . Business Perspectives and Research , 1 – 14 .

Shehzad , K. , Liu , X. , Rauf , A. , Arif , M. , Mazhar , S. , Sohail , N. , & Amin , W. ( 2019 ). Revolutionising tourism development in China: An effective role of ICT and Western Silk Road project . Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research , 24 ( 9 ), 965 – 977 .

Smith , A. ( 2005 ). Reimaging the city: The value of sport initiatives . Annals of Tourism Research , 32 ( 1 ), 217 – 236 .

Soudager , M. A. , & Wani , S. H. ( 2023 ). Nexus between geopolitical risk and tourism demand in India: Evidence from the ARDL approach . The Indian Economic Journal , 71 ( 4 ), 645 – 658 .

Tsaurai , K. ( 2018 ). The role of financial sector development in the tourism-growth nexus: A case of southern african countries . Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies , 10 ( 3 ), 100 – 110 .

Tsaurai , K. , & Chimbo , B. ( 2019 ). Information and communication technology (ICT) led tourism growth nexus in transitional markets . Acta Universitatis Danubius. Œconomica , 15 ( 5 ), 36 – 53 .

United Nations Environment Programme ( 2005 ). Making tourism more sustainable: A guide for policy makers . Available from: https://wedocs.unep.org/20.500.11822/8741 ( accessed 19 July 2022 ).

Vítová , P. , Harmáček , J. , & Opršal , Z. ( 2019 ). Determinants of tourism flows in small island developing states (SIDS) . Island Studies Journal , 14 ( 2 ), 3 – 22 .

Wamboye , E. F. , Nyaronga , P. J. , & Sergi , B. S. ( 2020 ). What are the determinants of international tourism in Tanzania? . World Development Perspectives , 17 , 1 – 15 .

Yakubu , I. N. ( 2020 ). Institutional quality and foreign direct investment in Ghana: A bounds-testing cointegration approach . Review of International Business and Strategy , 30 ( 1 ), 109 – 122 .

Yakubu , I. N. , Abokor , A. H. , & Gedik Balay , I. ( 2021 ). Re-Examining the impact of financial intermediation on economic growth: Evidence from Turkey . Journal of Economics and Development , 23 ( 2 ), 116 – 127 .

Yashobanta , P. , Parul , B. , & Chowdhury , J. R. ( 2017 ). Determinants of tourism in Indian states: An empirical analysis . Tourism Review , 72 ( 3 ), 330 – 343 .

Yenişehirlioğlu , E. , & Bayat , T. ( 2019 ). The relationship between tourism income and financial development in the MENA countries . İşletme Araştırmaları Dergisi , 11 ( 2 ), 1183 – 1190 .

Zaidan , E. ( 2017 ). Analysis of ICT usage patterns, benefits and barriers in tourism SMEs in the Middle Eastern countries: The case of Dubai in UAE . Journal of Vacation Marketing , 23 ( 3 ), 248 – 263 .

Further reading

Adeola , O. , Boso , N. , & Evans , O. ( 2018 ). Drivers of international tourism demand in Africa . Business Economics , 53 ( 1 ), 25 – 36 .

Bethapudi , A. ( 2013 ). The role of ICT in tourism industry . Journal of Applied Economics and Business , 1 ( 4 ), 67 – 79 .

Ko , T. G. ( 2005 ). Development of a tourism sustainability assessment procedure: A conceptual approach . Tourism Management , 26 ( 3 ), 431 – 445 .

Corresponding author

Related articles, we’re listening — tell us what you think, something didn’t work….

Report bugs here

All feedback is valuable

Please share your general feedback

Join us on our journey

Platform update page.

Visit emeraldpublishing.com/platformupdate to discover the latest news and updates

Questions & More Information

Answers to the most commonly asked questions here

Licence or Product Purchase Required

You have reached the limit of premium articles you can view for free. 

Already have an account? Login here

Get expert, on-the-ground insights into the latest business and economic trends in more than 30 high-growth global markets. Produced by a dedicated team of in-country analysts, our research provides the in-depth business intelligence you need to evaluate, enter and excel in these exciting markets.

View licence options

Suitable for

• Executives and entrepreneurs
• Bankers and hedge fund managers
• Journalists and communications professionals
• Consultants and advisors of all kinds
• Academics and students
• Government and policy-research delegations
• Diplomats and expatriates

This article also features in The Report: Ghana 2024 . Read more about this report and view purchase options in our online store.

How Ghana is developing tourism infrastructure

Ghana | Tourism

The government of Ghana has been steadily developing the country’s tourism sector in an effort to make it the main foreign exchange earner for the country and improve the livelihoods of rural populations. The introduction of the 15-year National Tourism Development Plan 2013-27 and the expansion of responsibilities for the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) in 2011 have supported diversification in the sector. Further improvements have been achieved through funding from donors such as the World Bank. Having expanded both the leisure and business tourism segments, Ghana has established a clear roadmap to further diversify the sector by expanding its source markets, developing tourist infrastructure across the country, and promoting both domestic and regional travel.

Development Drive

In 2018 the World Bank signed a $40m financing agreement with the government of Ghana for a tourism development project (GTDP) aimed at growing and diversifying Ghana’s tourism sector. The first component of the project, valued at $4.5m, focuses on enhancing the ecosystem through industry training, branding and marketing. The second, allocated $20m, identifies and upgrades promising destination areas. The third, with $10m, supports grants and business development services training. The fourth, awarded $5.5m, emphasises project management and institutional strengthening, aiding the Ministry of Tourism, Art and Culture (MoTAC) in project coordination.

While the project was expected to conclude in September 2023, the most recent status report from the World Bank from July 2022 indicated that the overall performance has been moderately satisfactory. Highlights include a rebound in domestic tourism and private investment, with notable progress in the private grants program for tourism sites and small businesses.

Beyond Accra

The capital city of Accra, with its wide selection of hotels, historical sites, and international events, is now a destination for both leisure and business tourism. Nevertheless, promoting the rest of the country as a tourist destination has been more challenging, primarily due to a lack of global awareness.

Using the funding from the GTDP, MoTAC is investing in new infrastructure at tourist facilities at Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, Akansa Forest Reserve and Kintampo Waterfall. MoTAC is focused on developing Ghana’s ecotourism sites, which are largely located in rural areas, in an effort to support sustainable tourism and the livelihoods of rural populations.

The GTA had also designated funds from the GTDP to provide training for regional heads, community leaders and site managers targeting sustainable tourism to support the implementation of the government strategy. Service operators will receive training to manage tourist sites, with development programmes geared towards aiding rural communities in preparing for tourist arrivals to ensure a positive visitor experience. In addition, the GTDP launched a training session in April 2023 for Ghanaian filmmakers to spur the creation of promotional marketing materials.

Diversification Potential

MoTAC and the GTA have collaborated in recent years to expand Ghana’s tourism source markets and draw its large diaspora population from around the world. In addition, they are developing the country’s business tourism through investment in meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions facilities, shown by its entrance into the International Congress and Conventions Association.

Ghana’s tourism sector holds substantial potential for diversification over the coming decade. Greater investment in niche tourism, including ecotourism, adventure tourism and agri-tourism – with a focus on its cocoa industry – could help the country attract a broader range of regional and international tourists to destinations across the country. Furthermore, the promotion of Ghanaian art and heritage could help Ghana stand out in the West Africa region by offering a distinct product, and inviting visitors to understand more about the country’s rich history and unique cultural traditions.

Request Reuse or Reprint of Article

Read More from OBG

Greenlighting bonds: Markets around the globe are increasingly issuing green and social bonds in an effort to support sustainable growth In 2022 significant political efforts propelled the energy transition, leading to a record-breaking year in green finance. Governments, international institutions and lenders actively backed the shift to renewables. In tandem, projections indicated that renewable energy capacity would reach a record 440 GW in 2023. Notably, green bond issuance reached $351bn in the first half of the year. This marks a 22% increase on figures for the same period of 2022 and outstrips the previous record set for t…

Shifting dynamics: As governments look to boost arrivals, many strategies focus on sustainable solutions and support for small businesses As emerging markets develop new attractions and tap into new visitor source markets, they are leveraging technology and sustainable development in line with emissions targets. Following sharp declines in 2020, international tourism figures rebounded in 2021 to reach approximately 63% of pre-Covid-19 pandemic levels in 2022. Notably, in September of that year arrivals in the Middle East and the Caribbean surpassed 2019 levels by 3% and 1%, respectively. The recovery in travel demand is projected…

Ease of transfer: A number of remittance-focused financial technology players are: expanding operations in emerging markets Financial technology (fintech) firms are gaining market share that was formerly the preserve of established remittance service providers. Remittances have grown in importance in recent decades and now constitute the largest source of foreign income for many developing economies. They also tend to be countercyclical, increasing during economic downturns or natural disasters when other capital flows generally dwindle. Growth has only gathered pace, with the importance of remittances as a source of…

Register for free Economic News Updates on Africa

“high-level discussions are under way to identify how we can restructure funding for health care services”, related content.

Featured Sectors in Ghana

• Africa Agriculture
• Africa Banking
• Africa Construction
• Africa Cybersecurity
• Africa Digital Economy
• Africa Economy
• Africa Education
• Africa Energy
• Africa Environment
• Africa Financial Services
• Africa Health
• Africa Industry
• Africa Insurance
• Africa Legal Framework
• Africa Logistics
• Africa Media & Advertising
• Africa Real Estate
• Africa Retail
• Africa Safety and Security
• Africa Saftey and ecurity
• Africa Tourism
• Africa Transport

Featured Countries in Tourism

• Algeria Tourism
• Cote d'Ivoire Tourism
• Djibouti Tourism
• Egypt Tourism

Popular Sectors in Ghana

• Ghana Agriculture
• Ghana Energy
• Ghana Industry
• Ghana Transport

Popular Countries in Tourism

• Indonesia Tourism
• Malaysia Tourism
• The Philippines Tourism
• Thailand Tourism
• Oman Tourism

Featured Reports in Ghana

Recent Reports in Ghana

• The Report: Ghana 2022
• The Report: Ghana 2020
• The Report: Ghana 2019
• The Report: Ghana 2018
• The Report: Ghana 2017

Privacy Overview

• What Are The Negative Effects Of Tourism On The Environment?

Tourism is usually regarded as a boon to a region’s economy. Tourism brings prosperity to the region and provides employment to the locals of the region. However, when tourism becomes unsustainable in nature, it can have disastrous consequences on the environment. When the tourist industry active in the region crosses the legal and ethical barriers to earn more profit, it can lead to massive degradation of the environment in the area. Local human population, flora, and fauna, suffer greatly due to such irresponsible and unsustainable tourism. Some of the ways in which tourism adversely impacts the environment have been mentioned below:

Tourism And Pollution

Transport of tourists results in air pollution.

The movement of tourists from their home to the tourist destination involves transport via road, rail, or air, or a combination of these modes of transport. When a large number of tourists are involved, it invariably leads to a greater use of the transportation system. We all are aware of the fact that emissions from automobiles and airplanes are one of the biggest causes of air pollution. When a large number tourists use these modes of transport to reach a particular attraction, it pollutes the air both locally and globally. Due to the rapid growth in international tourism, tourists now account for nearly 60% of air travel. In many places, buses or other vehicles leave their motors running to ensure that tourists return to comfortable air-conditioned vehicles. Such practices further pollute the air.

Tourism Leads To Noise Pollution

Tourists destinations are often subject to significant noise pollution. Tourists vehicles entering and leaving natural areas create a lot of noise. Such noise is the source of distress for wildlife. Loud music played by tourists in forested areas also disturb the animals living in the area. Often, noise generated by tourist activities for long-term alters the natural activity patterns of animals.

Littering Of Tourist Spots By Irresponsible Tourists

Irresponsible tourists often litter the tourist spots visited by them. Waste disposal is a great problem in the natural environment. According to estimates, cruise ships in the Caribbean produce over 70,000 tons of waste annually. If waste is disposed of irresponsibly in the sea, it can lead to the death of marine animals. Even the Mount Everest is not free of human-generated waste. Trekkers leave behind their oxygen cylinders, garbage, and camping equipment on the mountains and hills. Some trails in the Himalayas and the Andes have been nicknamed the "Toilet paper trail” or the "Coca-Cola trail,” referring to the garbage left behind on such trails.

Sewage Generated At Tourist Spots Contaminate The Natural Environment

Rampant construction of tourist facilities like hotels, cafes, restaurants, etc., in an area without proper arrangement for safe disposal of sewage, can lead to disastrous consequences. Wastewater carrying sewage from such areas often pollutes nearby water bodies. It can lead to the eutrophication of water bodies and the loss of the balance in aquatic ecosystems. Pollution of water bodies with sewage can also lead to health issues and even epidemics that can ultimately wipe out large populations of aquatic flora and fauna and also impact human health adversely.

Tourism Can Spoil The Aesthetics Of The Environment

Tourist facilities built to earn a profit without any concern about integrating the design with the natural features of the place can lead to aesthetic pollution. Large resorts of disparate designs can dominate the landscape and spoil the natural beauty of a place.

Tourism And Natural Resources

When tourism is encouraged in an area with inadequate resources, it will have a negative impact on the ecosystem of the area. In such areas, the local flora and fauna might be deprived of the resources needed to sustain their lives. For example, large volumes of water are consumed to cater to the needs of the tourists, run hotels, swimming pools, maintain golf courses, etc. This can degrade the quality of water and decrease the volume of water that is available for the local population, plants, and animals. It is not only the water resources that are depleted. Unsustainable practices by the tourist industry can also put pressure on other resources like food, energy, etc.

Tourism And Physical Degradation Of The Ecosystem

Every ecosystem works on a delicate natural balance. Every species in the ecosystem has a specific role to play in the system. However, tourism often disturbs this delicate balance and creates a great disaster in the ecosystem. When the tourist industry active in an area is completely profit-minded, it pays little heed to the needs of nature. For example, often hotels and resorts are built illegally very close to the beach or inside the core areas of forests. Large patches of natural vegetation need to be cleared to allow space for the sprawling resorts or hotels. As old tourist spots get degraded due to overuse by tourists, newer ‘upcoming’ destinations with fewer crowds become the next favorite of tourists and the tourism industry. The same situation is repeated once more. Unsustainable practices by the tourism industry can thus lead to deforestation, sand erosion, loss of species, changes in sea currents and coastlines, destruction of habitats, etc. Even activities like nature walks can be harmful to the environment if tourists trample on the local vegetation during their walk. Such trampling can lead to reduced plant vigor, breakage of stems, reduced regeneration, etc. Tourists breaking off corals during snorkeling or scuba diving activities can also contribute to ecosystem degradation. Commercial harvesting of corals for sale to tourists also causes harm to coral reefs. Even the anchorage of cruise ships to coral reefs can degrade large sections of the reef.

• Environment

More in Environment

Importance Of Wetlands

Meet 12 Incredible Conservation Heroes Saving Our Wildlife From Extinction

India's Leopard God, Waghoba, Aids Wildlife Conservation In The Country

India's Bishnoi Community Has Fearlessly Protected Nature For Over 500 Years

Wildfires And Habitat Loss Are Killing Jaguars In The Amazon Rainforest

In India's Sundarbans: Where People Live Face-To-Face With Wild Tigers

Africa's "Thunderbird" Is At Risk Of Extinction

Why Is Biodiversity Critical To Life On Earth?