tourism and household income of abono community members in the ashanti region of ghana by foster...
TRANSCRIPT
Tourism and household income of Abono community members in the
Ashanti Region of Ghana
ByFoster Frempong & Louis Amofa Asamoah
Dept. of Geography & Rural Dev’tKNUST, Kumasi
Presentation outline• Introduction• Problem statement• Objectives• Rationale for the study• Tourism and income generation• Tourism and employment• Methodology• Results and discussions• The way forward
Introduction
• Developing countries have the highest population numbers and growth rates in the world
Population growth Economic growth
High Low
High Ghana
Low
• Other economic impacts of tourism– Contribution to sales– Profits – Jobs– Tax revenue– Income
Introduction cont.• Tourism activities mostly support the
productive capacity of households by increasing skills and providing cash for operational capital and investment
• The new skills gained by household members involved in tourism can be transferred to other activities (Ashley, 2000).
Introduction cont.
• Tourism has been identified as a potential contributor to economic and socio-cultural development of countries
• Considering the returns from tourism, it is imperative that it is given the attention it deserves
• Most developing countries, especially those in Africa have taken to tourism as one of the possible panacea to their economic challenges
Introduction
• Development of tourism in Ghana can • diversify the livelihoods of rural households • minimize risks and uncertainties of other economic
activities, • maintain liquidity in households and • increase employment rates
• Tourism can decrease the uncontrolled migration from rural to urban areas
• Some less developed countries of sub-Sahara Africa have realized the potential of tourism development for rapid socio-economic development.
• Tourism is capable of generating foreign exchange; reduce unemployment and improving the standard of the people (Ajala 2008).
Problem
• Most tourist attraction sites are found in rural areas with a high number of poor people
• Local communities, are mostly not major participants in or beneficiaries of tourism activities.
Problem contd.
• Lake Bosomtwe is the only natural lake in Ghana which attracts an appreciable number of tourists and the only internal drainage system in the country
• Abono community
• Community members find it difficult to meet their daily responsibilities of taking care of their family needs due to low income generation from their activities
Objectives
• Examine the effects of tourism activities on household income of the local people.
• Examine effects of tourism on employment opportunities in the community.
• Assess the effects of tourism on poverty reduction in the community
Rationale for the study
• Help eradicate extreme poverty in the Abono community
• Ensure environmental sustainability for tourism growth and development
• Appreciate the situation of employment development, income and poverty reduction through tourism
Tourism and income generation
• Income from tourism is dependent on the money tourists spend in the community
• Tourist expenditure in most cases increases the income earning capability of the local people
• Tourism generally generates three types of cash income for rural households and community tourism can generate a fourth additional type for the community
• Regular wages for those with jobs• Casual earnings opportunities from selling food,
wood, crafts, etc• Profits from ownership of a tourism enterprise• Collective income earned by the community
(Ashley, 2000),
Tourism and employment
Tourism does create employment – Direct Employment– Indirect Employment– Induced Employment
Methods
• Study area: Abono, 32km southeast of Kumasi• Population: 1154• Education: One (1) Primary and One (1) JHS• Health: One (1) Health facility – not in operation, no
Ambulance car• Others Social facility: One (1) public toilet facility,
no telephones• Major agriculture products - cocoa, maize, cassava
and plantain
Methodology
• Study population: Abono community members who are 18 years and above
• Sample size : 75• Sampling technique:
• Stratified sampling• Simple random sampling
• Data collection instrument: Interview schedule
Results and discussions
Socio-demographic Frequency PercentageSexMale 46 61.3Female 29 38.7EducationNone 5 6.7Elementary/JHS 47 62.7
Secondary 13 17.3Polytechnic 10 13.3Household size 1- 5 40 53.36 – 9 32 42.710 – 14 3 4.0
Income range of respondents
Income range (Gh cedis) Frequency Percentage
10 – 30 17 22,731 – 60 20 26.761 – 90 10 13.3100 + 28 37.3
Total 75 100.0
Effects of tourism activities on household income
Seasonality of tourism activities and household income
Effects of tourism on employment in Abono
Employment of local people
• Tourism cannot survive without involvement of local people through employment (Richard and Hall (2000)
• local people can increase their income
• Improve living standards
• leads to a better quality of life
• Specific tourism activities for local people
Type of tourism enterprise Number of peopleSellers 28Accommodation 27Tour guiding 6Handicraft 1Total 62
Seasonality nature of tourism jobs at Abono
• Seasonality has obvious implications on employment
• Peak season: December – April• Off season : April - November
Seasonality of tourism jobs
Alternative jobs during off seasons
Tourism and MDG 1
• Standard of living
Patronage of products from Abono
• Fresh fish• Carving work• Woven clothes• Clay works• Beads• Other farm products
How can tourism help to address poverty
• Supply of goods and services to tourism enterprises by local people (Yunis, 2004)
• Encouragement of enterprises to identify new sources of supply
• Collaborating with local community for constant supply of goods and services
The way forward• Public and private investment
• Provision of facilities (seats, summer hats, boats, ambulance cars, banks, temporal rooms for visitors to keep their belongings and other social services
• Protection of the resource that tourism thrives.
• Monies from toll booth charges should be used for developmental projects in the community
• Marketing of the area
THANK YOU