Governing tourism-led local economic development planning: An interactive tourism governance perspective on the Elmina 2015 Strategy in Ghana

Tourism is expanding in many developing countries, in contexts where states struggle to effectively manage local economic development processes. This thesis aims to bridge a gap between the literature on the tourism-poverty nexus and scholarship pertaining to the politics and governance of local development planning, by examining how governing interactions shape the planning and use of tourism for local economic development and poverty reduction. A key contribution of this thesis is the development of an interactive tourism governance framework built on the three key concepts of stakeholder governance capacity, institutional thickness and political cycles. The research is framed as an embedded case study of the Elmina 2015 Strategy in Ghana. A mainly qualitative research approach was adopted involving interviews, observations and documentary analysis. The Elmina 2015 Strategy sought to leverage tourism as a catalyst for local economic development and poverty reduction through an integrated planning approach led by the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem Municipal Assembly (KEEA). The thesis identified that the Elmina 2015 Strategy was insufficiently embedded within existing institutional structures. Through a process-tracing analysis, it was found that cycles of national elections and local government politics resulted in the loss of institutional memory and knowledge at the KEEA. This constrained the governing capacity of the KEEA in steering project implementation. This thesis shows that the state and the internal power dynamics between key players within it remain crucial in setting and implementing policy agendas. The thesis therefore seeks to make a contribution towards debates on the significance of the state in tourism governance and argues that the state ought to be brought back into any conceptualisation of tourism governance, especially as it relates to the governing of tourism-led local economic development. As local governments take a more active role in tourism development planning, the issue of their capacity needs to be addressed

Divided we stand: institutional collaboration in tourism planning and development in the Central Region of Ghana

This research is an exploratory study that examines collaboration at the institutional level in the tourism sector of the Central Region, Ghana. The research begins with a review of the key issues related to collaboration in tourism planning and development followed by an extensive exploration of three main issues related to institutional collaboration in tourism in the Central Region. The three main issues are the vision of tourism development shared among stakeholders, collaboration and coordination within the public sector and between the public and private sectors and the factors that constrain and facilitate collaboration and coordination. Using extensive interviews with key stakeholders and reviewing policy documents, the research indicates low levels of collaboration between tourism institutions both within the public sector and across the public?private sectors. This is notwithstanding a shared awareness of the benefits of collaboration among all actors. The research thus contributes interesting insights into the politics of collaboration in tourism destinations. Given tourism's contribution to the Ghanaian economy, it is imperative that efforts are made towards improving the levels of collaboration and coordination between tourism agencies and institutions

Tourism and Hospitality Research in the Peripheries : Thematic Focus and a Research Agenda from Ghana

Increasing debates on decolonising tourism and hospitality knowledge production have emerged in the context of a largely Western-dominated canon of the research production and dissemination system. This paper contributes to these debates by highlighting and centring the research in and on Ghana. This is accomplished by reviewing and synthesising 238 tourism and hospitality articles authored by 520 authors over 31 years through content analysis. The sample shows a trend toward increased use of quantitative methodology, multiple authorship and underrepresentation of hospitality research. By outlining current thematic convergence, divergence and omissions, we set out a future research agenda. Our findings demonstrate that while research productivity has been increasing consistently, there is a very limited representation of Ghanaian (African) tourism and hospitality research scholarship in the top-tier tourism and hospitality journals. This raises concerns about the need and challenge of increasing the representation and visibility of tourism and hospitality research from the peripheries

“But You Are Also Ghanaian, You Should Know” : Negotiating the Insider–Outsider Research Positionality in the Fieldwork Encounter

The reflexive turn in sociology and across much of the social sciences has brought a central focus on the “self” within research encounters. Within this context, qualitative researchers are required to highlight how their positionality shapes their research experience. In this article, we interrogate how our own personal experiences as native Ghanaians conducting research at home and away from home in two different African countries—Ghana and Malawi—shaped our research positionality. We use the framework of credibility and approachability and develop new categories such as the eager learner. We show how our performed behaviors and perceived characteristics enabled and constrained our access to research participants and information. The analysis contributes to the research methods literature by highlighting the fieldwork encounter as a site of shifting, negotiated, and fluid positionalities for both fully insiders and fully outsiders.</p

Disabilities, functionings and capabilities: the capability approach in accessible tourism

In this conceptual paper, through the introduction of Sen’s capability approach we seek to make a significant contribution to accessible tourism research. The capability approach offers a flexible yet sophisticated theoretical framework to evaluate individuals’ achieved wellbeing and wellbeing opportunities. Drawing on the concepts of functionings and capabilities we show the conceptual leaps that can be made when prominence is given to the diversity and agency of persons with disabilities in translating the opportunity to travel (capability) to the act of travelling (functioning). The capability approach can help build a more complete understanding of what either enables or hampers travel for persons with disabilities and we identify three relevant areas for accessible tourism research - non-market resources and conversion factors, individuals’ agency and choices, and policies and interdisciplinary work. We see persons with disabilities as active in exercising their choices and agency and highlight how the capability approach can enable researchers to see and undo existing dominant ableist discourse through more interdisciplinary inquiries. The capability approach helps accessible tourism scholars broaden their horizons and develop more comprehensive understanding of how tourism can help a person to lead a life they value regardless of their disability

Prospects and futures for tourism in Africa

This chapter provides some reflections on the prospects and futures for tourism in Africa and advance suggestions about possible directions for forthcoming research opportunities on tourism ‘in’ and ‘for’ Africa. The demand for new tourism products and services gives way to the creation of new jobs, hence potentially contributing to poverty alleviation and reducing inequalities through entrepreneurship. In some countries, tourism has been the seed of collaborative approaches leading to funds fully dedicated to the conservation of wildlife and biodiversity, the regeneration of local assets and the boost of skills across the entire value chain. The chapter also provides an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book. The book offers a varied and far-reaching set of insights into the workings of tourism in Africa. It is also devoted to the intricacies of tourism development in the Middle Africa region

Tourism in Africa - continental issues and regional contexts

In recent times, the “Africa Rising” chorus is being heard across multiple socio-economic, political and cultural arenas. The tourism sector is one of such arenas in which much has been written about the promise, potential and pitfalls of tourism in transforming communities across the continent. Much of this “Africa Rising” related narratives within the tourism sector, however, tend to be written by those with only a passing knowledge of a vastly complex continent. Tourism, while a global phenomenon, is mediated by local specificities. There is an urgent need to pay attention to the nuances this entail instead of relying on unexamined categories and stereotypes. It is this commitment to nuance, specificity and local perspectives that has drawn the three editors together for this project. When the invitation came to develop this Routledge Handbook of Tourism in Africa, we enthusiastically signed up, as we envisaged the potential opportunities it represented – although we underestimated the challenges this would also pose. This Handbook of Tourism in Africa was conceived out of a commitment to a collaborative project that showcases critical research grounded in local thinking and nuance, the wisdom and empirically grounded writings, primarily by African academics and practitioners about Africa. We sought to make this Handbook a dialogue between academics and industry practitioners. Our attempt has been to allow those at the forefront of the day-to-day workings of the tourism sector on the African continent to provide the perspectives paramount to a critical study of the sector. We have endeavored to balk the trend of distinguishing North Africa from Sub Saharan by viewing the continent as a whole. Using the United Nations Geoscheme for Africa as a guide, we have included Chapters and InFocus sections from Eastern Africa, Middle Africa, Northern Africa, Southern Africa and Western Africa. Our ambition from the onset was to have a comprehensive representation of countries across the continent, especially countries that are poorly represented within the tourism literature. In the end, our ambition met with the reality of the availability of research and willingness of authors to contribute to this project. We believe that the results of our approach have been the assembly of Chapters and InFocus sections by a distinguished array of scholars in various stages of their academic careers and industry practitioners. We have made considerable efforts to have contributions from non-English speaking countries on the continent. We believe that the contributors to this Handbook have presented what collectively comes together as an extensive overview of some of the challenging, changing and innovative areas of tourism research and practice across the continent. The geographic spread of cases and topics covered in this Handbook is especially gratifying, as they are at the interface of academic research and the concerns of industry practitioners. We see our role in this regard as providing an avenue that stimulates further critical reflection on the dynamism and complexity of tourism on the continent by curating research which is representative of academics, practitioners and community members from as many walks of life possible. As with a book of this nature, there are many people who have to be acknowledged and thanked for their support. We would like to firstly thank all our contributors, both scholars and practitioners who have contributed a Chapter or an InFocus piece. We are immensely grateful for their willingness and commitment. Marina would like to acknowledge the critical eyes and inspirational presence of her two co-editors of this volume: Dr Adu-Ampong to whom she will be forever grateful for taking over the bulk of the editorial work at a rather difficult time of her life and Dr Ribeiro for working tirelessly to complete this collection. There are very special people which we encounter during our professional life and those two are undoubtedly a reflection of that. In addition to this, she would like acknowledge the importance of the continued support received by her family, friends and colleagues and the immense value of the inspiring encounters during her travel throughout the continent. Emmanuel would like to thank his fellow editors for the conviviality and discussions throughout this project; his children, Zoë, Joshua and Daniel for allowing their Papa the space to ‘work-from-home’ and for providing him respite through their “Buurman & Buurman” antics; and - above all - he would like to acknowledge the devoted and constant support of his wife, Marre, who makes it possible for him to maintain an academic life amidst family life. Alector would like to thank his fellow editors Marina and Emmanuel for their encouragement to embrace this project, ongoing camaraderie and their passion for studying tourism in Africa. He would also like to thank his parents Artur and Maria Antónia, for their continuous support and love. Finally, Alector would like to extend the most sincere gratitude to Montserrat for her extraordinary love and support throughout the years. We hope this Routledge Handbook of Tourism in Africa will be the first of many collections sharing what African tourism is all about. Despite the obvious challenges associated with the sector and the fast-evolving continental socio-economic context, we hope that some of the lesson learnt here may serve to make a better future for the continent