TOURISM AND GHANA'S DEVELOPMENT PROCESS: PROBLEMS OF AND PROSPECTS FOR CREATING A VIABLE "POST-INDUSTRIAL" SERVICE INDUSTRY IN A NON-INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY by FRANCIS ADU-FEBIRI B.A. (Hons) Sociology, University of Ghana, Ghana, 1984 M.A. Sociology, Simon Fraser University, Canada, 1989 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA January 1994 © Francis Adu-Febiri In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at The University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of Anthropology and Sociology The University of British Columbia 2075 Wesbrook Place Vancouver, Canada V6T 1W5 Date: January 1994 ABSTRACT The thesis questions the underlying rationale and appropriateness of adopting conventional tourism as a strategy for development in a Third World country such as Ghana which lacks the necessary capital, Western-type skilled tourism personnel and entrepreneurs, and the political stability conducive to this form of tourism. In examining Ghana's tourist industry the thesis concludes that Ghana's tourism has failed to develop and generate development even though 1) Ghana's tourism development strategy has favoured conventional tourism since the late 1950s, 2) the industry is not foreign dominated, 3) the country possesses enormous tourism resources, and 4) successive governments have made consistent efforts to develop the industry. The main reason for this paradox is the incongruence between Ghana's conventional tourism orientation and the existing indigenous economic resources, cultural values and political conditions. Based upon these findings, the thesis suggests a new tourism policy for Ghana, a policy that places greater emphasis on alternative forms of tourism which are a) more congruent with minimal tourism infrastructure, facilities and services, and b) more sensitive to issues of social justice, and to protecting local cultures and the natural environment. The main contribution of the thesis lies in its focus on a critical dimension of Third World tourism--the contradiction between the form of tourism adopted and local resources and conditions-which has been neglected by the emerging theoretical approaches in the sociology of tourism and in empirical research on tourism in Third World countries. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Table of Contents iii List of Tables vi Acknowledgement viii Dedication ix Chapter One: Tourism and Development 1 1.1: Introduction: 1 1.2: The Statement of the Research Problem 5 1.3: Conceptual Framework: The Emerging Theoretical Approaches in the Sociology of Tourism Relating to Development 10 1.4: Literature Review: Tourism in Africa 38 1.5: The Three Emerging Theoretical Approaches in the Sociology of Tourism and Ghana's Tourism Development 40 1.6: Methodology 47 1.7: Conclusion 56 Notes 57 Chapter Two: Development and Tourism in Ghana 60 2.1: Introduction 60 2.2: The Socio-Demographic Profile of Ghana 60 2.3: Ghana's Development Agenda and Tourism 67 2.4: Conclusion 97 Note 99 iii Chapter Three: A Descriptive Overview of Travel and Tourism in Ghana: Past and Present 100 3.1: Introduction 100 3.2: Travel and Tourism in Pre-Colonial Ghana 101 3.3: Travel and Tourism in Colonial Ghana 105 3.4: Travel and Tourism in Post-Colonial Ghana 110 3.5: Conclusion 131 Notes 132 Chapter Four: Ghana's Tourism Resources 133 4.1: Introduction 133 4.2: Ghana's Tourism Natural Resources 134 4.3: Cultural Resources of Ghana's Tourism 141 4.4: Ghana's Historical Attractions 148 4.5: Conclusion 151 Chapter Five: The Problems of Tourism Development in Ghana 153 5.1: Introduction 153 5.2: Foreign Ownership and Control 154 5.3: The Conventional Tourism Orientation of Ghana 157 5.4: The State as Entrepreneur 159 5.5: Pertinent Factors Frustrating the Development of Ghana's Tourism..161 5.6: Conclusion 190 Note 192 iv Chapter Six: Summary and Conclusion: Making Tourism a Catalyst for Ghana's Development 193 6.1: Introduction 193 6.2: Policy Suggestion: Alternative Forms of Tourism as a Strategy for Developing Ghana's Tourism 195 6.3: Conclusions, Findings and Recommendations 205 6.4: Limitations of the Thesis 208 Notes 210 Bibliography 211 Appendix 1: Ghana: Roads, Railways and Major Towns 239 Appendix 2: Ghana: Administrative Regions, Administrative Capitals/Headquarters, Major Attractions 240 Appendix 3: The Peoples of Ghana 241 Appendix 4: Distribution of Natural Resources in Ghana 242 Appendix 5: Tourist Map of Ghana 243 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Tourist Arrivals and Receipts in Ghana and Kenya: 1955-1991 9 Table 2: Average Annual Economic Growth Rate: 1960-1988 41 Table 3: Selected Tourist Destinations for Observations 48 Table 4: Popular Hotels Selected by the Inspectorate Division of the Ghana Tourist Board, June 1992 50 Table 5: Ethnic Distribution of Ghana's Population in Percentages 62 Table 6: Turnover of Governments in Ghana: 1957-1993 64 Table 7: Governments and Tourism Development in Ghana 73 Table 8: Hotels Operated by the SHC: 1966 84 Table 9: The State of Ghana's Economy 1970-79 89 Table 10: Gross National Product 1975-1982 89 Table 11: Ethnic Voting Patterns in Ghana: 1969-1992 95 Table 12: Ethnicity and Political Instability in Ghana: 1957-1981 96 Table 13: Ethnic Distribution of the Leadership of Ghana Army 97 Table 14: Tourist Arrivals by Purpose of Visit (000): 1955-1991 113 Table 15: Tourist Arrivals and Revenue: A Comparison of Ghana and Some African Countries, 1991 114 Table 16: Occupational Distribution of Ghanaian Clientele of Some Popular Ghanaian Hotels: January-June 1992 117 Table 17: Estimates of Occupational Distribution of the Clientele of a Sample of Popular Hotels in Ghana 118 Table 18: Gender Distribution of the Clientele of Some Popular Ghanaian Hotels 119 Table 19: Estimates of Gender Distribution of the Clientele of a Sample of Popular Hotels in Ghana 120 Table 20: Ghanaian-Foreigner Distribution of Clients of Some Popular Hotels in Ghana: January-June 1992 121 Table 21: Estimates of Ghanaian-Foreigner Composition of the Clientele of a Sample of Popular Hotels in Ghana 122 VI Table 22: Organized Groups Visiting Cape Coast and Elmina Castles: January-May 1992 124 Table 23: Occupational Distribution of Hotel Proprietors in Ghana 126 Table 24: Gender Distribution of Owners of Hotel Accommodation in Ghana 126 Table 25: Ethnic Distribution of Hotel Owners in Ghana: Southern-Northern Ratio 128 Table 26: Ethnic Distribution of Hotel Owners in Ghana: A Break-down 129 Table 27: Forest Reserves in Ghana 138 Table 28: Savanna Reserves in Ghana 139 Table 29: Popular Festivals in Ghana 142 Table 30: Prominent Bazaars in Ghana 144 Table 31: Places of Handicraft Production in Ghana 145 Table 32: Famous Shrines in Ghana 146 Table 33: Existing Forts and Slave Castles in Ghana 149 Table 34: Share of Foreign Ownership in African Hotels 155 Table 35: Distribution of Hotel Accommodation in Ghana 164 Table 36: Qualifications/Backgrounds of Hotel Managers/Proprietors in Ghana....167 Table 37: Studies on Ghana's Tourism 169 Table 38: Tourism Projects, Cost Estimates and Available Funding 172 Table 39: Types of Hotel Accommodation in Ghana (Rooms/Beds): 1991 173 Table 40: Room Rates of Selected Top Hotels in Ghana 174 Table 41: Distribution of Types of Hotel Guests of the Three Top Hotels in Ghana 175 Table 42: Portions of Income Spent on Extended Relatives 179 Table 43: Portions of Income of Tourist Board Staff Members Spent on Extended Relatives and Funerals 181 Table 44: Employment of Relatives in Selected Ghanaian Hotels 182 Table 45: Changes in the National Tourism Organization (N.T.O.) of Ghana Since its Inception in 1959 187 vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT My greatest indebtedness in this accomplishment is to the Lord Almighty who is my ultimate fountain of knowledge and wisdom. It is by His grace that I have climbed this academic height. I wish to express my profound gratitude to the chairman of my thesis committee, Professor Tissa Fernando, whose guidance and support inspired me to complete this thesis. I really appreciate Professors Gillian Creese and Yunshik Chang who, in addition to providing me with the financial assistance for my field work in Ghana, were very active members of my thesis committee. Their constructive criticisms and suggestions have greatly contributed to the quality of this thesis. I would also like to give special thanks to Dr. Andra Thakur of Malaspina College, Nanaimo, for playing the role of an unofficial member of my thesis committee. I am also deeply indebted to my parents, Yaw Okrah and Amma Korkor, for taking the initiative to send me to school. Their support for my elementary school and college education is greatly appreciated. Most of all I must record my unqualified gratitude to my wife, Ernestina, and my children for subsidising my intellectual labour through their financial and emotional sacrifices. My sincere thanks go to the Ghana Tourist Board, the State Hotels Corporation, and private hoteliers of Ghana for allowing me to use their facilities for the research. I would also like to thank Westminster Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Burnaby, and the African Evangelical Christian Fellowship, Vancouver, for their spiritual support. Among those relatives and friends who I would like to thank for their many and diverse contributions to my success in completing the Ph.D programme are: Isaac and Rebecca Takyi, George and Isabelle Misek, Dr. and Mrs. Miller, Dr. and Mrs. Jacobson, Elie Edner, Reuben and Mercy Onaegbu, Larry and Gwen Williams, Pat and Val Anderson, Robin and Anna Davis, Pat and Olga Osborne, Christina Amankwaa, Grace Fabea, Kwabena Yeboah, Ebeneza Abankwah, Osei Kwadwo, Ofosu-Yeboah and Sarpong-Kumamkumah. In addition to those mentioned above, I would like to thank Margaret Baskette, Neil Guppy and Elvi Whittaker of the University of British Columbia and Chris Ward and Bob Wyllie of Simon Fraser University for their support. viii DEDICATION: TO MY FAMILY, CHURCH AND COUNTRY CHAPTER ONE: TOURISM AND DEVELOPMENT 1.1: INTRODUCTION: There is a growing pessimism about the role of tourism in Third World1 development (see Bryden, 1973; Turner and Ash, 1975; Matthews, 1978; Papson, 1979; Britton, 1978, 1982, 1989; O'Grady, 1980; Wagner, 1981; Mathieson and Wall, 1982; Seward and Spinrad, 1982; Cultural Survival Quarterly, 1982; Erisman, 1983; Ascher, 1985; Hong, 1985; Sherman, 1988; Smith, 1989; Crick, 1989; Contours, n.d.). Despite this pessimism, however, this thesis proposes that tourism can do for Ghana what industrialization did for the advanced countries-be the gateway to development--, and that tourism has not been able to play this role because it is not adapted to Ghana's indigenous resources and conditions. Ghana's conventional tourism orientation does not fit with the country's low capital base, unskilled tourism personnel, traditional entrepreneurial and managerial styles based on a collectivistic culture, and political instability. The conventional orientation of Ghana's tourist industry, evident in government planning and policy documents, means it has to provide large capital investments in infrastructure and capital-intensive hotels and beach resorts, highly skilled labour, and rational bureaucratic tourism entrepreneurs and officials to operate them. Since 1) the necessary capital is not generated by Ghana's low productive economy and accumulation is reduced by the collectivistic ethic,2 2) capital is not available from foreign sources due to Ghana's political instability, 3) there is a lack of skilled tourism workers, 4) the collectivistic ethic does not allow much rational bureaucratic entrepreneurship and management, and 5) conventional tourists are very sensitive to political instability, conventional tourism cannot be easily sustained. Unlike conventional tourism, alternative forms of tourism are congruent with the internal conditions of Ghana, and would be a more viable strategy for developing Ghana's tourism industry. This 1 optimism is strengthened by the successes achieved by Bali, the Casamance villages of Senegal and Costa Rica (see pages 29-55 for case studies). Conventional tourism is the mainstream tourism which thrives mainly on vacation, conference and business travellers who demand elaborate tourism infrastructure, particularly sophisticated hotels and beach resorts (see Turner and Ash, 1975). By contrast, alternative forms of tourism count on "special interest" travellers who are prepared and willing to use lower quality tourism infrastructure, facilities and services to experience the cultural, historical and natural tourist attractions of the destination society (Weiler and Hall, 1992:1-14 and 199-204). To quote Johnston (1990: 3), "alternative" [tourism] requires nominal capital investment, and relies on a basic lack of infrastructure. [Alternative] [t]ourists visit the locale because it is remote, the people [cultures] are different, and the environment is "pristine." Moreover, alternative forms of tourism promote the principles of local ownership, management and control, social justice, and cultural and environmental sensitivity (see Nielsen, 1984; Johnston, 1990; Campbell, 1990). The concept "alternative tourism" emerged from the 1984 conference of the Ecumenical Coalition on Third World Tourism (ECTWT) in Chiang Mai, Thailand (Holden, 1984: 8). At this conference, Alternative Tourism was defined as [A] new kind of tourism which has the capacity to enable peoples' development, which respects human rights, which values human culture and which returns just rewards to the people who offer services (Ibid.). It is important to note that since the late 1980s, the concept "alternative tourism" has been widely criticized as imprecise and is being replaced by "alternative forms of tourism" (see Smith and Eadington, 1992). Alternative forms of tourism include cultural or ethnic tourism, educational tourism, ecotourism or green tourism, adventure tourism, and farm tourism (see Gonsalves, 1987; Richter, 1987 and 1989; Kutay, 1989; Johnston, 1990; Boo, 1990; Weiler and Hall, 1992). Tourism is one of the major industries in the world (Murphy, 1985: 1; World Tourism Organization, 1981). Its contribution to employment creation and income generation, particularly foreign exchange, is considerable (World Tourism Organization, 1981; English, 1986:4-6). Popular 2 conceptions of tourism portray the phenomenon only as a form of recreation, that is travelling for pleasure during one's vacation or "free" time (see Adu-Febiri, 1988: 3). Unlike the popular conceptions, academic perspectives depict tourism as all forms of travel involving visits to destinations away from one's usual place of residence for less than one year. The purpose of the travels could be leisure, family reunion, religious, educational, participating in conference, business, etc. (English, 1986: 3,4). This conception of tourism follows the International Union of Official Tourism Organization's (IUOTO) standard definition adopted from that of the 1963 United Nations Conference on Travel and Tourism which portrays tourists as visitors, and then defines a "visitor" as, ...any person visiting a country other than that in which he [she] has his [her] usual place of residence, for any reason other than following an occupation remunerated from within the country visited (The Statistical Commission of the IUOTO, 1968, cited in World Tourism Organization, Tourism Compendium, 1981: 31). This definition is, however, restricted to international tourism, and thus neglects domestic tourism. Domestic tourism, according to Jafari (1986:491), is "tourists travelling within their home country and the industry and supporting system which accommodate them". Tourism has both domestic and international components. Unlike in the advanced capitalist countries, domestic tourism is not a significant socio-economic activity in the Third World countries (Archer, 1973,1978; Jafari, 1986). By contrast, international tourism is more significant in many Third World countries, and as an element of 'modernization', its impact is very evident (Harrison, 1992: 19). Recent definitions of tourism transcend the distance, locational and motivational dimensions of tourism and cover other vital aspects such as the tourism system, touristic worlds, and their relationships. For example, according to Jafari (1987b: 158), tourism is the study of man [or woman] away from his [her] usual habitat, of the touristic apparatus and networks, and of ordinary [home] and [the] nonordinary worlds and their dialectic relationship. Tourism as a form of travel involving pilgrimages, exploration, adventure, education, and past-time for the royalty, has a very long history, dating back at least to the Middle Ages (Sumption, 3 1975). However, its modern roots are located in the Grand Tour of the early eighteenth century (Turner and Ash, 1975; Brodsky-Porges, 1981), and as a modern mass leisure activity it dates back to the Cook tours of 1841 (Turner and Ash, 1975). Hence the designation of tourism as a "post-industrial" service industry (McKean, 1989:127). Modern tourism did not spread to the Third World until after the Second World War (Jafari, 1973; Turner and Ash, 1975; English, 1986). Despite its long history, tourism did not receive any major attention from academic disciplines until fairly recently, perhaps not until the 1960s, mainly because it was considered a frivolous activity deserving no serious analysis (see Cohen 1984: 373; Smith, 1992:189). Until the 1970s when the study of tourism assumed a status as a sociological specialty, most of the academic writings on tourism were done mainly by geographers and economists. The pioneering, classic works in the areas of sociology and anthropology of tourism include Cohen (1972), MacCannel (1973, 1976), Young (1973), Bryden (1973). Turner and Ash (1975), Smith (1977), and de Kadt (1979). Sociological and anthropological studies on tourism are very difficult to separate. They both concentrate on various issues, particularly the tourist (MacCannel, 1973, 1976); tourists-local residents relations (Smith ed., 1977,1989); the structure and operation of the tourism system (Cohen 1972; Bryden, 1973; Turner and Ash, 1975; Nash, 1977; Matthews, 1978; de Kadt, 1979); and the impacts of tourism (Young, 1973; Turner and Ash, 1975, UNESCO, 1976). It is worth noting that the sociological studies in these four areas, broadly constituting "the sociology of tourism" (Cohen, 1979 and 1984), have expanded tremendously during the past decade or so (see Crick, 1989; Jafari, 1989). At the theoretical level, the thesis argues that Ghana, and for that matter many Third World countries, can achieve development through tourism. Specifically, it seeks to demonstrate, contrary to the postulates of the emerging theoretical approaches in the sociology of tourism relating to tourism's role in development3, that, 1) tourism can be an instrument of development in the Third World without the prior change of cultural traditions (as the cases of Bali, Senegal, Kenya, Mexico and Costa Rica show) or without any substantial initial capital investment (as Bali and Senegal 4 exemplify); 2) tourism can create development in Third World countries in spite of the exploitative nature of the "tourism system" as part of the capitalist world economy; 3) conventional tourism per se is not anti-development; it creates problems for many Third World countries because their indigenous resources cannot sustain it; and 4) state activism in tourism does not necessarily promote the development of the industry. The major theoretical approaches in the sociology of tourism have been summarized by Jafari (1989) as a) "The Advocacy Platform", b) "The Cautionary Platform" and c) The Adaptancy Platform" (The approaches will be discussed later). Among these three approaches, the Adaptancy platform with its emphasis on alternative forms of tourism, is by far the most relevant to Ghana's tourism development problematic. Ghana's resources and conditions are not suitable for the development of conventional tourism which has been the focus of the industry since its inception in the late 1950s. Rather, Ghana has most of the ingredients to develop and promote alternative forms of tourism. 1.2: THE STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM: The Ghanaian economy is basically a primary-resource one, depending heavily upon the export of raw and semi-processed cocoa, minerals and timber for foreign exchange. The vulnerability of these industries to the deteriorating world market prices for primary commodities makes the need for diversification of the Ghanaian economy imperative. Attempts at diversification since independence have always included tourism because of its enormous potential to generate foreign exchange and government revenue, and to create employment. In the first development plan after the country's independence, the Second Development Plan 1959-1964, for the first time officially recognized tourism as an important sector of the Ghanaian economy (Second Development Plan 1959-1964, 1959: 24,25). Funds were allocated 5 to the tourism sector for establishing hotel accommodation and developing tourist attraction sites (Ibid.)- The next development plan, the 7-Year Development Plan 1963-1970, did not directly feature tourism, but there was emphasis on the development of infrastructure, and the State Hotels system and the national tourism organization continued to enjoy the financial support of the government. Although this development plan was interrupted by the 1966 military coup, budgetary allocations to the State Hotels Corporation and the national tourism organization continued. Moreover, there were changes in the form of the national tourism organization aimed at making it more effective in managing the tourist industry (see NLCD 80). The next civilian regime which was led by Prime Minister Kofi Busia's Progress Party (September 1969-January 1972), also took interest in harnessing Ghana's tourism resources to contribute to the socio-economic development of the country. For instance, it appointed a study committee, the Obuam Committee, to take an inventory of Ghana's tourism resources and make recommendations for the development of the industry (Obuam Committee, 1972). This government was overthrown in January 1972, but the military regime (National Redemption Council) which succeeded it permitted the Obuam Committee to continue with its work. Its recommendations led to the incorporation of tourism into the National Medium Term Development Plan 1972-1976 in which 20 million cedis ($17.4 million dollars) was allocated for the sector's development. In 1974, the Hoff and Overgaard Consultants of Denmark, was appointed to study Ghana's tourism potential and make recommendations for its development. This work culminated in the formulation of the Tourism Master Plan of 1974. From the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, governments busied themselves with changes in the designation and composition of the national tourism organization. It was during this decade that the Ghana Tourist Development Company was created to take care of the state's investment in tourism ventures. In 1985 tourism was designated one of the four priority sectors-agriculture, manufacturing, construction, tourism~of the Ghanaian economy (Investment Code, 1985). Since then a tourism policy has been proposed and adopted, and a tourism development plan 1992-1994 has been 6 formulated. Ghana's tourism is, however, still not performing to expectation. As rightly observed by the Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-1994 (1991: v), Ghana's tourism is in the embryonic stage of development, thus echoing Teye's (1988:343) observation that "[presently, there is a miniaturized tourist industry in Ghana". This is in spite of the efforts of governments to develop the industry and Ghana's enormous tourism attractions. The vast tourism resource endowment of Ghana is usually cited by governments, tourism planners and researchers as constituting the basis for developing a tourist industry in the country (Second Development Plan 1959-64, 1959; Obuam Committee, 1972; Government White Paper on Tourism, 1973; Tourism Master Plan, 1974; Five Year Development Plan 1975-1980; Tourism Policy Proposals, 1987; Tourism Market Study, 1987; Preliminary Recommendations for a Ghana Tourism Development Plan, 1990; Wyllie; 1990; Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-94,1991). The tourism resources of Ghana can be classified into natural, cultural and historical. The natural tourism resources consist of over 300 miles of coastline endowed with coconut-fringed sandy beaches having many picturesque lagoons; long hours of sunshine for more than 300 days in a year; rich variety of flora and fauna; spectacular ridges and mountains; lakes and rivers; waterfalls; and geological wealth-gold and diamond particularly. Among the cultural resources are traditional festivals, durbars, fetishes, puberty rites, variety of funerals, colourful public markets (bazaars), traditional arts and crafts, and the proverbial authentic Ghanaian hospitality. With regard to the historical tourism assets, the most prominent ones include the numerous European forts and slave castles along the entire Ghanaian coast, historic church/missionary houses and mosques, and relics of ancient settlements and archaeological sites. (These are further elaborated upon in Chapter Four). The glaring irony , however, is that despite the efforts and the substantial tourism resources of Ghana, tourism has failed to be an impetus for the country's development. In other words, as rightly observed by the PNDC member responsible for tourism, Mr. P.V. Obeng, in his opening 7 address to the World Tourism Organization (WTO) Regional Conference on Africa, in Accra on 6th July 1992, "Most of the tourist products of Africa [Ghana] are still in their raw form" (People's Daily Graphic, July 7,1992:1). In most cases, the infrastructure, facilities and services which add value to these picturesque attractions are conspicuously missing. The industry has experienced only a limited growth compared to many other Third World countries which have similar tourism resources. Comparison between Ghana and Kenya, both sub-Saharan African countries with fairly similar amount of tourism resources, in terms of arrival and revenue figures graphically illustrates the above point (see Table 1). 8 TABLE 1: TOURIST ARRIVALS* AND RECEIPTS IN GHANA AND KENYA: 1955-1991. YEAR 1955 1960 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 ARRIVALS (000) GHANA 4.8 13.5 15.7 N.A. 27.9 26.1 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. 34.5 N.A. N.A. 53.0 30.0 44.0 56.0 59.0 46.3 38.0 40.0 42.0 44.0 44.0 36.2 85.3 92.6 103.4 113.8 125.0 145.0 150.0 KENYA 39.5 35.8 49.9 110.2 120.8 147.4 188.7 225.5 257.1 276.0 338.8 399.7 428.4 388.1 379.6 386.1 424.2 344.4 333.3 347.2 362.6 352.2 362.4 324.4 358.5 541.2 604.0 662.1 676.1 710.0 N.A. 714.0 RECEIPTS (US$m) GHANA KENYA N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A N.A. 25.2 N.A. 26.3 N.A. 30.2 N.A. 40.0 N.A. 41.2 N.A. 48.4 N.A. 46.8 N.A. 51.8 N.A. 66.9 N.A. 76.4 N.A. 69.4 N.A. 74.2 11.1 98.2 15.6 116.7 12.5 155.3 13.6 155.3 23.9 165.9 21.2 222.4 N.A. 113.9 N.A. 148.1 N.A. 195.3 N.A. 210.2 19.5 249.3 26.6 313.0 36.4 344.2 55.3 404.7 72.0 330.0 81.0 N.A. 110.0 420.0 Sources: World Tourism Organization (1979:5); Ghana Economic Survey, 1982, 1985: 231); Ghana Tourist Board (1987), West Africa (22-29 April, 1991:605; 8-14 June, 1992:971); Economic Survey (Government of Kenya 1963-1989); IMF (1986:426-427), World Tourism Review, Vol. 1, 1991:36); African Review of Business and Technology (May 1992:26) * Tourist arrivals data were used instead of information on occupation of hotel rooms, camp sites, etc. mainly because many Ghanaian hotels do not keep proper lodging records, the use of camp sites by tourists is rare in Ghana, and some tourists do not use commercial accommodation. Moreover, arrival figures are the usual data used by the World Tourism Organization to record the volume of the tourist traffic. 9 It must be noted that, unlike Kenya, about half of the Ghanaian arrival figures is made up of Ghanaians (see Teye 1988: 343). According to the Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-1994 (1991:24), 57% of tourists to Ghana are vacation travellers, while 36% and 7% are business and other travellers respectively. The great majority of the vacation travellers tend to be Ghanaians visiting home, and are therefore peripheral to the Ghana tourist industry since their main motive for visiting is not the touristic attributes of Ghana and they do not stay in tourist accommodations. The question is, why is it that Ghana, which has these enormous attractions, has been unable to succeed in using tourism as a development tool? This pertinent question is addressed within the context of the economic, cultural and political conditions of Ghana, and within the framework of the three emerging theoretical approaches in the sociology of tourism. These are the Advocacy Platform, the Cautionary Platform and the Adaptancy Platform, sociological models which deal with tourism development. 1.3: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK: THE EMERGING THEORETICAL APPROACHES IN THE SOCIOLOGY OF TOURISM RELATING TO DEVELOPMENT. As pointed out earlier, tourism, despite being an age-old phenomenon and a powerful force of economic and socio-cultural change, has not been a subject of social science investigation until fairly recently. Similarly, tourism has been invisible in development theories.4 This is in spite of the prominence of tourism in the development processes of the advanced countries, newly industrializing countries and the Third World (Greenwood, 1972: 81; Jafari, 1989: 19). In the immediate post-World War II period tourism was adopted as an important mechanism for the reconstruction of many European countries, and in the 1960s many newly independent countries adopted tourism as a developmental tool (Jafari, 1989:21). Since then most countries of the world have considered tourism as a crucial aspect of their development agenda. Currently tourism ranks 10 third in World trade, accounting for about 7% of all world exports (World Tourism Organization, 1991b: 24; Hall, 1991: 24). According to Jafari (1989:19), As to the global tourism volume, in 1987 some 358.7 million tourists travelled internationally (among countries) and spent over $158 billion (excluding transportation). Worldwide domestic tourism generated $1.5 trillion in the same year. This brings the 1987 global tourism (in/to all countries) which has been growing steadily during the past years, to an estimated $1.7 trillion... As another indication of its importance, in 1984 tourism generated 64.3 million jobs worldwide. Given the immense past and current contributions of tourism to the development processes of many countries, it is to be expected that development theories which claim to be concerned with the pertinent issues of socio-cultural change and economic development will give some attention to the role tourism plays in all these processes. Contrary to expectations, however, development theories are conspicuously silent on tourism. As rightly expressed by Sinclair et al (1992: 49), Given the importance of tourism, it is surprising that the sector's contribution to economic development, whether in terms of its contribution to foreign exchange earnings or income and employment generation, has been largely ignored in economic development literature... The neglect of tourism is not confined to development literature, but extends to international trade theory. Perhaps it is this glaring neglect of tourism by development theories which underlies the attempts of the emerging theoretical approaches in the sociology of tourism (the Advocacy Platform, the Cautionary Platform, the Adaptancy Platform) to theorize the role of tourism in the development process. It must be remarked here that although the existing development theories do not deal with tourism, they seem to have influenced some of the emerging theoretical frameworks in the sociology of tourism.5 a) The Advocacy Platform: "The Advocacy Platform", which seems to be an elaboration of what Cohen (1979: 25) terms the "Development Model" in his "Rethinking the Sociology of Tourism", is a conceptual frame used by Jafari (1989: 20-21) to categorize a number of writings on tourism which emphasize the 11 economic prospects of tourism. The advantages of tourism, this school of thought emphasizes, are the labour intensiveness of the industry; benefits of inter-sectoral linkages created by tourism; its high viability as an economic alternative for many communities or countries; its high foreign exchange generating capacity; its interest in preserving the natural and built environments; its ability to revive traditions of the past and cultural performances (Ibid.: 21). This perspective in the sociology of tourism originated in the early decades of the twentieth century, but its voice became crystallized in the post-World War II years when many European countries adopted tourism for the reconstruction of their war-shattered economies, and more so in the 1960s when many newly independent Third World countries began to copy the development models of Europe. This theoretical approach which views "mass tourism as a ticket to development", continues to influence tourism development policies and plans of many Third World countries (The Economist, 1989:11). As Jafari (1989: 21) succinctly puts it, Today, with the network of touristic developments firmly established worldwide, the Advocacy Platform continues to be voiced by mostly the same private and public interests, and their message has remained basically unchanged. Prominent among the pioneers of the Advocacy Platform are Ogilvie (1933), League of Nations (1936), Anderla (1953), Prieto (1954), Lickorish and Kershaw (1954), Clement (1961), Krapf (1963), IBRD (1966), ILO (1966), IUOTO (1966a, 1966b, 1967,1968,1970), Davis (1967), Waters (1967, 1969), Galeotti (1969), Peters (1969), Singh (1969), Ouma (1970). This emerging theoretical frame in the sociology of tourism sees Western models of tourism development as the panacea for Third World development problems. The advocacy writings see tourism "as the source of quick economic development" for Third World countries (Jafari, 1989: 21) provided these countries 1) adopt Western-style tourism development strategy, such as "mass" tourism (see The Economist, 1989:11) and 2) develop Western-type socio-cultural institutions, values, norms and attitudes (see Jafari, 1989:21). For example, this theoretical approach emphasizes that the success or otherwise of using tourism as a strategy of development depends on "whether they [the societies involved] were [are] Western and receptive to change or traditional and resisting change" (Ibid.). The 12 implication of this assertion is that "traditional" cultures have much to do with the failure of tourism to generate development in countries such as Ghana. Moreover, this perspective's focus on conventional tourism means that countries which want to successfully develop tourism should be prepared to invest in large-scale, capital-intensive tourism facilities which are a requirement of this form of tourism. In effect, this theoretical approach is pessimistic about Third World countries developing viable tourist industries without prior change of their cultural values/attitudes, and without substantial capital investment in sophisticated tourism infrastructure and facilities. Despite the failure of conventional tourism to "take-off' and notwithstanding the immense economic, social and cultural havoc it has caused in many Third World countries, it continues to be advocated. According to Jafari (1989: 21), the Advocacy Platform continues to be active and its main message~"mass tourism as a ticket to development"~has not changed (The Economist, 1989:11). No wonder most Third World countries, since the 1960s, have tirelessly tried to pursue conventional tourism as a useful tool to foster the development of their weak economies and to get the necessary resources to implement social programs that would improve the quality of life of the local population (Schluter, 1993: 364). For example, during the post-World War II era, many a Latin American country realized that tourism has a great capacity to facilitate their economic recovery process. With the success stories of many European countries so fresh, "Latin Americans viewed European tourism development as a model to be copied" (Ibid.: emphasis supplied). This approach to tourism development underlies the creation of tourism resorts and capital-intensive hotel chains in the Caribbean and parts of Latin America (Ibid.), islands in the South Pacific (Britton, 1982), and parts of Africa, especially North Africa (Esh and Rosenblum, 1975; English, 1986; Jommo, 1987; Dieke, 1991, 1993). Accompanying the creation of such resorts and hotel chains are Western tourism planning and management experts, tour operators and travel agents, tourism training facilities, and Western values and ways of life. In effect, the tourist industry in many Third World countries is a carbon copy of that 13 operating in the advanced countries. Since these Third World countries do not possess the capital required by this form of tourism, most of the capital invested in the industry come from the advanced countries (see Richter, 1992: 37), and consequently profits are repatriated rather than reinvested in other productive sectors of their economies to create forward and backward linkages. Likewise, Third World countries usually lack the cultural resources and necessary skills to effectively manage Western-style conventional tourism. Hence the reliance on foreign experts for planning and management of the industry. Local people are thus restricted to only the low-paid sectors of the industry (see Bryden, 1973; Esh and Rosenblum, 1975; Jommo, 1987; Britton, 1982, 1989). The diffusion of foreign (Western) capital, technology, planning and management techniques to Third World tourism advocated by the Advocacy Platform has generated growth in the tourist industries of some Third World countries. Typical examples include the Caribbean Islands, Mexico, Philippines, Thailand, Malta, Morocco, Senegal, Gambia and Kenya (see World Bank, 1972; Boissevain, 1977; de Kadt, 1979; English, 1986). It is usually emphasized by this perspective that conventional tourism generates a) substantial foreign exchange (Wall and AN, 1977; Varley, 1978; Gray, 1982, Lee, 1987; UNCTAD, 1988; Sinclair and Tsegaye, 1990); b) income for the host country (Cleverdon, 1979); c) employment for the host population (Noronha, 1977; Cleverdon, 1979; de Kadt, 1979; Archer, 1987; World Tourism Organization, 1988); and d) substantial revenue for host governments (Cleverdon, 1979). Moreover, it highlights the positive social and cultural impact of tourism (see Noronha, 1977; de Kadt, 1979; English, 1986; Peake, 1989). Positive social effects emphasized include the weakening of traditional authority which means liberation for the youth and women, and the drawing of young women into the formal labour force and thus increasing their economic autonomy (Ibid.). With regard to culture, it argues that tourism in many instances helps conserve traditional cultures (Aspelin, 1977; Wilson, 1979; Boissevain, 1977; Andronicou, 1979; Cohen, 1983a; Crystal, 1989), and in some instances creates new cultural forms with considerable artistic merit (Graburn, 14 1976; Cohen, 1983a; Van Den Berghe and Keyes, 1984). Moreover, there are some instances where tourism has promoted not only handicraft production, but also has increased local awareness and estimation of cultural products (Boissevain and Inglott, 1979; Nason, 1984; Cohen, 1988a; Richter, 1989). Contrary to the expectation of the Advocacy Platform, however, many of the Third world countries adopting wholesale conventional tourism have experienced growth in their tourist industries but not economic "take-off" (Teye, 1988). This is mainly because tourism is not well integrated with the other economic sectors to produce the necessary multiplier effect. For instance, due to the very low multiplier effect generated by the tourist industries in most Caribbean countries, their economies have not taken-off despite the huge foreign capital investment in tourism over the years (see Bryden, 1973; Finney and Watson, 1977; Barry et al, 1984). Increased foreign capital investment in tourism, one of the leading sectors of the economies of many a Third World country, therefore, does not necessarily lead to sustained economic development. Moreover, apart from its failure to create economic take-off, tourism is noted (usually by proponents of the Cautionary and Adaptancy platforms) as promoting prostitution, drug pushing and abuse, truancy of school children, cultural adulteration, cultural dependency, and social inequality. As noted earlier, the Advocacy Platform sees Third World's success in tourism development as premised upon their successful adoption of Western institutions, values and attitudes first, since these advocates believe that Third World societies being inherently "traditional" are resistant to economic changes brought about by tourism (see Jafari, 1989: 21). This school of thought would, therefore, partly attribute the failure of tourism to create an impetus for economic "take-off' and sustained development in many Third World countries such as Ghana to the lack of Western entrepreneurial and management abilities, lack of tourism skills, poor work attitudes, etc. which are related to resilience of traditional cultural values. This explanation, however, seems fallacious since the planning and management of the tourist industry in many Third World countries are scarcely done by locals. 15 Furthermore, it must be stressed that traditional cultural values, of course, shape the course of change and development. However, they do not necessarily prevent development. Traditional cultures can even be a development resource. For example, traditional cultures constitute the single most significant tourism resource of many Third World countries (see Turner and Ash, 1975; Greenwood, 1977; McKean, 1989). Going outside tourism, the collectivistic ethic and nationalism of Japanese and South-East Asian societies have been very valuable management resources for industrial development (Dore, 1973; Chang, 1991). Traditional cultural values hinder development only when development models are not adapted to or integrated with them. Wherever tourism has been adapted to local cultural conditions, the result has been very positive. Typical examples are the success stories of Bali (Nielsen, 1984) and the Casamance villages in Senegal (Saglio, 1979). (See pages 29-35 for discussion). b) The Cautionary Platform: "The Cautionary Platform", is an emerging theoretical approach designated by Jafari (1989: 21) as representing a faction in the sociology of tourism which stands in opposition to the "The Advocacy Platform". Its stance ranges from outright rejection of the Advocacy's claims of the positive role of tourism in Third World development to portraying tourism as an undesirable development strategy for the Third World because of its negative economic, social and cultural consequences (Ibid.). The message of the Cautionary Platform, which became more audible in the 1970s, and still continues to be so, is that Third World countries should be cautious with tourism because "tourism generates mostly seasonal and unskilled jobs; that it benefits only the tourism firms and big corporations; that it destroys nature and scenic formations; that it commoditizes peoples and their cultures; that it disrupts the structure of the host society" (Ibid.). The pessimism of this theoretical approach about the role of tourism in Third World countries thus becomes clear. 16 It must be remarked that the main reason for this negativistic perception is the fact that the Cautionary Platform sees all tourism as "mass" (conventional) tourism. Proponents of this school include Foster (1964), Greenwood (1972, 1977) Bryden (1973), Young (1973), Perez (1973), Pi-Sunyer (1973), Harrington (1974), Jafari (1974), Shivji (1975), Wenkman (1975), Esh and Rosenblum (1975), Turner and Ash (1975), Matthews (1975, 1978), Graburn (1977), UNESCO (1976), Hoivikand Heiberg (1977), Nash (1977, 1989), Harrell-Bond (1978), Britton (1978, 1982, 1983, 1989), Biddlecomb (1981), Mathieson and Wall (1982), Seaward and Spinrad (1982), Erisman (1983), Ascher (1980,1985), Hong (1985), Jommo (1987), Sherman (1988), Crick (1989), The Economist (1989), and Contours (n.d.). The allusion of the Cautionary Platform to the exploitative nature of the "tourism system" because it operates within the framework of the capitalist world economy places it in the camp of the "dependency model" mentioned by Cohen (1979:25). The Cautionary Platform, which generally takes a political economy approach to Third World tourism (see Crick, 1989), is doubtful about the role of tourism in the development process of Third World countries. Turner and Ash (1975:15), for example, typically describe tourism in the Third World as "King Midas in reverse", destroying everything it comes in contact with. Some authors even describe the industry as a neo-colonial or imperialist tool for underdeveloping the Third World (Bryden, 1973; Maluga, 1973; Nash, 1977, 1989; Jommo, 1987; Britton, 1989; Crick, 1989). According to Maluga (1973:44), tourism "is one of those appendage industries which give rise to a neo-colonialist relationship and cause underdevelopment". Generally, this theoretical approach postulates that tourism cannot be an instrument of Third World development because of its exploitative, metropolitan dominated structure characteristic of the capitalist world system (see Perez, 1973, 1974; Maluga, 1973; Bryden, 1973), Turner and Ash, 1975; Britton, 1982, 1989; Ascher, 1985; Jommo, 1987; Crick, 1989). As Lanfant (1980: 23) and Dunning and McQueen (1982) observe, the tourist industry is becoming more and more internationalized--"penetrating the most remote and hitherto unaccessible areas of the Third World and the polar regions" (Cohen, 1984: 382). The centre of the tourism 17 system is located in the Advanced Capitalist countries which produce most tourists (William and Zelinsky, 1970), while the Third World constitutes the tourism periphery (Turner and Ash, 1975). Generally the industry is dominated by multinational corporations, hotel chains, airlines, travel companies and agencies, tour operators, tourists, etc., from the Advanced Capitalist countries (Matthews, 1978;Cleverdon, 1979; Dunning and McQueen, 1982;Ascher, 1985; Wilkinson, 1989; Sinclair et al, 1992). Particularly highlighted by the Cautionary Platform is the vertical integration of the tourist industry-stretching from airlines through tour operators to major hotels/resorts (Nash, 1977,1989; Britton, 1982; Barry et al, 1984). For example, according to Barry et al (1984:77), in the Dominican Republic, Gulf & Western "...has its own transportation company and air strips to guarantee the arrival of its hotel guests, who dine on the steak from G & W cattle ranch and vegetables from G & W farm". Also, according to Geshetker (1972: 64), Kenyan tourism "is dependent on foreign firms, and primarily benefits foreign and domestic elite". Barry et al (1984: 77) observe a similar situation in the Caribbean-Transnational Corporations own and control the tourism sector and reap the bulk of the industry's profits. At the global level, Britton (1982:346) highlights a similar vertical integration. According to him (Ibid.), tourism is a three-tiered hierarchy, with metropolitan capital, based in developed societies, at the top, followed by local, comparador capitalists and, at the bottom, small-scale enterprises whose success depends on that of the two higher categories, which cream off most of the profits. According to the Cautionary Platform, this structure of tourism has disastrous effects on Third World development processes: major portions of the foreign exchange generated is siphoned off to the tourist generating countries; limited inter-sectoral linkages are created; the high-paying jobs created are dominated by expatriate staff; relationships are commercialized; and culture is commoditized and bastardized (see Morten, 1969; Geshekter, 1972; Bryden, 1973; Maluga, 1973; Perez, 1973; Shivji, 1973; Taylor, 1973; Young, 1973; Rivers, 1974; Elkan, 1975; Esh and Rosenblum, 1975; Turner and Ash, 1975; Turner, 1976; Bugnicourt, 1977; Finney and Watson 1977; Young, 1977; Matthews, 1978; Wood, 1979, 1980; O'Grady, 1982; Farver, 1984; Barry et 18 al, 1984; Ascher, 1985; Jommo, 1987; Britton and Clarke, 1987; Britton, 1978,1980, 1982, 1983, 1989; Nash, 1977, 1989;). Conventional tourists want accommodation, food and drinks, transport facilities, etc., at the destination areas that are comparable to what they find in their home countries (Geshekter, 1972: 67; Cohen, 1979: 19), thereby requiring a high import content. The import content of tourism in Third World countries such as Jamaica (39.3%), Kenya (27%), Sri Lanka (27%), Senegal (30%), Nepal (47%), St. Lucia (45%), Tanzania (40%), Ivory Coast (44%) and Guadeloupe (80%) (Story, 1973; Holder, 1984; English 1986) illustrate this point. The high import content and repatriation of profits and salaries, payment of hotel management and foreign architect fees, etc., result in more dollars leaving than staying (Bryden, 1973; Esh and Rosenblum, 1975; Lea, 1988; Britton, 1989). According to Lea (1988:13), in many Third World countries less than 30 per cent of the retail price of tourism remains. Extreme cases are Gambia, some Caribbean countries and Mauritius where about 80%, 81% and 90%, respectively, of foreign exchange earned from tourism leaks out to the Advanced Capitalist countries (Esh and Rosemblum, 1975; LARR, September 25, 1981; Urry, 1990:64). In the area of tourism employment, the Cautionary Platform argues that tourism creates only a few jobs, and most of the jobs created are in the low pay category (Backmann, 1988:185-6; Summary, 1987: 537; Rajotte, 1987: 87). Apart from the foreign exchange and employment problems, this perspective of Third World tourism sees tourism as creating social and cultural problems in Third World host countries. For example, it emphasizes that the development of tourism in the Third World causes, as noted earlier, the emergence of new types of, and/or an increment in the incidence of the existing social problems (Esh and Rosenblum, 1975; Nicholls, 1976; Noronha, 1977; O'Grady, 1982; Cohen, 1983c; Lea, 1988; Enloe, 1989). Some proponents of the Cautionary Platform working in the area of culture associate tourism in Third World societies with cultural dependency and negative alterations in traditional cultural forms (Forster, 1964; Turner and Ash, 1975; Greenwood, 1977; Louise, 1977; Schadler, 1979; Erisman, 1983). 19 With regard to the social impact of tourism, the Cautionary Platform emphasizes that with the development of tourism in the Third World comes the emergence or increased incidence of social problems such as rebelliousness of the youth, begging, gambling, organized crime, truancy among school children, drug abuse, and prostitution (Esh and Rosenblum, 1975; Nicholls, 1976; Noronha, 1979; O'Grady, 1982; Cohen, 1983c; Lea, 1988; Enloe, 1989). The main problem usually highlighted is prostitution, known in tourism parlance as "sex tourism". Sex tourism involving Northern (developed countries) tourists and Southern (Third World) prostitutes features prominently in the growing literature on Third World tourism. On the whole, the literature on sex tourism constitutes a Marxist feminist critique of Third World tourism. It emphasizes that prostitution in Third World tourism conveys a powerful imagery of imperialism, literally involving poor countries selling themselves to rich countries in order to survive (O'Grady, 1982; Lea, 1988; Enloe, 1989). A collection of papers from members of the International Feminist Network (Rome) and the Asian Women's Association (Tokyo) discussing sex tourism provides a concise survey of the feminist critique of tourism-related prostitution (see Graburn, 1983). Most attention is directed to sex tourism in the various South-East Asian countries-South Korea, Philippines, Thailand, and Malaysia. One of the few sociological studies of sex tourism serving as a departure from the Marxist feminist critique is Cohen's (1982d) "Thai Girls and Farang Men". Cohen, in this work, shows that although increase in prostitution in Thailand is related to increased foreign demand, the proportion of tourism-related prostitution in the total prostitution scene in Thailand is unknown. He highlights the economic insecurity and the general social and psychological damage sex-tourism inflicts on the women involved. Unlike female prostitution, male prostitution in many Third World tourist destinations is not widely documented though it may be widespread. According to the tourism literature (see Cohen, 1971; Wagner and Yamba, 1986), this kind of sex tourism involves mostly middle class, middle-aged Western female tourists and poor Third World young men.8 The existence of such practice is 20 observed by Cohen (1971) between Western women and Arab boys, and by Wagner and Yamba (1986) between Nordic middle-aged women and young Gambian males. Sex tourism studies done in Bermuda and Cyprus show, contrary to general expectation, that the development of tourism in these island societies has not increased prostitution (see de Kadt, 1979). The reasons for this are: 1) poverty is not as acute and widespread as in most Asian tourist destinations; and 2) tourism's benefits are fairly shared among various socio-economic categories of the population-women are found not only in low paying tourism jobs, but also in management and other high paying positions. This clearly shows that the development problems usually associated with tourism in the Third World may be largely related to the pattern of development in those countries. Turning to the cultural impact of tourism, the Cautionary Platform asserts that with the introduction of tourism in Third World societies comes cultural dependency and cultural commoditization, adulteration, and in some cases obliteration (Forster, 1964; Turner and Ash, 1975; Greenwood, 1977; Louise, 1977; Schadler, 1979; Erisman, 1983). Louise (1977: 55), for example, points out that, When the folkloric traditions of marginal social groups are commercialized for the touristic market, there are certain negative effects on both the subcultures themselves and the cultural values, as well as the society at large. The Cautionary Platform generally attributes the negative economic, social and cultural impacts of tourism to external sources, that is, the "wider international relations between the developing world and the affluent West" (Crick, 1989: 321). Thus neglecting 1) cases like Kenya and Mexico where international capital is central and yet tourism has generated some development; 2) situations such as Ghana's where the industry is owned, managed and controlled by mainly local people yet tourism is undeveloped; and 3) conditions existing in many Third World countries, which tend to: a) facilitate foreign domination of their tourist industries; and b) contribute to tourism's failure to promote inter-sectoral linkages in their economies. Moreover, this emerging theoretical approach neglects the tourist industries of destinations such as Bali, the Casamance villages of Senegal, Costa Rica, Cook Islands, and Thailand where alternative forms of tourism 21 have been more successful in generating government revenue, creating effective linkages with the local economy, and providing employment, income and entrepreneurial opportunities for local people (Saglio, 1979; Rodenburg, 1980; Milne, 1987; Meyer, 1988; Chant, 1992). A fundamental critique of the Cautionary Platform is, however, its failure to account for cases such as Kenya and Mexico which have developed successful conventional tourist industries despite the existing exploitative, metropolitan dominated tourism system. i) Kenya: Kenya's efforts to develop tourism have, to a large extent, produced good results (ECA, 1978: 3; Dieke, 1991: 270). For the past two decades or so, Kenya's tourist industry has grown tremendously. For example, tourist arrival figures have increased sixfold while revenue generated by tourism has risen by over 1,600 per cent (IMF, 1986: 426-427, March 1990: 318,319). Since 1980, the tourism sector has surpassed coffee and tea as the main foreign exchange earner for Kenya (Economic Survey, Government of Kenya, 1985, 1986b, 1987a, 1989). From the wider perspective of economic development, tourism's contribution to Kenya's economy is remarkable. According to the Economic Survey of Kenya (1989:19), the tourist "trade, restaurants and hotels" subsectors' contribution to the Gross Domestic Product from 1984 to 1988 averaged 11 per cent per annum. Since 1980, tourist receipts has far outstripped the revenue generated by all visible exports combined (Economic Survey, Government of Kenya, 1989). During the 1980s, while total visible exports grew nominally at an average yearly rate of about 50 per cent, tourism grew by over 120 percent (ILO, 1987). With regard to revenue generation, tourism's contribution increased 275 per cent vis-a-vis 90 per cent in the case of total visible exports (Ibid.). Moreover, "[o]ver the years, tourism has increased its linkages with many domestic industries, 22 mainly food production" (Dieke, 1991:271). Consequently, food imports for the tourist industry has greatly declined. For example, in 1984 the tourism sector's food imports constituted 77 per cent, but by 1988 it had declined to only 14 per cent (Kenya, 1989: 82). Despite the tremendous growth of Kenya's tourist industry, it has not contributed in any significant way to the aggravation of social and cultural problems usually associated with tourism-increased crime, drug abuse, family disruption, tourism-related prostitution, cultural bastardization, etc. This is contrary to the expectations of the Cautionary Platform. Moreover, Kenya has achieved these remarkable successes (Dieke, 1991: 271) through conventional tourism, contrary to the Adaptancy Platform, and in spite of foreign domination of the industry in the areas of ownership, management and control in the industry, contrary to the Cautionary Platform. According to Dieke (Ibid.: 285), ...at the present time, foreign equity participation accounts for about 60% of hotel beds in Kenya, while well over 50% of Kenyan tourist hotel capacity is under foreign ownership, control and management. A similar imbalance is also observed in native Kenyan-expatriate ratio of hotel employees. There is a clear domination of expatriates, especially in key positions (Mitchell, 1968; Tourist Consult, 1979; Dunning and McQueen, 1981; Migot-Adholla et al, 1982; ILO, 1987). Yet Kenya's tourism has achieved a tremendous growth and intersectoral linkages. Many factors come together to account for this success-spectacular natural tourist attractions, availability of foreign investment capital, relative political stability, and a fairly judicious state participation. The strongest factor, however, seems to be the relative political stability Kenya has enjoyed since its independence in 1963. It is this stability which accounts for the substantial flow of foreign capital and expertise to Kenya's tourist industry, and also the large number of conventional tourists. Kenya's tourism has been able to achieve such success within the constraints of foreign domination of the industry, that is, reliance on foreign capital, experts and other imports. When this level of foreign ownership, management and control of the industry is minimized through adoption of alternative forms of tourism, the industry's contribution to development would be further 23 enhanced. Perhaps it is this realization which has recently sensitized the Kenyan government to control tourism development. For example, since the 1980s Kenya's tourism policy objectives has been, inter alia, to increase tourism's contribution to the growth of Gross Domestic Product;...increase Kenyan ownership and management of the industry; reduce any undesirable social and environmental consequences; and conserve, protect and improve environment and wildlife (Kenya Development Plan 1984-1988, cited in Dieke, 1991: 281). ii) Mexico: Like Kenya, tourism has been a vital component in Mexico's development process in the post-World War II period (Chant, 1992:85). As far back as the 1960s and early 1970s, tourism was the most important export of Mexico; the net foreign exchange receipts were in excess of 85 per cent of the country's gross foreign exchange earnings (World Bank, 1972: 212, 213). Moreover, during this period, employment in the hotel sector rose by 111 per cent and that in the restaurant sector was 147 per cent (Jud, 1974: 32). These exceeded growth not only in the service sector, but in all other sectors of the economy at that time (Ibid.). This trend has continued ever since. For example, in 1977, tourism contributed 3.3 per cent of Mexico's Gross National Product and 26.3 per cent of total exports (Getino, 1990: 108, 112). In the early 1980s, tourism was the leading industry of Mexico in terms of income and employment generation (Mathieson and Wall, 1982:35). Between 1985 and 1989, arrival figures rose from 4.2 million to 6.3 million, a 50 per cent increase (Economic Intelligence Unit, 1991: 25). Reflective of increase in arrivals, tourist expenditure generated US$2.98 billion in 1988, compared with US$1.72 billion in 1984; the net increase was 36 percent (Ibid.). Mexico has achieved this remarkable success mainly through conventional tourism, like Kenya; but, unlike Kenya, without much foreign domination of the industry. Mexico's tourism policy emphasizes local ownership, management and control (Jude, 1974; Reynoso y Valle and De Regt, 24 1979; Boo, 1990). According to the Tourism-Sector Working Paper (World Bank, 1972: 213), [t]ourist facilities in such major tourist destinations as Mexico, Yugoslavia, and Spain are constructed, equipped, and supplied largely from local resources and staffed by local labour. Many of them are locally owned and operated. This is one of the main principles of alternative forms of tourism (see Holden, 1984; Campbell, 1990), but it is not pursued vigorously. Mexico insists only on 51 per cent local ownership, management and control (Jud, 1974). The Mexican state plays a dynamic role in the tourist industry. According to Jenkins and Henry (1982: 501), Boo (1990: 110) and Chant (1992: 93,94), the Mexican state, through the national tourism organization has created airports and roads, incentives for private investors in tourism facilities, and training institutes for the industry's workers, which together have greatly facilitated the growth of tourism. Moreover, state intervention in tourism has prevented the foreign domination of the industry. According to Boo (1990:110), since 1974, the financial programmes instituted by Mexico's National Tourism Fund, FONATUR, has helped locals to establish over 128,000 new rooms, about 85 per cent of hotel rooms built during this period. In effect, Mexico's success in tourism development is the result of a constellation of factors. These include diverse tourist attractions, political stability, availability of local capital, judicious active state participation, and the country's proximity to the United States, the most prominent of the tourist-generating countries of the world. It is important to note that the success of Kenya and Mexico in using conventional tourism as a mechanism for economic development is limited by foreign control. This is more so in the case of Kenya where about sixty per cent of hotels and other tourist facilities are owned and managed by expatriates (see Jommo, 1987; Dieke, 1991). The Cautionary Platform is, therefore, right in emphasizing the constraining effects of the metropolitan dominated tourism system. However, the pessimism of this theoretical perspective about the development potential of Third World tourism is not warranted, given the relative development successes of tourism in many parts of the Third World: 25 a) In Kenya and Mexico, for example, in spite of the problem of foreign control, the leakage of tourism earnings is minimal (World Bank, 1972; English, 1986; Urry, 1990). b) Despite the high import content, tourism is a net foreign exchange earner in many Third World countries such as Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, Morocco, Costa Rica, Thailand, Mexico, Egypt, Kenya, Sri Lanka and India (UNCTAD, 1988: Table 11; World Tourism Organization, 1990: 127-30, 183-6; Harrison, 1992: 13). Moreover, the import content of tourism in countries such as Senegal, Turkey, Hong Kong, South Korea has proven comparable to that of most local services and lower than that of most domestic industries (Diamond, 1977:550; English, 1983:101; Pye and Lin eds., 1983: 39, 156). c) In Senegal, hotels prove comparable to the other sectors of the economy with regard to high-skilled jobs created (English, 1983), and in Hong Kong tourism is relatively skill-intensive compared with industrial jobs (Pye and Lin eds., 1983:45); d) Kenya, Senegal and Mexico do not experience prostitution at the levels comparable with that of many South-East Asian and Caribbean countries; and e) Tourism has created "cultural involution" (McKean, 1989: 121) rather than caused cultural destruction in many Third World countries (Aspelin, 1977; Wilson, 1979; Boissevain, 1977; Boissevain and Inglott, 1979; Andronicou, 1979; Cohen, 1983a, 1988a; Van Den Berghe and Keyes, 1984; Nason, 1984; McKean, 1989; Richter, 1989). It is worth noting that the success cases are those countries which have the political stability (e.g. Kenya and Mexico) or are strategically located (e.g. Singapore and Hong Kong) to attract substantial foreign investment and tourism management expertise, or have adopted alternative forms of tourism (e.g. Bali and Senegal). Ghana did not have the advantage of political stability, neither is it strategically located for the advanced countries to take special interest in its development. The only advantage Ghana posesses is, therefore, its vast tourism resources which can be used to promote viable forms of alternative tourism. The negative impact of conventional tourism on the development processes of Third World 26 host countries highlighted by the Cautionary Platform have led to a search for alternative forms of tourism development, especially since the 1980s (see Saglio, 1979; Holden ed., 1984; Cohen, 1987, 1989; Poon, 1989, 1990; Richter, 1989; Johnston 1990; Butler, 1990, 1992; Smith and Eadington eds., 1992). The promotion of these forms of tourism is the main focus of the Adaptancy Platform. c) The Adaptancy Platform: "The Adaptancy Platform", which emerged in the late 1970s in response to the shortcoming of the above two conceptual approaches, draws attention to the need for "alternative forms of touristic development and practice" (Jafari, 1989: 23). With the assumption that "some forms or types of tourism would have fewer impacts than others" (Ibid.), it argues that alternative forms of tourism are necessary if tourism's negative economic, sociocultural and environmental impacts are to be controlled. The main theoretical stance of the Adaptancy Platform is that conventional tourism is not a viable development mechanism because, by its very nature, this form of tourism is unresponsive to the host communities economy, culture, and environment. For example, the 1980 Manila conference (which led to the formation of the Ecumenical Coalition on Third World Tourism) on effects of tourism on Third World countries concluded that "[conventional] tourism wreaked more havoc than brought benefits to recipient Third World countries" (Holden, 1984: 7). "[T]he travesties of justice, the denial of human rights, the erosion of human cultures and the loss of dignity caused either directly or indirectly through [conventional] tourism" were highlighted (Ibid.). It was conventional tourism's negative effects which engendered the quest to replace it by alternative forms of tourism which are "community centered, employ local resources, are relatively 27 easy to manage, are not destructive, benefit hosts and guests alike, and even improve communication between them." (Jafari, 1989: 23). Economically, it is argued, alternative forms of tourism are labour intensive, generate foreign exchange, can be built on existing infrastructure, can be developed with local products and resources, complement the production of other economic activities, and have high multiplier effect (Ibid.: 22). In effect, like the Cautionary Platform, the Adaptancy Platform highlights the costs of conventional tourism. However, it goes beyond merely echoing the voice of the Cautionary theoretical approach to propose alternatives to conventional tourism which are variously designated as "appropriate tourism, responsible tourism, sensitized tourism, green tourism, soft tourism, cottage tourism, small-scale tourism, controlled tourism, and people-to-people tourism" (Jafari, 1989: 23). Proponents of this emerging theoretical approach in the sociology of tourism include Hoivik and Heiberg (1977), Britton (1977), Saglio (1979), Cohen (1979a, 1989), Chow (1980), Pizam and Pokela (1980) Rodenburg (1980), Duffield and Long (1981), Wahnschafft (1982), Holden (1984), Nielsen (1984) The Ecumenical Coalition on Third World Tourism, Murphy (1985), Towner (1985), Richter and Richter (1985), Britton and Clarke (1987), Krippendorf (1987), Altman (1988), D'Amore and Jafari (1988), Riley (1988), Sweet (1989), and Theuns (1989). The Adaptancy Platform's objection to conventional tourism on the ground that this form of tourism is naturally incapable of generating development is an over-generalization. Conventional tourism has been much less problematic in the advanced capitalist countries. Its contribution to the economic development of these countries in terms of income generation, job creation and inter-sectoral linkages has been quite significant. For example, according to Jafari (Ibid.: 19), In the United States alone, the volume of tourism has reached an astonishing level...Together, US and foreign tourists spent over $525 billion visiting this country [in 1987 alone]. The jobs these tourists spending create for the airline, oil, hotel, catering, agricultural, entertainment and photographic businesses is enormous. Many advanced capitalist countries derive maximum economic benefits from conventional 28 tourism mainly because they have created the appropriate tourism culture, infrastructure, facilities and services mainly from their indigenous resources. Even in some Third World countries such as Morocco, Kenya, Malta, and Mexico, conventional tourism makes some positive contribution to economic development (Boissevain, 1977; English, 1986; Dieke, 1991). However, tourism's contribution to such Third World economies is greatly reduced by foreign exchange leakage and ineffective inter-sectoral linkages caused by foreign control of the industry. This situation is not necessarily attributable to the nature of conventional tourism, but rather to the fact that these Third World countries do not have enough indigenous resources to create the large-scale, capital-intensive tourism infrastructure, facilities and services required by this form of tourism. Hence their reliance on foreign capital investment and management and the consequent foreign exchange leakage (see Richter, 1989: 181). The point being stressed here is that conventional tourism as a development tool is not an evil in itself. It creates problems for many Third World, tourism destinations only because they lack the necessary indigenous resources to develop it on their own and make it an agent of development. Thus, this thesis argues against conventional tourism for Ghana and similar Third World countries mainly because they do not have the capital, personnel and the political stability to make it a viable development mechanism. For Ghana, alternative forms of tourism would prove more effective. The examples of Bali, the Casamance villages of Senegal, and Costa Rica show the relevance of non-conventional tourism. i) Bali: Bali, one of the small Indonesian islands, has experienced a tremendous growth of tourism since the early 1970s by adopting alternative forms of tourism. From the low of about 50,000 visitors in 1972, the figure has soared to over half a million since the 1980s (Nielsen, 1984: 1; Mckean, 1989:134; Picard, 1993:80). Accompanying this explosive growth in tourist arrivals is the substantial increase in foreign exchange earnings from tourism-from over $180 million a year in 29 the late 1970s to over $350 million in the 1980s (Mckean, 1989:135). One of the underlying factors of the tourism boom in Bali is its cultural attractions. As aptly observed by Mckean (Ibid.: 127), If, in the absence of local resources, future "modern society" in Bali could not be supported by the production of petrochemicals or machine tools, then it appears that economic prosperity might be based on cultural production-the establishment of a truly "post-industrial" service industry, which is at least in part what tourism fosters. The entertainment, education, and care of international visitors would then pay the Balinese to do what they have learned to do so well for their own satisfaction-perform their arts and religion, their crafts and ceremonials. Particular cultural expressions which are most patronized by tourists visiting Bali include the confrontation of the witch ("rangda") and the dragon ("barong"), the monkey dance ("ketjak"), and a variety of wood carvings (Ibid.: 131). The dynamics of Bali's successful tourist industry are attributable not only to its cultural attractions but also to the adoption of alternative forms of tourism as the main strategy for developing the industry. This strategy has really encouraged the active participation in the ownership, management and control of the tourist industry by locals (see Nielsen, 1984; McKean, 1989). This is mainly because alternative forms of tourism thrive on low capital base, indigenous labour, entrepreneurial and managerial resources. The first Five Year Plan, which was passed in 1968 by the Indonesian government on tourism emphasized the development of international mass tourism as the policy for the region of Bali. Realizing the danger of this form of tourism for Balinese culture, the government in 1971 adopted a tourism Master Plan which stressed "placing the tourist facilities so that the contact between the visitors and the Balinese can be controlled" (Nielsen, 1984: 2). In this respect, all the luxury hotels were built in areas-Denpasar, Sanur, Nusa Dua-distant from local population centres (Ibid.). Moreover, to minimize the liability conventional tourism would bring to Bali, provincial and local political structures have instituted the following measures: 1) zoning certain areas as "off-limits" to tourist development; 2) insisting that new hotels be erected no higher than the palm trees; and 3) enforcing the national prohibition against outright purchase of land for establishing hotels (McKean, 1989:132). The current Five Year Plan advocates the kind of development that will be in accord with the national and local cultures (REPELITA IV: 117). 30 The capital-intensive hotels in Bali are mostly owned and managed by non-Balinese, since even the wealthiest Balinese could not afford the expense involved, and only a few Balinese possess the know-how to manage such facilities (Nielsen, 1984: 2). In response to this situation, the Balinese have developed parallel low-priced tourist facilities to capture the growing number of tourists interested in the "unspoiled village life" (ibid.: 3). This alternative accommodation system is made up of extra rooms (pavilions) in Balinese homes converted by families into permanent guest rooms as "homestays", and new pavilions designated "losmen" built purposely to accommodate tourists (Ibid.). These forms of tourist accommodation are constructed solely from local building materials, and the only furniture in the rooms are locally made beds and lockable cupboards. They therefore require only small investments. The operating cost is also very low since it is family members who manage the system, clean the rooms, and prepare breakfast, etc. The money generated by this tourist accommodation system is, therefore, largely a net income. Most of the food consumed by the tourists are locally produced and the major forms of transportation used by tourists on the island are the motorcycle and jeep rented to them by Balinese. The forward and backward linkages of tourism with family labour utilization, local agriculture and transportation is thus very effective. Thus, tourism has been able to create effective inter-sectoral linkages in the Balinese economy without any active state participation, contrary to the expectation of protagonists of statism in tourism. Tourism in Bali is also integrated with the Balinese culture. Tourism has led to the commercialization of carvings, artworks, local clothes, dances, religious ceremonies, etc., providing vital income to the average Balinese. According to Mckean (1989:124), "[t]heir traditional roles as dancers, musicians, artists, or carvers are now alternative and additional sources of livelihood for individuals and communities". It is worthy of note that the commoditization of Balinese culture has not led to adulteration or obliteration as observed by some researchers in some parts of the Third World (see Turner and Ash, 1975; Greenwood, 1989). Rather, "the coming of tourists to Bali has 31 strengthened the 'folk', 'ethnic', or 'local' survival of Balinese" (McKean, 1989: 124). A complex selective process operates to prevent the perishing of traditional ethos of Bali. For example, traditional dance, music and carvings are made an essential part of Bali's educational curriculum right from the elementary school (Ibid.: 131). Also there are special community constituted groups of artists and teachers who enforce strict quality control of traditional cultural performances and crafts, and they prevent the commercialization of sensitive cultural activities (Ibid.: 132). In short, the Balinese are not reduced to passive by-standers in the process of tourism development. In contrast, through family and neighbourhood ties, they actively participate in the management of tourism (Ibid. :122). Maurer and Zeigler (1988: 80) are, therefore, right by stating that alternative forms of tourism do not take much capital in that they use mostly local technological resources as much as traditional social structure. In this sense, they are perfectly suited to Balinese administration and management and are, above all, compatible with their way of life. Whereas the regional government of Bali is eager to promote this trend of tourism development and give the local population more opportunities to get involved in the tourist trade and reap its benefits, Indonesia's Director-General of Tourism is giving top priority to conventional tourism (Picard, 1993: 82). This approach is exacerbating the inequalities within the population and between the districts, as well as increasing the encroachment of foreign interests (Ibid.: 83). On the balance, however, most experts agree that "tourism has conferred considerable economic gains on Bali" (Ibid.). ii) The Lower Casamance (Senegal) Experiment: Like the Balinese case, this experiment with an alternative form of tourism in the Lower Casamance region of Senegal has achieved much success. This experimental project designated "Tourism for Discovery" (Saglio, 1979), unlike the case of Bali was not spontaneous. It was the result of careful and systematic planning supervised by Christian Saglio of the Agency of Cultural 32 and Technical Corporation. The project was started in the early 1970s with four villages in the Lower Casamance area but has now expanded to cover several villages in Senegal. The facilities are an epitome of traditional Senegalese architecture par excellence. The facility at Elinekine village is comprised of three rectangular houses built with local materials. Each house contains four rooms and a large central lobby where simple living room and bathroom facilities are located. There is a separate section constituting a kitchen and a storage area. At Enampore village, the facility is a large circular impluvium house with clay walls and thatched roof. The rooms form a ring around the central courtyard where communal activities and cooking take place. This house was planned and constructed by the local people, and with the exception of the washroom and kitchen fittings, all the materials used in building this house were from local sources. The camps at Baila and Thionck Essyl combine architectural styles of Elinekine and Enampore projects. As in the other two camps, local people played active roles in planning and constructing the facilities. The cost involved in this projects was minimal because of the use of local architecture and other resources. Like the planning and construction processes, the local people are at the centre of managing and operating the facilities. In line with local tradition, the village chief is given the responsibility of appointing competent people to manage the facilities. According to Campbell (1990:91,92), Each village chief was required to assign young people the task of serving visitors. A management committee supervised three operating units, consisting of two people each who were in charge of meals, accommodation, and excursions. Prices were established through collective agreement as was the remuneration of workers and the share allocated to the co-operative. Profits made by the facilities were quite impressive. For example, during the 1974/75 tourist season, Elinekine village alone earned $5,000 net (Saglio, 1979: 331). This profit margin is quite substantial given that the total cost of the project was about $8,000. According to Campbell (1990: 92), "These profits subsequently permitted the integration of tourism in the local economy". Profits are invested in local economic activities such as farming, livestock, fishing, crafts, etc., and in the 33 improvement of community amenities like health and maternity clinics, youth centres, and classrooms (Saglio, 1979: 331). This alternative form of tourism in Senegal has given the local people the opportunity to produce a service for tourists and at the same time help achieve community development objectives. The forward and backward linkages created in the local economies by tourism have been achieved without any state activism. These projects, however, generate only minimal employment and also profits derived constitute only a small percentage of the national tourism earnings-about 0.5% (English, 1986: 78), because these forms of tourism is only a minute part of the Senegal's tourist industry. iii) Costa Rica: Costa Rica lacks a wide range of tourist attractions and capital-intensive facilities that appeal to conventional tourists. For instance, the main tourist attractions of Costa Rica are volcanic landforms and rich vegetational diversity which are less accessible and attractive to conventional tourists because of the country's obscure geographical location and crude infrastructure (Chant, 1992: 89). Moreover, Costa Rica is sandwiched between two historically politically unstable countries, Nicaragua and Panama, which make it seem unsafe for conventional tourists (Ibid.). These characteristics, however, make Costa Rica a conducive place for the development of alternative forms of tourism, particularly eco-tourism (see Boo, 1990). Despite this advantage of Costa Rica in alternative forms of tourism, it concentrated on the development of conventional tourism until 1987. This explains the low performance of the industry before the late 1980s. As observed by Chant (1992: 85), in Costa Rica the state has actively promoted tourism since the 1960s, yet the industry's contribution to economic development was negligible before 1987. For example, the contribution of earnings from international tourism to GDP was under 2 per cent (Jenkins and Henry, 1982:505), and tourism's share of national exports did not exceed 6.6 per cent (Getino, 1990:112). 34 Since 1987, tourism planners and developers have realized this great advantage of Costa Rica for alternative forms of tourism, and are exploiting it to full advantage. After the National Tourism Congress of 1987, a major campaign to promote Costa Rican eco-tourism in the United States and Canada began (Arguello Salazar, 1988). This effort has yielded fruits, for by 1988, the Costa Rican tourist industry earned $165 million in foreign exchange, compared with $81 million in 1980 (Coffey, 1991: 2; Place, 1991: 187). By 1991 tourism had become the country's third largest export commodity-previously it trailed behind Coffee, bananas, meat and sugar in foreign exchange earnings (Ibid.). The point being emphasized here is that state activism could not make Costa Rican tourism a productive industry until the right tourism development strategy (non-conventional tourism) was adopted as from the late 1980s. As the tourism development experiences of Bali, Senegal and Costa Rica show, traditional culture and lack of luxurious tourism infrastructure and facilities are not necessarily obstacles to tourism development. Rather, they could be valuable resources for creating a viable tourist industry in many Third World countries when alternative forms of tourism are adopted. Alternative forms of tourism such as ethnic/cultural tourism, eco-tourism, farm tourism, and adventure tourism proposed by the Adaptancy Platform are congruent with Ghana's 1) existing cultural, historical and natural resources, limited tourism infrastructure and facilities, and political conditions (especially in the case of adventure tourism); and 2) Ghana's development objectives of creating a sustained economic development and promoting social equality.7 Jenkins and Henry (1982: 501) postulates that, like in other sectors of the economy of Third World countries, active state intervention in tourism is necessary if "the social and economic returns from tourism", and the "long-term objectives" of tourism development are to be optimized (Ibid.: 449, 519). Jenkins and Henry (Ibid.: 501), for example, emphasize that a greater degree of intervention [in tourism] by governement is required to achieve material objectives because of the absence of a developed and innovative private sector. They argue that "because of the characteristics of tourism activity, there is a requirement for active 35 rather than passive intervention by government" (Ibid.). Thus echoing the view of Wood (1980:562) that "[t]ourism represents a new relationship with both the national and world economy and, because of this, nearly always involves a greatly expanded role of the state". Other factors which make active state intervention in tourism imperative are scarcity of local private capital, lack of tourism management experience in the private sector, and the unwillingness of the private sector to become involved in tourism (Jenkins and Henry, 1982: 499). In situations such as the above, government (particularly in Third World countries) cannot help but become the main pillar of tourism development by adopting an active entrepreneurial role, particularly in financing and operating hotels and providing training facilities (Ibid.: 503). Apart from the direct entrepreneurial role, state activism in tourism also involves setting tourism objectives through development plans and policies, and introducing necessary organizational and legislative support to attain the goals set (Ibid.: 502). Another point stressed by Jenkins and Henry (Ibid.: 510) is that without active government intervention, it is difficult for tourism to attain backward and forward linkages in the economy and to retain any substantial proportion of tourist expenditure within the economy. The implication of all the above propositions is that in a country where the state actively participates in the tourist industry, tourism experiences sustained growth and creates effective inter-sectoral linkages in the economy. In short, where there is active state participation in tourism investment, regulation and planning there is successful development of tourism and vice versa. Although there were earlier tourism researchers such as UNCTAD (1971), Wahab (1973), Eden (1974), Green (1979), de Kadt (1979) and Wood (1980) who recognized the important role of state involvement in tourism development, it is Jenkins and Henry (1982) who make the most of this argument. It is necessary to note that such an active state entrepreneurial role in tourism becomes crucial only if the conventional tourism strategy is adopted. This is because the emphasis on high class, capital-intensive facilities and high standard services virtually preclude local private capital 36 and entrepreneurs which can only afford to invest in small-scale facilities providing limited services (see Wood, 1984: 363). Where alternative forms of tourism are adopted the state does not necessarily have to be an active entrepreneur since local private entrepreneurs could provide the needed capital and management resources. Moreover, 1) as the cases of Bali (Nielsen, 1984; McKean, 1989) and the Casamance villages of Senegal (Saglio, 1979) demonstrate, the state does not have to intervene in tourism for it to generate inter-sectoral linkages, and 2) as the example of Costa Rica (Chant, 1992) shows, although state activism could facilitate tourism development, it does not always lead to the development of the industry. The foregoing discussion of the emerging theoretical approaches in the sociology of tourism shows that tourism could have a positive or negative impact on the development processes of Third World countries. Why does tourism create developmental problems in many Third World countries? While the Advocacy Platform attributes the problem to the internal economic and cultural conditions of Third World countries, the Cautionary Platform alludes to external factors, that is, the metropolitan dominated structure of the global tourism system. The stand of this thesis is closer to the Adaptancy Platform in that it argues that these internal and external factors may not be the real causes of the problem. This thesis argues that tourism's impact on Third World societies would be positive or negative depending upon the relationship between the type of tourism adopted and the nature of the economic, cultural and political conditions of these societies. The empirical basis for this stance is the successes, on the one hand, of societies such as Bali which have developed a flourishing tourist industry with minimum infrastructure and capital while at the same time preserving the traditional cultural framework (Rodenburg, 1980; Nielsen, 1984), and on the other hand, countries such as Kenya, Mexico, and Gambia which have developed viable tourist industries mainly with metropolitan capital, hotel chains, tour operators and travel agencies (Urry 1990: 64). The type of strategy adopted must be consistent with the conditions of a particular nation. Given Ghana's economic, cultural and political realities, it is the position of this thesis that alternative types of tourism would be more feasible than conventional tourism. 37 1.4: LITERATURE REVIEW: TOURISM IN AFRICA: As evident in the numerous works on tourism cited in the discussion of the conceptual framework section of this thesis, the literature on tourism focusing on the Third World is immense and is growing rapidly. Unlike other Third World tourist destinations, Africa does not receive much attention in this growing literature. As aptly expressed by Hyma et al (1980: 530), [i]n contrast to the large and rapidly growing literature on tourism in general, only a relatively small amount of material has been published on tourism in Africa...Most of the works dealing with Africa or tropical Africa are to be found in popular magazines rather than learned journals. This holds true after twelve years. Like the general literature on Third World tourism, African tourism literature deals with questions such as the context in which tourism has developed, tourism resources, ownership and control of tourism infrastructure and facilities, how has tourism developed, and what impacts are generated. The greater portion of the small amount of literature on tourism in tropical Africa concentrates on East Africa, particularly Kenya which has the most developed tourist industry in sub-Saharan Africa. The few books and chapters of books dealing with East African tourism include Sonpal (1969), Mitchell (1970,1971), Ouma (1970), Okerere (1970), Macarenhas (1971), Popovic (1972), Morgan (1972), Jackson (1973), Shivji (1973), Elkan (1975), Jommo (1987), and Sinclair et al (1992). Journal articles devoted to tourism in East Africa are Maluga (1973), Geshekter (1978), Summary (1987), Rajotte ( 1983, 1987), Dieke (1989, 1991). Unlike East Africa, studies on tourism in West and Central Africa are few (Hyma et al, 1980). Most of the works are 1) promotional articles in journals and magazines such as African Development, West Africa, Insight and Opinion, and African Target; and 2) government commissioned reports. The few insightful studies are Turner (1974) on Central Africa, Esh and Rosemblum (1975), Farver (1984) and Dieke (1993) on Gambia, Teye (1988) and Wyllie ed. (1990) on Ghana, and Nkambwe (1986) on Nigeria. Reflective of the African situation in general, and the West African context in particular, 38 literature on Ghana tourism is scanty indeed. Ghana tourism literature comprises mainly government commissioned reports (Obuam, 1972; Hoff and Overgaard, 1974; Addo, 1975; Singh, 1978; Tourism Policy Proposals, 1987; Tourism Market Survey, 1987; Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-1994,1991) and studies initiated by the Ghana Tourist Board (Ayittey, 1975; MDPI, 1978; Ampah and Ofosu-Yeboah, 1978, 1979a, 1979b;) and by international organizations (Stewart, 1973; Egan, 1975). There are a few journal and magazine articles, and also seminar presentations (Hakam, 1967; Crowley, 1970; Kudiabor, 1970; Gosh and Kotei, 1973; Teye, 1988; Ephson, 1991, 1992) and a reader (Wyllie, ed., 1990). Apart from the Addo report which deals with the impact of international tourism on social life in Ghana, all the other works concentrate on the inventory of Ghana tourism resources and the development problems of the industry. These problems are, however, not systematically analyzed in the context of Ghana's precarious economy and traditional culture. Moreover, the contradition between the conventional tourism orientation of the industry and Ghana's economic, cultural and political realities has not been recognized. Third World tourism literature exhibits a similar weakness. It traces sources of the problems of tourism development mostly to either the structure of the industry, internal conditions of Third World societies, or the nature of conventional tourism, neglecting the contradiction between the form of tourism adopted and the available economic, cultural and political resources. 39 1.5: THE THREE EMERGING THEORETICAL APPROACHES IN THE SOCIOLOGY OF TOURISM AND GHANA'S TOURISM DEVELOPMENT. In spite of Ghana's enormous tourism resources (see Chapter Four) and the efforts by the state (see Chapter Two, pp. 67-73) to develop the industry since the late 1950s, Ghana's tourism is not making significant contributions to the country's development. Why has the tourist industry in Ghana, unlike tourism in sub-Saharan African countries such as Senegal, Gambia and Kenya, and other Third World tourist destinations like the Caribbean countries, Mexico, Bali, and Malta, failed to develop or generate development?8 Government reports and other studies on Ghana's tourism, reflective of the Advocacy Platform, attribute the problem of tourism development to internal conditions such as lack of substantial capital investment, skilled personnel, straight-forward immigration procedures, political stability, and rational-bureaucratic tourism management (Teye, 1988; Ankomah, 1991; Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-1994,1991). These reports and studies, however, fail to systematically relate these internal conditions to the precarious Ghanaian economy and the predominant collectivistic culture, and also fail to recognize the contradiction between these factors and the wholesale adoption of conventional tourism. Since pre-colonial times Ghana's economic activities have concentrated on the extraction of staples such as minerals, cocoa, coffee, rubber, and palm oil for export, petty commodity production in the informal sector of the economy, and retail trading. The deteriorating world market prices for these staples, coupled with the low value added capacity of staples production, petty commodity production and retail trading have led to the decline of Ghana's economy (see Table 2). 40 TABLE 2: AVERAGE ANNUAL ECONOMIC GROWTH RATE: 1960-1988 Period Growth Rate 1960-1976 -0.1 1965-1983 -2.1 1965-1988 -1.6 Source: World Development Report, 1985 and 1990. The negative growth rate of the economy is a reflection of low productivity. With such low productivity, it is difficult for the state and individual Ghanaians to accumulate enough capital to invest in capital-intensive tourism facilities required by conventional tourism. Other effects of the low productivity of the Ghanaian economy are that tourism workers do not receive the necessary training (for lack of training facilities) or earn high enough wages which will perhaps motivate them to work hard and efficiently. With regard to management, the prevailing collectivistic ethic in the Ghanaian society, which makes it virtually obligatory for relatively well-placed Ghanaians to help their underprivileged kinsfolk materially, makes it very difficult for tourism entrepreneurs to use rational bureaucratic management techniques. The collectivistic ethic is a cultural system of Ghana which provides a basis for Ghanaians from all the ethnic groups to contribute to the welfare of their underprivileged relatives in particular, and their ethnic members and friends in general. Many relatively well-to-do Ghanaians directly contribute to the incomes, medical expenses, housing, education, funerals, employment, etc., of their underprivileged extended family and ethnic members. In this way their already low capacities to accumulate capital are further reduced. Moreover, since the collectivistic ethic rather than meritocracy is the main criterion for recruiting key workers, efficiency in the management of conventional tourism facilities is undermined. The state's capacity to accumulate capital for investment is also reduced. The strong loyalty of Ghanaians to their extended families and ethnic groups, makes those who have access to state resources-politicians, bank officials, bursars, 41 educationists, health workers, produce clerks, revenue collectors, civil servants, etc.-commit the resources towards kinship and ethnic needs rather than the development of the country as a whole. The rampant embezzlement of state money and misappropriation of state property reported by the Ghanaian news media are a manifestation of the collectivistic culture. The direct effects of these culturally motivated forms of assistance on tourism development are: 1) tourism entrepreneurs cannot generate enough revenue from their tourism businesses for reinvestment because of misappropriation of revenue and facilities by relatives they employ, 2) in cases where enough income is generated, not much could be saved for reinvestment because a considerable portion goes into the assistance of relatives, 3) many key employees of tourism ventures do not work hard enough to provide high quality services that can attract many tourists, for they know they cannot be easily fired by proprietors who are their relatives, and 4) proprietors are compelled to employ relatives who do not have the required training to effectively operate sophisticated tourist facilities. The inadequate internal capital accumulation for investment in tourism infrastructure and facilities makes the need for foreign capital participation in Ghana tourism imperative, if Ghana wants to develop a viable conventional tourist industry. Such foreign participation is not forthcoming due to the political instability of Ghana (Teye, 1988), which is mainly the result of the country's weak state (see Price, 1988). The Cautionary Platform would blame the structure of the tourism system, that is, its metropolitan domination and export of profits for stifling tourism and related economic development in Ghana. Some authors operating within this perspective would even go to the extent of concluding that tourism, by its very nature, is not capable of creating development, particularly in an undeveloped economy such as Ghana (see Richter, 1992: 37). Ascher (1980: 20), even goes further by emphasizing that it is not tourism which engenders development but rather it is development that encourages tourism growth. This thesis challenges this Cautionary Platform of tourism by arguing that Ghana's tourism has failed to develop not because of any foreign 42 manipulation or the country's undeveloped economy per se. Apart from the three major hotels in Ghana-Labadi Beach (5-star), Novotel (3-star), Golden Tulip (3-star)-all other tourism facilities are owned, managed and controlled by Ghanaians. Also in places such as Gambia and Bali tourism developed despite their rudimentary economies. The Adaptancy Platform would insist that the problem is with Ghana's conventional tourism orientation. Certainly Ghana's tourism development strategy has focused on conventional tourism since the industry was officially recognized in the late 1950s. This is evident in the Second Development Plan 1959-1964, the Tourism Master Plan 1975-1995, the 1987 Ghana Tourism Policy Proposals, and the Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-1994 which emphasize luxurious tourism infrastructure and facilities, and high quality services which are the hallmarks of conventional tourism. In this thesis I argue that the emerging theoretical approaches in the sociology of tourism and the reports and studies on Ghana tourism not only fail to situate the problems of the industry within Ghana's economic, cultural and political dynamics, but also fail to recognize the core source of its tourism development problems. It proposes that Ghana's tourism has so far failed to be a stimulus for development because of the contradiction between the conventional tourism orientation and the country's economic, cultural and political resources/conditions. Ghana's low capital accumulation capacity and low foreign investment capital, coupled with the largely unskilled tourism personnel, traditional entrepreneurship, and ineffective tourism management, cannot create and sustain the high quality facilities and services required by conventional tourism development. Contrary to the views of the Advocacy Platform and the Cautionary Platform, however, but consistent with the Adaptancy Platform, the thesis emphasizes that the undeveloped condition of Ghana's tourism can be transformed within the existing Ghanaian traditional culture and the low capital base, and within the constraints of the metropolitan dominated tourism system. Ghana only has to adopt alternative forms of tourism which can adapt to the country's low standard of tourism infrastructure, facilities and services, and its political instability. Alternative forms of tourism can 43 thrive on minimum infrastructure and "nominal" capital (Johnston, 1990: 3), can be more community-based (Saglio, 1979), can survive political instability, and can promote other economic activities through its forward and backward linkages (Britton, 1978: viii). Moreover, they are guided by the principles of local ownership, management and control, social justice, and cultural and environmental sensitivity (Holden, 1984:8; Weiler and Hall, 1992:202) which can be incorporated into other economic activities to minimize their negative effects, such as leakage of foreign exchange, foreign ownership and control, bastardization or obliteration of local culture, environmental pollution, etc. Thus, by helping to create a tourist industry based on available economic and cultural resources, alternative forms of tourism can not only make Ghana tourism a growth industry, but can also maximize its contribution to the socioeconomic transformation of the country. In addition to alternative forms of tourism, other factors which strengthen the basis for the optimistic perspective of the thesis are as follows: a) Unlike industrialization, Ghana has all the basic resources for creating a productive tourist industry. Ghana has in abundance the sun, sand and sea, landscapes, wildlife, tropical rain forests, historic monuments, arts and crafts, exotic festivals and other cultural ceremonies which are in high demand by international tourists. Moreover, it has most of the materials and labour force necessary for constructing and furnishing tourism facilities. Already there are one international and four domestic airports in existence, and most of the trunk roads in the country are in good condition. Ghana will therefore need only minimal capital and effective planning to create a viable tourist industry; b) Unlike manufactured goods, tourism is relatively unencumbered by protectionist measures in the advanced industrialized countries (IUOTO, 1975). This is due to the fact that "there is often no close domestically produced substitute, the right to foreign travel is more jealously guarded than the right to buy Third World exports" (English, 1986:18). In addition, there are influential business groups such as travel agents, tour operators, airlines and hotel chains, in 44 the industrialized countries with a vested interest in Third World tourism (Ibid.). c) Tourism does not suffer to any great extent the supply-side shocks and demand-side disruptions usually experienced by agricultural products and minerals which are now the mainstay of the Ghanaian economy. Tourism is therefore more stable in comparison with these other sources of foreign exchange (Ibid.: 22). Agricultural commodities are generally susceptible to major supply-side problems because of vagaries of the weather. Likewise, minerals suffer from acute demand-side problems because of their overdependence on investment decisions abroad (North-South Institute, 1982: 3). As rightly observed by English (1986: 22), Tourism cannot escape the impact of economic slowdown in major tourist-generating countries. However, both the evidence on volume...and price...indicate that this sector is remarkably resilient. d) Unlike traditional Third World exports, the strength of tourism demands and the dynamism of tourism are quite impressive (Ibid.: 19). According to J.R. Artis (cited in McQueen, 1983:152), income elasticities of travel demand in all industrialized countries range from 1.16 to 2.30. That is, a proportionate increase in per capita income in these countries generates more than a proportionate increase in expenditures on foreign travel (Ibid.). Contrary to dependency theory, therefore, increased economic prosperity for the industrialized countries means increased prosperity of Third World countries derived from tourism, ceteris paribus. e) Tourism is not only a sector of current economic importance in the Third World, but is also growing fast and many Third World countries have demonstrated comparative advantage in tourism. Unlike manufacturing, tourism is a net foreign exchange earner for many Third World countries (UNCTAD, 1988: Table 11). For example, in Asia (not including West Asia), Latin America and Africa, in 1986, the net foreign exchange earned from tourism was 2.6, 2.6, and 0.7 billion dollars respectively (Ibid.). f) Tourism has not taken off in Ghana, yet it is the fourth highest generator of foreign exchange (Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-1994, 1991: v) Thus unlike previous studies on Ghana's tourism, the thesis aims at providing a basis for 45 optimism about tourism's developmental role. It analyzes Ghana tourism in greater depth and highlights the lack of fit between the conceptions or forms of tourism and internal economic, cultural and political conditions of Ghana. In the first chapter of the thesis a conceptual framework is proposed for analyzing development problems of Ghana's tourism. Chapter two concentrates on tourism and development in Ghana while chapter three gives a descriptive overview of travel and tourism in Ghana. In chapter four, tourism resources of Ghana are discussed. Chapter five addresses the central question of the thesis: why tourism has failed to generate development in Ghana. The concluding chapter explores strategies that would enhance tourism's role as a catalyst for Ghana's development. For the purposes of this thesis, "development" is construed as meaning more than the oft-cited Seersian perspective. According to Seers (1972: 124), The question to ask about a country's development are...What has been happening to poverty?...to unemployment?...(and) to inequality? If all three of them have become less severe, then beyond doubt this has been a period of development for the country concerned. If one or two of these central problems have been growing worse, especially if all three have it would be strange to call the result "development", even if per capita income has soared. What is missing from Seers' definition is the need to protect the culture and environment of the society in the development process. Thus, the thesis perceives "development" as a process of enhancing the capacity of the Ghanaian society to raise the living standards of its people, minimize unemployment and eradicate absolute forms of poverty and inequality without jeopardizing the country's culture and environment. Tourism, as perceived by this thesis, can contribute immensely to this effort. 46 1.6: METHODOLOGY: Data used in analyzing the research problem were obtained primarily from documentary sources. The thesis was originally designed to use data from secondary sources and field observations. However, while in the field it became apparent that informal interviews with selected tourism officials, the Tourist Board staff and hotel proprietors/managers were necessary to probe the personnel, entrepreneurial and managerial aspects of tourism development problems, since secondary data on these aspects of the industry were non-existent. Thus the secondary materials used and observations made were supplemented by informal interviews. Apart from financial constraints, the main rationale for using secondary data was that most of the information on the main variables of the research problem-capital and personnel bases, foreign ownership and control, Ghana's tourism development orientation, level of state participation in Ghana's economy and tourism, tourism resources of Ghana, the level of political stability, and cultural values-could be obtained from documentary sources. The secondary data on Ghana's economic development and the tourist industry were obtained from books, journal articles, magazines, World Development Reports, Ghanaian newspapers, legislation, development plans, government reports, census reports, economic surveys and archival documents. Field observations of tourist facilities were done through visits to hotels, tourist attraction sites and the major tourist destinations throughout the country. Informal interviews were conducted with the people directly involved in Ghana's tourist industry-key tourism officials in Accra (the capital of Ghana), regional tourism officers, the tourist Board staff, and managers/proprietors of selected hotels throughout Ghana. The field work was done in Ghana, West Africa, from May to September 1992. While some aspects of the data obtained from these various sources were organized into tables, others were used as direct quotations, inferences and insights to support the arguments made by this thesis. 47 Selections for observations and interviews: Based on my travel experiences in Ghana and field research experience on Ghana's tourism in the Fall of 1987 (see Adu-Febiri, 1988: 25-29) and information in the Ghana Tourist Guide (1991), I selected the most popular tourist destinations in Ghana for my observations of the nature of available tourism infrastructure, facilities and services. These tourist destinations are shown in Table 3. TABLE 3: SELECTED TOURIST DESTINATIONS FOR OBSERVATIONS Destination Abonu Aburi Accra Akosombo Bolgatanga Boti Busua Cape Coast Dixcove Elmina Fiema-Boabeng Hohoe/Wli Kintampo Koforidua Kumasi Mole Paga Takoradi Tamale Techiman Wa Winneba Main Attractions Lake Bosumtwi Botanical Gardens Beaches, Capital City Volta Lake and Dam Crafts Waterfalls Beach Castle, Festivals, shrines Castle Castle, Fort, Festivals Monkey Sanctuary Waterfalls, Mountains Waterfalls Scenery, Social Life Cultural Centre Game Reserve Crocodiles Harbour, Social Life Northern Culture Market (Bazaar) Wa Na Palace Beaches. Festival Region Ashanti Eastern Greater Accra Eastern Upper East Eastern Western Central Western Central Brong-Ahafo Volta Brong-Ahafo Eastern Ashanti Northern Upper East Western Northern Brong-Ahafo Upper West Central Source: Compiled by author Making use of knowledge gained from my 1987 field work experiences (see Adu-Febiri, 1988: 25), I selected for informal interviews tourism officials who have intimate professional knowledge of Ghana's tourist industry. These official are the Executive Director, the Administrative 48 Personnel Manager, the Planning/Research Manager, the Assistant Marketing Manager, the Central Manager, the Ashanti Regional Manager and the Northern Sector Regional Manager of the Ghana Tourist Board; the Acting Manager of the Ghana Tourist Development Company; and the only woman member of the tourism task force of Ghana. The Director of Tourism in the Ministry of Trade and Tourism was also selected, but he was not available for an interview. With regard to the Ghana Tourist Board staff, my intention was to interview all the 114 staff members. However, at the end of the interview period (8-31 August 1992) I had succeeded in interviewing only 80 staff members of the Board. The regional managers of Eastern Region, Western Region and Brong-Ahafo Region were out of town when I visited their offices for interviews. Of the staff in Accra, 31 (out of 82) were absent during the period of the interviews. They were travelling on duty, attending funerals, or were on sick leave. In the case of the interviews with hotel proprietors/managers, I asked the Executive Director of the Ghana Tourist Board to provide me with names of the three most popular hotels (using occupancy rate as the criterion) in each of the main tourist destinations in Ghana. He referred me to the manager of the Inspectorate Division of the Board who selected the following hotels for me. 49 TABLE 4: POPULAR HOTELS SELECTED BY THE INSPECTORATE DIVISION OF GHANA TOURIST BOARD, JUNE 1992 TOURIST DESTINATION POPULAR HOTELS SELECTED NO Aburi Botanical Garden 1 Accra Labadi Beach, Golden Tulip, Novotel 3 Akosombo Volta, Benkum, Lakeside 3 Bolgatanga Catering, Royal, Sand Gardens 3 Cape Coast Catering, Savoy, Mudek 3 Elmina Elmina Motel, Oyster Bay, Nyansapo 3 Hohoe Matvin, Grand 2 Kintampo Midway 1 Koforidua Eredec, Partners May, St. James 3 Kumasi City, Georgia, Ciceros, Roses* 4 Mole Mole Motel 1 Takoradi Atlantic, Western Palace, Animens, Western Home* 4 Tamale Catering, Picorna, Inter-Royal 3 Techiman Adjeiwaa, Dymns, St. Michael 3 Wa Upland, Kunateh 2 Winneba Yeenuah. Sir Charles, Flamingo 3 TOTAL 41 Source: Inspectorate Division, Ghana Tourist Board, June 1992. * Hotels selected by researcher In Takoradi and Kumasi I ended up interviewing four managers/proprietors each. The reason is that after my fifth attempt to get interviews (in the case of Hotel Georgia, Kumasi) and third (in the case of Hotel Animens, Takoradi) I gave up on them and selected Roses and Western Home respectively as substitutes. Later on, however, the managers of Georgia and Animens contacted me for the interviews. In the end, interviews were completed with 34 of the hotel managers/proprietors. The managers/proprietors of Volta, Lakeside, St. James, Sir Charles, Flamingo, Oyster Bay and Mole were either travelling or claimed to be too busy. Aburi, Hohoe, Kintampo, and Mole had less than three hotels. There are no hotels at Wli, Boti, Dixcove, Busua, Abonu, Fiema-Boabeng and Paga which are among the popular tourist destinations in Ghana. Visitors to the attractions in these destinations stay in nearby towns which have hotels. 50 Data Collection: i) Secondary Sources: About two and a half months were spent in the libraries of the University of Ghana (Balme and African Studies), Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Ministry of Information, Ghana Tourist Board, and in the Ghana National Archives, scrutinizing economic survey reports, development plans, Ghana Year books, Investment Code, reports of enquiries into bribery and corruption, Tourist Board newsletters and annual reports, newspapers, magazines, tourism plans and policy papers, tourism study reports and legislation on tourism. Most of the relevant information from these sources were photo-copied. Notes were also taken. The aim of this search was to obtain comprehensive information on the nature of 1) pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial development agendas and the place accorded to tourism, and 2) the Ghana tourist industry, its development orientation and problems. In analyzing this information, the following themes emerged: 1. Ethnic and gender distribution of Ghana's population 2. The status, evolution and orientation of the economy of Ghana 3. State Participation in the Ghanaian economy 4. Misappropriation of state resources 5. Ghana's political history 6. The status, evolution and orientation of Ghana's tourism 7. The tourism resources of Ghana 8. State participation in Ghana's tourism 9. Foreign ownership and control in Ghana's tourist industry 10. Economic and political factors impeding the development of tourism in Ghana 51 ii) Observations: I spent only four days (due to time and financial constraints) at each of the following tourist destinations in Ghana: Akosombo, Aburi, Koforidua, Winneba, Cape Coast, Takoradi, Kumasi, Techiman, Tamale, Mole, Bolgatanga and Wa (see Appendix 1 and Appendix 2). In addition, I made day trips to these popular tourist centres-Elmina, Busua, Dixcove, Hohoe/Wli, Boti, Abonu, Kintampo, Fiema-Boabeng, Paga. The purpose of the personal observations was to gain first hand knowledge of 1) the nature of the roads leading to the natural, cultural and historical tourism resources of the country, and 2) the kind and quality of facilities available at these tourist destinations. The observations made were recorded in writing in a notebook kept for that purpose. The information was used, where necessary, to augment data obtained from documentary sources. Mi) Informal Interviews: Informal interviews were conducted with a) selected officials of the Ghana's tourist industry, b) Ghana Tourist Board staff, and c) managers/proprietors of selected popular hotels in Ghana. a) Tourism Officials: The interviews with the nine selected tourism officials were generally unstructured. They concentrated on three general questions, and depending upon the responses probing questions were asked for clarification or to solicit further information. The three questions were: What do you think are the main reasons for the failure of Ghana's tourism to achieve self-sustained development? How is the government responding to the teething problems of the industry? Do you think there are class, gender and ethnic/racial inequalities in the existing Ghana tourist industry? The interviews were conducted in English and recorded in a written form. The objectives of these 52 interviews were to: 1) find out how consistent were the conceptions of these top officials with the prospects and problems portrayed in the secondary data on the industry, and 2) explore the extent to which these officials were aware of the entrepreneurial, management and inequality problems of Ghana's tourist industry, which are largely ignored in the secondary data. b) Ghana Tourist Board Staff: The interviews with the staff of the Ghana Tourist Board, which were conducted in English and recorded in writing, revolved around their socio-demographic characteristics, their perceptions about their wages, and the redistribution patterns of their incomes. Particular emphasis was placed on the assistance they give to their extended relatives. Some specific questions asked on this issue were: Do you help your "underprivileged" relatives, wife's/husband's relatives financially/materially? If no why? If yes, how often? What estimated percentage of your income goes into such assistance? What percentage of your income goes into funeral donations? What is your main reason for giving material assistance to extended relatives? The main goal was to get some empirical verification for the Ghanaian collectivistic ethic which seems to create some problems for conventional tourism development in Ghana. c) Managers/Proprietors of Hotels: The interviews with the managers/proprietors of hotels in Ghana concerned their qualifications or professional training, the type of clientele or guests attracted, their perceptions of class, gender and ethnic/racial inequalities in the patronage of their facilities and services, the main problems they face as hoteliers in Ghana, their entrepreneurial and managerial styles, particularly employment of relatives and the use of their facilities/services by relatives free of charge, and the 53 redistribution of their incomes. The objective was to discover the extent to which the collectivism culture influences capital accumulation and investment, employment patterns, work ethic, and the quality of service in this vital sector of the tourist industry. The proprietors/managers of the most popular hotels in Ghana-Labadi Beach, Golden Tulip, Eredec, Partners May, Yeenuah, Savoy, Cape Coast Catering, Oyster Bay, Atlantic, Western Palace, Animens, City, Georgia, Cisero, Tamale Catering, Picorna, Upland-were interviewed on the recommendation of the manager of the Inspectorate Division of the Ghana Tourist Board. In the case of Oyster Bay, interview could not be finished because the manager did not feel comfortable to continue for personal reasons. Managers/proprietors of selected popular budget hotels-Benkum, Grand, Matvin, Western Home, Saint Michael's, Adjeiwaa, Midway, Inter Royal, Miricha, Kunateh, Nyansapo, Mudek--were also interviewed. The medium of interviews was English and they were recorded in writing. Problems Faced in the Data Collection: The basic problems faced in doing this social research in Ghana include: 1) The failure to recognize the importance of social research both in private and official circles. Many Ghanaians have been interviewed by researchers so many times. Many a time they are promised some concrete benefits that would accrue to them from the research. Unfortunately, however, most times the promises do not materialize, so they are now sceptical about social research. In my interviews for this study the question that interviewees frequently asked me was, how is this research going to benefit us? A few of them were not very enthusiastic to go through with the interview when I answered them that their responses were to help me to complete my Doctoral dissertation, and that the benefits would not be immediate ones. 2) The virtual non-existence of up-to-date collated information on vital aspects of the economy and society. For example, there is virtually no recent ethnographic information on the various ethnic 54 groups in Ghana, and secondary data on entrepreneurial and management styles in the tourist industry are non-existent. The most recent labour-power survey conducted in Ghana was in 1973/74, and the latest editions of Ghana in Figures and Ghana Standard of Living Survey were in 1987 and 1989 respectively. Ghana Economic Survey goes only up to 1982. The Internal Revenue Service does not know the number of traders and other informal sector operators in Ghana. The Accra Metropolitan Authority's register captures only about 75 percent of store owners and artisans in the city. Thus the growing number of petty traders and hawkers are not captured by the statistics on traders. 3) The difficulty of getting officials to interview. Officials seemed to be so busy that appointments were not honoured at the first attempt. I tried five times before I could get an interview with the Executive Director of the Ghana Tourist Board. For the Managing Director of the Ghana Tourist Development Company, it was my third attempt which was rewarded. I faced a similar problem with hotel managers/proprietors. These greatly increased my transport expenses unnecessarily. It is important to note that despite the problems faced in the data collection, a reasonable amount of secondary and primary data were obtained to allow for a comprehensive analysis of tourism in Ghana, and to draw some pertinent practical and theoretical conclusions concerning the industry. However, the small sample base of the study and the lack of adequate information on some aspects of the Ghanaian economy, on Ghana's collectivistic ethic, and on demand side tourism data impose some limitations on the contributions and conclusions of the thesis (see discussion in the last section of chapter 6). 55 1.7: CONCLUSION: The foregoing analysis of tourism and development using Bali, the Casamance villages of Senegal, Costa Rica, Kenya and Mexico as illustrative cases demonstrate that 1) contrary to the Advocacy Platform, traditional cultures rather than being a barrier to development, could facilitate the process, and that tourism does not necessarily require any huge capital outlay to be an instrument of development; 2) contrary to the Cautionary Platform, tourism could be an adaptive development mechanism linking local economies to the capitalist world economy through the exploitative "tourism system" without necessarily destroying the former; and 3) contrary to the Adaptancy Platform, conventional tourism is not necessarily anti-development. Furthermore, the selected success stories also show that tourism can, in fact, generate development in the Third World. For example, even though alternative forms of tourism constitute only a small proportion of the tourist sectors of these countries, those communities in these countries adopting alternative forms of tourism are among the most economically vibrant in the Third World. It is, therefore, likely that as alternative forms of tourism expand and their principles of indigenous ownership and control, social justice, and cultural and environmental sensitivity are effectively applied, tourism's capacity to improve the standard of living, reduce unemployment, and eliminate absolute poverty and inequality will increase, while also protecting local cultures and environments. The remaining chapters of the thesis analyze Ghana's tourism using the conceptual frame provided in this chapter. 56 NOTES: 1. The concept 'Third World" is used in this thesis differently from its original usage in development literature. Many authors tend to loosely use the term "Third World" to designate a group of countries standing between the advanced capitalist and the communist nations (see Magdoff and Sweezy 1971: 94). "Third World" used in this way lacks exact analytical utility for it represents a diverse group of countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America which have varied social, cultural and economic structures, political orientations and per capita national incomes. These differences are changing with time. At the same time, however, there are certain identifiable conditions and problems common to a number of these apparently dissimilar countries which warrant their grouping together under a common concept. One of the prominent unifying features of this category of countries is economic backwardness, that is, they are all caught up in a vicious circle of poverty. For lack of any precise alternative concept, however, this thesis adopts 'Third World" and gives it a restricted definition to reduce its existing vagueness. In this respect "Third World" is operationalized to connote a group of countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America which have not achieved economic take-off. In development literature these countries are increasingly being referred to as "developing" or "underdeveloped". The thesis does not adopt any of these concepts because of their ideological leanings (attachment to modernization theory and underdevelopment theory respectively) which make them unsuitable for a neutral analysis. Neither does it accept the concept "less-developed countries" which is being increasingly used to equate 'Third World" (see Petras 1981; Berberoglu 1992). "Less-Developed countries" as a concept is imprecise, for depending on which group of countries used as the standard, its connotation changes. For example, if the advanced industrialized countries are used as the standard, Canada and the South-East Asian Newly Industrializing Countries (NICs) are "less-developed" and thus become part of the Third World. If on the other hand the NICs are used as the cut-off point, the meaning of "less-developed", and for that matter "Third World", changes. 2. The Ghanaian collectivistic ethic is a principle of social organization which is to some extent similar to the "personalist ethic" Chang (1991:121 -125) associated with the South Korean society. Specifically it is a normative system of interpersonal relations based on the principle of corporatism and the rule of mutual obligations. In the Ghanaian society this system revolves around the extended family and the ethnic entity to the virtual exclusion of the modern state, and it seems to transcend class, gender and ethnic boundaries. My search at the Ghana National Archives and the Balme and African Studies libraries of the University of Ghana and discussions with experts on Ghanaian traditional values-Professors E.H. Mends of the Department of Sociology and Asare Poku of the Department of African Studies at the University of Ghana-in June 1992 revealed the conspicuous lack of documented information on the Ghanaian collectivistic ethic. 3. Existing development theories (Modernization Theory, Underdevelopment Theory, Late Development Effect Thesis) are silent on tourism, and there is no overarching theory of tourism which might serve as a general analytical framework for the thesis. However, there are some emerging theoretical approaches in the sociology of tourism related to development which together provide a conceptual frame for analyzing and illuminating the research problem. These theoretical approaches are the "Advocacy Platform", the "Cautionary Platform", and the "Adaptancy Platform" distinguished by Jafari (1989). Jafari designates a fourth approach, the "Knowledge-based Platform". This latest theoretical approach does not, however, seem to be directly relevant to the analysis of the research problem, since it does not deal directly with tourism and development. It intends "to contribute to a holistic study or treatment of tourism: not just its forms and consequences, but tourism as a whole" (Jafari, 1989: 25). This thesis is interested in the forms of tourism and their consequences for Third World development. 57 4. Why the Neglect of Tourism in Development Theories? During the emergence and crystallization of the existing three major development theories (Modernization Theory, Late Development Effect Thesis, Underdevelopment Theory), tourism was a "social fact" influencing the economies, social life, and cultures of many Advanced and Third World countries. The deafening silence of these theories with regard to tourism therefore calls for explanation. The most prominent feature of the three development theories is their preoccupation with industrialization. Such emphasis on the significance of industrialization may be the major underlying factor of the neglect of tourism by development theories (see Sinclair et al, 1992: 42). The main reason for this focus on industrialization seems to be the explicit assumption of these development theories that it is the path to development. By ignoring tourism in their analysis, it would be wrong to think, as does Berberoglu (1992: 2), that the shifts that have occurred in development theories since their inception are "precisely the product of developments in the Third World and the World Political economy over the past several decades". One wonders how development theories could retain the accolade "development theories" without incorporating such a significant mechanism of economic and socio-cultural change as tourism into their analytical frameworks. In deed, if development theories are to become dynamic and more relevant, they need to transcend their industrialization bias and take into account tourism as a crucial element of the changing realities in the Advanced, the Newly Industrializing, and the Third World countries. 5. Two of the three theoretical approaches in the sociology of tourism related to development seem to be influenced by the major development theories. a) Modernization Theory and the Advocacy Platform: Modernization theory, in its variant forms-ideal typical (Parsons, 1951; Hoselitz, 1960), diffusionist (Hoselitz, 1960; Rostow, 1960), and psychological (Lewis, 1955,1960; McClelland, 1961; Hagen, 1962)--view development primarily as the transformation of Third World societies into the existing Advanced Industrial societies. The ingredients required for this process are identified by this theory to be Western capital, technology, knowledge, technical skills, management and entrepreneurship, attitudes and values. In effect, modernization theory generally postulates that the socio-economic transformation of Third World countries is possible only through the diffusion of Western economic, technological and cultural resources to these countries. Notwithstanding the neglect of tourism's developmental role in the Third World by modernization theory, it seems to have guided quite a number of empirical works/studies of Third World tourism advocates, schematically termed "The Advocacy Platform" by Jafar Jafari (1989: 20, 21). Like modernization theorists, these tourism advocates see Western models of development as the panacea of Third World development problems. These advocacy writings, which emerged in the 1960s and are still prominent in tourism development policies and plans of many Third World countries, propose that tourism is "the source of quick economic development" (Jafari, 1989: 21) if these countries adopt the Western tourism model--"mass" tourism (see The Economist, 1989:11 )--and are prepared to change their traditional cultures to suit this form of tourism (Jafari, 1989: 21). This is because tourism is seen by this emerging theoretical approach "as a form of modernization, transferring capital, technology, expertise, and 'modern' values from the West to the LDCs" (Harrison, 1992:10). b) Underdevelopment Theory and the Cautionary Platform: Underdevelopment theory, in its various facets, deals with the international capitalist system and how it systematically prevents the development of the Third World. It postulates that the Advanced Industrial Capitalist nations (metropolises/cores) and the Third World countries (satellites/peripheries) are structurally connected by the capitalist world system in such a way that the vital resources of the latter are drained to develop the former (Baran, 1957; Frank, 1969; Wallerstein, 1979). This process of Third World exploitation which began as mercantilism in the sixteenth century, turned into colonialism in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and now operates in the form of neo-colonialism or neo-imperialism (see Frank, 1969; Griffin, 1969). At the neo-colonial stage, the "comparador bourgeoisie" of the Third World are identified as an important 58 link in this chain of exploitation (Frank, 1969). The "tourism system" is seen by the Cautionary Platform as exhibiting a similar hierarchical, exploitative characteristics as the capitalist world system. As graphically expressed by Britton (1982: 346), tourism is a three-tiered hierarchy, with metropolitan capital, based in developed societies, at the top, followed by local, comparador capitalists and, at the bottom, small-scale enterprises whose success depends on that of the two higher categories, which cream off most of the profits. The subscribers of this perspective in the sociology of tourism generally postulate that tourism cannot be an instrument of Third World development because of its exploitative, metropolitan dominated structure (see Perez, 1973, 1974; Maluga, 1973; Bryden (1973), Turner and Ash, 1975; Britton, 1982, 1989; Ascher, 1985; Jommo, 1987; Crick, 1989). The exploitative nature of the tourism system, according to this perspective, is manifested in the extensive ownership, management, control and use of Third World tourism facilities and services by metropolitan interests. The effects of this pattern of ownership and control include 1) the repatriation of greater proportion of the foreign exchange generated by tourism to the metropolitan countries, and 2) monopolization of higher-paid tourism jobs by expatriates. 6. It must be remarked that literature on sex tourism tends to focus on this element of male prostitution in the Third World, though it does not seem to represent the typical situation. In Thailand, Philippines, Sri Lanka and some other Third World tourist destinations, the prostitution of young boys for male tourists seems rampant. 7. Notwithstanding the differences in the governing styles of the various regimes-Convention People's Party (1954-1966), National Liberation Council (1966-1969), Progress Party (1969-1971), National Redemption Council (1971-1975), Supreme Military Council (1975-1979), People's National Party (1979-1981), Provisional National Defense Council (1981 to Jan.1993)~which have come to power in Ghana, they have all professed the same aspiration. They all claimed the aspiration to create better conditions and standards of living through rapid growth in productive output of material goods and services, and through equitable distribution of such goods and services (National Commission for Democracy, 1991: 25). In the 1960s and 1970s, Ghana was prominent among the African countries which, in the Organization of African Unity (OAU) summits, declared their development goals to be, among other things, the promotion of rapid economic growth and a substantial reduction of inequality. These objectives were re-affirmed in the 1980s as evident in the Lagos Plan of Action (Adedeji, 1985:15). 8. In many of these countries tourism is a growth industry, but the impact of tourism has not been all positive. For example, tourism is foreign dominated, there is some level of foreign exchange leakage, and tourism-generated prostitution exists, if even on a small-scale. 59 CHAPTER TWO: DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM IN GHANA: 2.1: INTRODUCTION: As a background to the study, this chapter discusses Ghana's attempts at development and the place accorded to tourism on the development agenda since the pre-colonial period.1 The objective is to show the importance attached to tourism development, the extent of a conventional approach to, and state participation in, the development of the industry, and how these reflect the development orientation of successive Ghanaian governments. Unlike in Kenya, the colonial development agenda of Ghana did not include tourism, although Ghana had vast potential tourism resources. Post-independence governments, however, have recognized the immense development potential of tourism in Ghana, and have made efforts to develop it and enhance its contribution to the socio-economic transformation of the country. These efforts have, however, so far not succeeded in making Ghana's tourism a dynamic development mechanism, contrary to the expectations of the protagonists of the Advocacy Platform and state activism in tourism. To put the discussion in perspective, it is preceded by a socio-demographic profile of Ghana. 2.2: THE SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF GHANA: Ghana, formerly Gold Coast, is a small (293, 400 square, kilometres) Anglophone West African country flanked on the east, west and the north by Francophone countries of Togo, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso respectively. On the south is a 350 mile coastline washed by the Atlantic Ocean. Ghana is a tropical country with a generally low-lying landscape (interspersed with ridges and hills) and a conspicuous variation in vegetation. From the coast to the north, the scenery 60 changes from a coconut tree dotted sandy beaches through open plains of shrub/short grass followed by a vast stretch of tropical rainforest to savanna plains. Until the late nineteenth century when British colonization of that part of Africa began in full swing, the land area now occupied by Ghana was inhabited by a multiplicity of mostly autonomous ethnic states. The European direct mercantile encounter with the territory began with the first Portuguese contact with the people of Edina (now Elmina) in 1471. Between 1658 and 1850, the Danes, the Dutch, the Swedes the Germans and the British established control over various parts of the coastal region (Mikell, 1989). The numerous forts and castles along the Ghanaian coast are a living manifestation of the vibrant European mercantile operations, particularly the slave trade, in Ghana (Ephson, 1970). Ghana's population has increased from 6,726,815 in 1960 (when the first systematic country-wide population census was conducted) to 12,205,574 in 1984 (the latest population census). Mainly through migration, the urban population of Ghana has rapidly grown from about 23.1 per cent in 1960 to 31.3 per cent in 1984 (Ghana Population Census, Accra, 1960 and 1984). The sex ratio of Ghana's population is almost at parity: females are only slightly greater than males. The 1984 population census portrays a sex ratio similar to that of 1960:100 females to 98 males. Ghana's population is a complex ethnic mosaic. As is indicated in Table 5 below, the five main ethnic groups in Ghana are the Akan, Mole-Dagbani, Guan, Ewe and Ga-Adangbe in descending order of size. It is important to note that, in terms of dialect, these ethnic groups together comprise about 100 sub-ethnic categories (Johnstone, 1993:241). For example, the Akan is made up of about 25 sub-categories, the major ones being, from north to south, the Brong, Ashanti, Kwawu, Akim, Akwapim, Fanti, Nzima, Wasa, Aoin and Ahanta (Ibid.). The Mole-Dagbani group is made up of Dagomba, Frafra (Gurenne), Dagarti, Kusasi, Moshi, Mamprusi, Sisala, Nanumba, Konkomba, Tallensi, Lobi, Wala, Atwode, Kassena, Gurushi, Moba, Dagaaba, Kulango, Bimoba, Birifor, Nafaanra, Dega, Tampulmaand Hanga (Boahen, 1975; Rimmer, 1992; Johnstone, 61 1993). The Sefwi, Efutu, Awutu, Cherepong, Lahteh, Banda, Mo, Gonja and Chekosi together constitute a larger portion of the Guan (Ibid.). Apart from the Guan which is territorially dispersed throughout the country, each of the other ethnic categories occupies a distinct, contiguous land space (see Appendix 3). The non-black 1% of the Ghanaian population is composed of Lebanese, Syrians, Arabs, Indians, Caucasians (mostly British) and Chinese, with the first two constituting the majority (Ghana Population Census, 1984; Johnstone, 1993). TABLE 5: ETHNIC DISTRIBUTION OF GHANA'S POPULATION IN PERCENTAGES Ethnic Group & Location Akan (South & West) Ewe (South & Southeast) Ga-Adangbe (South) Mole-Dagbani (North) Guan (Dispersed) Other 1960 44.0 13.0 8.0 16.0 N.A. 1.0 1970 45.0 13.0 9.0 16.0 N.A. 1.0 1984* 50.7 12.8 8.1 21.3 4.1 1.0 1990 51.5 11.1 7.7 22.6 3.4 3.7 Sources: 1960 Population Census; Boahen, 1975; 1984 Population Census; Rimmer, 1992; Johnstone, 1993. * Author's calculation based on the Regional distribution of Ghana's population, 1984 Census Report, allowing for Regional migrations. Regions in Ghana generally coincide with ethnic groupings. ** Figures given by Patrick Johnstone (1993: 241). Apart from language or dialect, the basic distinguishing hallmark of the ethnic groups in Ghana is the principle of inheritance. While the Akan groups (except some sections of the Fanti) practise the principle of matriliny, all the other groups practise patriliny. These principles are central 62 not only to inheritance and succession, but is also pivotal in the social organization of the various ethnic groups and communities. Despite their basic differences, the collectivistic ethic, that is, extended family and ethnic solidarity, is a common thread running through all the ethnic groups. The various ethnic groups of pre-colonial Ghana interacted through migration, wars for expansion and to control trade routes. However, it was only British colonialism which brought them under the umbrella of one centralized state through the neutralization of the ethnic states' own monopolies of violence. Through the colonial power's strategy of Divide and Rule, the ethnic groups were played against each other, thus creating ethnic mistrust and ethnic tensions which tend to undermine political stability in contemporary Ghana. As Table 6 shows, Ghana has experienced rapid turnover of governments in its thirty-six years of political independence. There have been four civilian governments interspersed with five military regimes, and many abortive coups d'etat (Teye, 1988). 63 TABLE 6: TURNOVER OF GOVERNMENTS IN GHANA: 1957-1993 Name and Type of Regime Head of State & Period 1 .Convention Peoples Party (CPP) (Civilian) K. Nkrumah (1957-1966) 2.National Liberation Council (NLC) (Military and Police) J.A. Ankrah/A.A. Afrifa (1966-1969) 3. Progress Party (PP) (Civilian) K.A. Busia (1969-1972) 4.National Redemption Council (NRC)/ Supreme Military Council I (SMC I) (Military) I.K. Achiampong (1972-1978) 5.Supreme Military Council II (SMC II) (Military) F.A. Akuffo (1978-1979) 6.Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) (Military) J.J. Rawlings (Jun-Sept 1979) 7.Peoples National Party (PNP) (Civilian) H. Limann (1979-1981) 8.Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) (Military) J.J. Rawlings (1981-1993) 9.New Democratic Congress (NDC) (Civilian) J.J. Rawlings (Jan 1993-?) Sources: Compiled from Oquaye, 1980; Ray, 1986; Mikell, 1989; Rimmer, 1992; West Africa, January 11-17, 1993: 12; West Africa, January 18-24, 1993: 52-53. The British colonial administration handed over political power of the country to president Nkrumah (an Nzima Akan) and his Convention People's Party (CPP) on 6th March 1957. Until 1964 the country operated a unitary, unicameral (one house) and multi-party government based on universal adult suffrage. In 1964, the Nkrumah regime declared Ghana a one-party state aimed at facilitating the implementation of its socialist programmes. On the 24th February 1966, Nkrumah's government was overthrown in a military coup (in which two army Generals, an Ewe and a Ga played a prominent role) and was replaced by the military/police National Liberation Council (NLC). In 1967, there was an abortive coup led by three Akan military officers which resulted in the execution of the Ewe General of the NLC. Later General Afrifa (an Ashanti Akan) assumed the leadership of the NLC government and remained so until October 1969 when a civilian government of Professor Kofi Busia (a Brong Akan) and his Progress Party (PP) was formed after winning a 64 landslide victory in a general election. Busia's government was ousted from power on 13th January 1972 by the military led by Lt. Colonel Achiampong (an Ashanti Akan), who General Afrifa (Ashanti Akan) put in charge of Ghana's armoury. The military National Redemption Council (NRC) was subsequently formed as the ruling government of Ghana. In 1975 the name of this military junta was changed to Supreme Military Council (SMC), still led by Achiampong. In July 1978, there was a palace coup which removed Achiampong and replaced him with General Akuffo (an Akwapim Akan). The name of this junta was slightly modified to Supreme Military Council II (SMC II). On 4th June 1979, the SMC II was booted out of power by a military coup led by Fl. Lt. Jerry Rawlings (an Ewe). The Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) was formed. Prominent members (mostly Akan) of the SMC I and SMC II and the leader (also an Akan) of the erstwhile NLC were executed by firing squad. In September 1979, political power was handed over to an elected civilian government of Dr. Hilla Limann (from the Sisala ethnic group in the Northern Region) and his People's National Party (PNP). After ruling for twenty seven months, this government was overthrown in a coup d'etat on 31 December 1981, a coup led by Fl. Lt. Rawlings, the chairman of the dissolved AFRC. A new military-led government, the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), which ruled until 6 January 1993, was established. The ex-leader of the PNDC (Fl. Lt. Rawlings) is the president of the Fourth Republican government which came to power on 7 January 1993 through an election. It is alleged in many circles that this government and other previous governments of Ghana are significantly ethnically oriented (Ray, 1986; Mikell, 1989). For example, in the Limann era, the decline of the cocoa industry and the prosperity enjoyed by the rice farming was attributed by many to the tribalistic agricultural policies of the government (Mikell, 1989). The PNDC government was often accused of ethnic bias. According to this allegation, most military and police officers from the Akan and other ethnic groups were forcefully retired and replaced by Ewe officers. The head of Ghana's military intelligence, and the heads of many political/state organizations were known to be members of the Ewe ethnic group (Herbst, 1991). Thus, rightly noted by Mikell (1989: 254), as 65 changes in government occur, "the loci of tensions shift in correspondence to the particular ethnic groups at the centre of power, and resentment builds up about nepotism and economic favouritism which goes to the particular region." Ethnic power struggles have, therefore, greatly contributed to the political instability of Ghana, an instability which has been noted by Wyllie (1986) and Teye (1988) as contributing to the stunted growth of the country's tourist industry. Ghana operates basically a primary economy, a legacy inherited from colonialism, with agriculture, mining and lumbering featuring conspicuously. Despite the declining trend in Ghana's cocoa output, this crop continues to be the number one export crop and the biggest foreign exchange earner. Other export crops include coffee, palm kernel and oil, sheanuts, copra, bananas and cola nuts. Maize is rapidly becoming an important cash crop, but is rarely exported. Major staples are cassava, yams, cocoyams, plantains, maize, sorghum, rice, and millet. The production of export crops and food crops is done almost entirely by peasants, using mainly traditional farming techniques. Large-scale capitalist farms and state farms contribute an insignificant proportion of Ghana's agricultural production. The forestry industry, unlike the cash crop and food crop industry, is capital-intensive and has high foreign capital participation. It constituted a significant component of Ghana's export until the mid-1970s. The basic reason for its decline is lack of foreign exchange to import the necessary equipment and transportation facilities (Bequele, 1983). On the whole the contribution of agriculture and forestry to Ghana's GDP has declined. Their combined 51.8 per cent share of the 1960 GDP fell to 36.4 of the 1976 GDP, and contribution has continued to fall ever since (Ibid.). Like agriculture and lumbering, the decline in the mineral production-gold, diamonds, manganese, bauxite-of Ghana for the past decade or so is usually attributed to inadequate capital investment due to the country's political instability (Rimmer, 1982). Modern industrialization, basically manufacturing and assembling of consumer goods, began in Ghana with the introduction of import substitution industries by president Nkrumah in the early 1960s. The contribution of this sector to the country's economy is not very significant (Ibid.). Modern industrialization operates on large-scale, capital-intensive production techniques and rely 66 on imported technology and inputs. It is, therefore, very vulnerable to foreign exchange shortages which have become chronic in Ghana since the mid-1960s (Darkoh, 1977). Little wonder most of the manufacturing industries operate seriously under-capacity, and their value-added output ratios are very low (Rimmer, 1982). As a reaction to the limited opportunities in the formal sector of the Ghanaian economy, many Ghanaians make a living in the "informal sector", that is, outside the official/formal labour market in a wide range of small-scale, labour-intensive ventures which supply goods or provide services to local markets mainly comprising low income families and individuals. As in many African countries, about 60 percent of the labour force of Ghana is employed in the informal sector, the fastest growing segment of the economy (Leslie et al, 1986; Afrane, 1990). On the whole, the majority of the labour force in the informal sector are women (Leslie et al, 1986; Ninsin, 1991). Unlike in the formal industrial sector, the enterprises of the Ghanaian informal sector operate generally on low level indigenous technology, local inputs, small start-up capital, and indigenous entrepreneurial and management techniques. These may be the secret of the exuberance of this sector despite the general economic decline in the country. Tourism planners and developers may, therefore, take a cue from these survival techniques of the thriving informal sector. 2.3: GHANA'S DEVELOPMENT AGENDA AND TOURISM: Before its contact with Northern Africa through the trans-Saharan trade, Ghana operated a lineage-based subsistence economy. The production of artisan goods, agricultural tools, and weapons was aimed at maintaining this subsistence economic system. The emergence of the trade link with Northern Africa introduced significant changes in pre-colonial Ghana in the areas of economic activities. This trade sparked off commoditization of minerals, spices, kola nuts, and humans on a small-scale. This was the period of the slave mode of production which laid the foundation for commercial capitalism in Ghana. The commodities flowing from Ghana to Northern 67 Africa were not processed, and artisanal activities did not receive any impetus since they fell outside the demand of this trade. The introduction of the trans-Atlantic slave trade eroded the basis of legitimate trade, agricultural and artisanal development, and reinforced the existing inequalities. The inter-ethnic wars, raids and kidnapping generated by this trade in humans disrupted most productive activities (see Griffin, 1969: 75; Clark, 1970: 32; Inikori, 1979: 70-75; Manning, 1986). The capture and shipment of a significant segment of the youthful population of Ghana greatly depleted the territory's productive labour and entrepreneurial capacity. The abolition of the slave trade in Ghana and the introduction of colonialism did not alter the structure of the economy in any significant way. When the slave trade was abolished in England in 1807, it continued in Ghana. In order to halt this inhuman trade, and create peace and stability in the region for the development of legitimate trade, the British had to impose colonial rule on the people of Ghana (Fage, 1959). It is worth noting here that this period coincided with the expansion of the industrial revolution in England, and there was, therefore, the need for raw materials to feed the factories and markets for the manufactured goods. Colonial Ghana, therefore, became a source of raw materials such as rubber, palm oil, minerals, timber, cocoa and coffee. In return for these products Britain traded manufactured goods. The colony was thus developed as an integral part of the capitalist world system (see Frank, 1969; Wallerstein, 1979). In the process, pre-colonial Ghana's thriving industrial activities were actively discouraged. For example, the vibrant textile industry was systematically pushed to the background to lessen the competition to imported textiles from Britain (Awooner, 1990:173). Frank's (1969) concept of "metropolis-satellite" was thus very evident during the colonial period. The metropolitan country, Britain in this case, dictated terms of trade in its trade with colonial Ghana which favoured the former. This is an example of the "unequal exchange" which helped Britain to extract surplus capital from its colonies (Emmanuel, 1972; Kay, 1975) The "development" plans of colonial Ghana reflected this economic structure. The Guggisberg Ten-Year Plan (1919-1929) and the Ten-Year Plan for Development and Welfare 68 (1946-1956) only concentrated on the creation of physical and social infrastructure that would facilitate petty commodity production, and import-export and retail trade. Hence the heavy budgetary allocation to the construction of railways and roads connecting the mining, cocoa and timber producing centres in the hinterland with the harbours on the coast, development of liberal education, and the provision of modern health facilities mainly for the Europeans who organized this economic activity. Although tourism became an important sector of the global economy after the Second World War (Turner and Ash, 1975; English, 1986; Smith, 1992), and a number of tourists (about 4,800) visited colonial Ghana (Ghana Tourist Board, 1987), the colonial administration did not incorporate tourism in its development agenda. This is, however, not surprising since the main objective of British colonialism in Ghana was to provide stability so as to enhance its exploitation of the natural resources of the colony to feed the booming industries in Britain. It is important to note that during this period the British colonial government in Kenya encouraged the development of Safari tourism (see Mascarenhas, 1971) perhaps because Kenya was considered a settler colony due to its favourable environmental and health conditions-low humidity, low incidence of malaria, etc. Post-colonial governments of Ghana recognizing the dangers in putting one's eggs in a single basket, introduced elements of diversification into the economy. Specifically, it was the primary commodity dependence and its inability to create inter-sectoral linkages in the Ghanaian economy which made the Nkrumah regime adopt the diversification policy, particularly import substitution industrialization strategy in the 1960s (see The Seven-Year Development Plan 1963-1970; Killick, 1978). Nkrumah's development policies, at least up to 1963 when he decided to go socialist, were highly influenced by Arthur Lewis, a West Indian neo-classical economist (see Lewis, 1955). After Nkrumah's rule import substitution industrialization has featured prominently in all development plans and policies (see The Medium Term Economic Development Plan 1972-1976; Five-Year Development Plan 1975/76-1978/80; Investment Code 1985; The Economic Recovery 69 Programme 1983-to date). This is notwithstanding the changes the ideological orientations of governments-socialist oriented (Nkrumah 1961-1966; NRC 1972-1978; PNP 1979-1981; PNDC 1982-1985) or capitalist oriented (Nkrumah 1957-1960; Progress Party 1069-1971; PNDC 1985-1992). The Importance of Tourism on Ghana's Development Agenda: Similar to the import substitution industrialization, tourism development has also been an important aspect of the economic diversification programme, though it has relatively enjoyed a lower status than the former. President Nkrumah, for example, had a passion for industrialization as the main development path of Ghana. In his Seven-Year Development plan he pushed the idea of rapid industrialization of Ghana, arguing that, "...in all advanced economies...the manufacturing sector tends to be the most dynamic element in the economy" (p. 9). It is this perception of the Nkrumah government which led to the emphasis on the industrialization of agriculture and import substitution industrialization at the expense of tourism in the Seven-Year Development Plan 1963-1970. This was in sharp contrast to his previous development plan, the Second Development Plan 1959-1964. In this 1959 plan, the whole of chapter four was devoted to a discussion on tourism, emphasizing that "[t]he possibilities for developing a tourist industry in Ghana are immense" (p. 24). The Seven-Year Development Plan 1963-1970 was interrupted by the military intervention in government in 1966. The military government which came to power, the National Liberation Council (NLC) did not have any economic development agenda. However, by recognizing the development role of the tourist industry, it reinstated the national tourism organization which it earlier dissolved, and also maintained the state hotels (see Ghana Year Book, 1977: 248). The next regime, the Progress Party government re-organized the national tourism organization (Act 349: 2) and appointed a committee of experts led by Mr. Obuam to take inventory of Ghana's tourism resources and make recommendation to develop the industry to enhance its contribution 70 to the national economy (Obuam Committee, 1972). The National Redemption Council (NRC), the military regime which succeeded the Progress Party (PP) government, more than previous governments, recognized the central role the tourist industry could play in the reconstruction of the deteriorating Ghanaian economy. For example, the 1973 NRC Government White Paper on tourism emphasized that, the Government will allocate tourist development funds on a programmed basis, and the long term development of Tourism will be regarded as part of the overall national economic development plan (cited in Tourist Ghana, 1977: 11). Consequently, this government accepted the recommendations of the Obuam Committee and thus incorporated tourism into the Medium Term Development Plan 1972-1976. This plan allocated 20 million cedis (about $17.4 million) for tourism development. Moreover, in 1974 it appointed a team of Danish tourism consultants, Hoff and Overgaard Consultants, to formulate a Master Tourism Plan for Ghana. Although the master plan could not be implemented due to lack of funds, the government continued to maintain the national tourism organization and the state hotels. Moreover, apart from the above two tourism studies, a number of studies were done on some pertinent aspects of Ghana's tourism between 1972 and 1978--UNDP, 1973; Stewart, 1973; Gosh and Kotei, 1973; Egan, 1975; Addo et al, 1975; Ayittey, 1975; and Singh, 1978. The next civilian regime, the People's National Party (PNP) government highlighted the important role of tourism in national cultural revival and attempted to develop the industry from that perspective (Economic Survey, 1982). In effect, as Teye (1988: 337), rightly observes, While the initial impetus for tourism development came from the first civilian government (1957-1966), the early military governments, indeed endorsed tourism development as evidenced by studies initiated during their tenure. Tourism was even put on a higher pedigree by the last military government, the Provisional National Defence Council (1982-1992). For example, since 1985, tourism has been given a priority status alongside agriculture, construction, and manufacturing by the PNDC (see Investment Code, 1985). In 1987 it adopted the tourism policy proposals initiated by the Tourist Board, and in 1991 71 gave a legal backing to the Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-1994. In short, tourism has, since independence been proclaimed to be an important item on Ghana's development agenda. Tourism has not only enjoyed prominent attention by Ghana governments in their development agenda (see Table 7), like the other vital sectors of the economy it has been characterized by emphasis on large-scale, capital-intensive projects and state activism. This approach to development thrives on substantial capital investment, capital-intensive technology, technically skilled labour-power, rational bureaucratic entrepreneurship and management. Unfortunately these resources are very scarce in Ghana. 72 TABLE 7: GOVERNMENTS AND TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN GHANA Government Involvement 1.CPP (1957-1966) 2. NLC (1966-1969) 3. PP (1969-1972) 4. NRC/SMC I (1972-1978) 5. SMC II (1978-1979) 6. AFRC (Jun-Sept. 1979) 7. PNP (1979-1981) 8. PNDC (1981-1993) 9. NDC(7Jan 1993-?) -Tourism made an important aspect of Second Development Plan. -National tourism organization (NTO) created and funded. -State hotels created and funded -NTO dissolved in 1966 but restored in 1968. -NTO and state hotels funded. -NTO re-organized. -Obuam Committee appointed. -Obuam Committee report accepted and tourism incorporated into Medium Term Development Plan. -NTO re-organized. -Ghana Tourist Development Company (GTDC) established. -Hoff and Overgaard Consultants appointed. -Tourism Master Plan adopted. -Various tourism studies (e.g. Egan, 1975; Addo et al, 1975; Singh, 1978) funded. -State hotels funded. -NTO, GTDC and state hotels funded. -Funding of NTO, GTDC and state hotels uninterrupted. -Tourism Ministry attached to that of Information and Culture. -Efforts made to attract foreign investment. -NTO, GTDC and state hotels funded. -Tourism made a priority area. -1987 Tourism Policy Proposals adopted. -Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana adopted. -NTO, GTDC and state hotels funded. -Tourism given a separate Ministry, the first time in the history of the industry. -NTO and GTDC funded, Sources: Compiled from Second Development Plan (1959-1966); Ghana Year Book (1977); Investment Code (1985); Teye (1988); Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-1994 (1991). 73 Ghana's Development Orientation: Ghana's development agenda places a premium on large-scale, capital intensive projects. According to the Seven-Year Development Plan 1963-1970 (1963:13), Modern science and technology have made it possible for the younger nations of today to telescope into a few years economic and social development which took generations to accomplish in the older developed nations. In order to reap the full benefits of its late start in economic development a young nation such as Ghana needs above all to observe two rules of policy, namely:-a) It must embrace modern technology, especially by developing its cadre of technical and managerial personnel. b) Its economic and social institutions at any given period must be such as to favour the maximum application of modern technology through a high rate of productive investment. This orientation to development in Ghana started during the colonial period. The formal economic sector focused on the creation of large plantations and mineral operations using sophisticated imported social and machine technology. Post-independence development agendas tend to perpetuate this orientation. Reflective of the above development objectives, the first government of independent Ghana, Nkrumah's CPP, emphasized the development of large-scale, mechanized agricultural ventures and sophisticated assembly-line type import substitution industrialization. The state farms and the factories established during this period were to be models of this form of development (see Seven-Year Development Plan 1963-1970). Successive governments of Ghana have, to a large extent, maintained this orientation largely by retaining the agricultural and industrial policies initiated by the CPP government. This development orientation of Ghana is 1) in sharp contrast to the small-scale food and cash crop farms in Ghana's informal sector using indigenous technology, labour intensive methods, and traditional entrepreneurship and management style which have been the major back bone of the Ghanaian economy, and 2) incongruent with Ghana's lack of a strong internal capital base, foreign exchange, Western technology, technically skilled labour-power, and rational bureaucratic entrepreneurs to sustain large-scale, sophisticated enterprises. 74 At independence, Ghana could boast of about 250 million pounds sterling foreign exchange reserve (Fitch and Oppenheimer, 1966: 93). The bulk of this national wealth was produced by small-scale cocoa farmers using crude farming implements, traditional cultivation practices and entrepreneurial techniques (Mikell, 1989). As observed in the Seven-Year Development Plan 1963-1970 (1963: 19), [m]ost of Ghana's present entrepreneurs are farmers and small traders: these are the people who save and who account for the bulk of private investment in the economy. Projects patterned on such system of production are therefore likely to succeed. The success case of Taiwan gives support to this approach to development. According to Gustav (1992: 225), [t]he small-size of manufacturing firms in Taiwan probably enabled local employees of Multinational Corporations to leave and begin their own firms fairly easily. Given the fact that Ghana does not produce its own industrial technology, emphasis on large-scale, capital-intensive projects means it had to rely on imported technology and experts which require enormous amount of foreign exchange. This is one of the major reasons why Ghana, which had over 200 million pounds foreign exchange ended up with over 600 million pounds foreign debt by 1966 (Fitch and Oppenheimer, 1966; Darkoh, 1977). With such shortage of foreign exchange and Ghana's over-dependence on imported inputs for production, no wonder its industrialization process has virtually failed (Darkoh, 1977: 17). Another problem with Ghana's adoption of the large-scale, sophisticated approach is that the required technical and entrepreneurial skills were beyond the capacities of most Ghanaian workers and entrepreneurs. As is aptly expressed in the Seven-Year Development Plan 1963-1970 (1963: 19), Manufacturing and similar enterprises, with their problems of large-scale labour control, machine running and maintenance, stocks control, accounting and other procedures-all these would clearly lie beyond their [Ghanaians'] entrepreneurial horizon. Under previous development plans the lack of the above skills imposed a great limit on the rate at which the physical and social infrastructure necessary for economic growth could be built up (Ibid.: 13). The Seven-Year Development Plan was handicapped by these same problems (Ibid.). 75 It was in this connection that the plan strongly recommended the urgent need to equip Ghanaians with the technical and entrepreneurial skills required by this development approach. The feasibility of such recommendation is, however, questionable given the problems of capital shortage and predominance of the collectivistic culture which makes it very difficult for Ghanaian entrepreneurs to use rational bureaucratic management styles. In this light, the most appropriate approach would be to alter the development agenda to fit with the already existing skills of the labour force, and entrepreneurial and managerial capacities. Tourism development in Ghana has, like Ghana's economic development agenda, unfortunately adopted the large-scale, capital-intensive approach despite the glaring lack of resources to sustain it. Since its beginnings in the late 1950s, the Ghana tourist industry, perhaps influenced by the Advocacy Platform, has emphasized the development of "first-class" accommodation and restaurant facilities. The Second Development Plan 1959-64: 24, although pointing out the need to establish "boarding house"-type tourism accommodation, all the hotels built by the government during this plan period were based on "international" standards. According to this plan (p. 24), The success of the Ambassador Hotel [in Accra] has shown that there is room for more first-class accommodation in Accra and elsewhere, and it is hoped that private investors will now follow the Government's example (emphasis supplied). Western-style "Restaurants, lunch rooms, tea rooms and other catering facilities" were to follow a similar line of development (Ibid.). The Tourism Master Plan 1975-1990, the first comprehensive tourism plan for Ghana, did not depart from the above tradition. The plan recommended that: a) "A complete rehabilitation/renovation of and expansions to our hotels to measure up to international standards must be carried out" (p. 13); and b) "...development of large-scale mass beach-oriented tourism involving great charter operations...should be 76 seriously considered" (Ibid.). Likewise, the PNDC's Policy Measures to Revamp the Tourism Industry (1987:9) emphasized that For the take-off in tourism, the country [Ghana] needs holiday resorts for beach tourism; luxury hotels for conference and business tourism and hostels for domestic tourism. The Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-1994 (1991:18), the latest tourism plan of Ghana, makes a similar point when it 1) declares, Two main types of tourism will be promoted-leisure travel and business travel...Conference and convention tourism would be vigorously promoted under business tourism. and 2) intimates that, During the plan period, it is expected that in the accommodation sector, Ghana would attract new investments in hotel room at international standards in each tourist circuit (Ibid.: 49). As in the other sectors, Ghana's low capital base, unskilled tourism personnel, and traditional entrepreneurs and management could hardly support this form of tourism development. State Activism and Ghana's Development: The state has been very central and active in Ghana's economy since colonial times. However, such state activism has not led to sustained economic development. The Ghanaian state does not only make policies that determine the framework within which economic activities in the country are organized, but it also participates directly in the economy as an entrepreneur. The state owns and operates cocoa, coffee and palm plantations, and other agricultural ventures. It has majority shares in many mining and timber operations, and it has been the sole owner and a major participant in many industrial and business enterprises in the country. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that state activism has been a prominent feature of Ghana tourism since its inception in 1959. The year 1961 marks the beginning of the state's direct active participation in the Ghanaian economy. When Arthur Lewis' economic development model for Ghana failed to attract any substantial foreign financial assistance, President Nkrumah turned to the East, particularly the 77 Soviet Union, and declared Ghana a socialist state with the attainment of command economy as its goal (Fitch and Oppenheimer, 1966:83). Since then the state has acted as Ghana's main economic controller and entrepreneur. Killick (1978) and Ahiakpor (1987) note this continuity. According to Killick (1978: 311), despite NLC's and the Busia government's declaration to encourage and give substantive support to private ventures, their actual policies and programmes were hardly inclined toward the reduction in state participation in the economy. The NLC, upon its ascension to political power in February 1966, declared its intention to drastically reduce state involvement in industry and agriculture "by closing down or selling off various state enterprises and converting others into joint state/private concerns" (Ibid.: 313). Yet by the time it was handing over the reigns of government to the Progress Party in September 1969, out of the twenty state manufacturing and services enterprises it earmarked for privatization, only four small enterprises were successfully divestitured and additional four converted to joint state/private ventures (Ibid.). It is essential to note here that the NLC government even created two more state enterprises-Cotton Development Board and Export Promotion Company (Annual Report of the Auditor-General, 1969). The Busia government did not fare any better in the divestituring of state enterprises. By the time it was overthrown by the military in January 1972, it had added three more new state ventures-Task Force for Food Distribution, Grains Development Board, Bast Fibres Development Board~to the list of state-owned enterprises (Annual Report of the Auditor-General, 1971). In effect, by the end of 1971, 43 out of the 53 state economic ventures created by the CPP government of Nkrumah remained, and five new ones had been added (Killick, 1978: 313). It is therefore less surprising that the state's total share in manufacturing gross output had not experienced any significant reduction by 1970-19.5% in 1966 versus 15.6% in 1970. Even this reduction was offset by the rise in the share of joint state/private foreign enterprises (Ibid, 313). The situation has not changed very much since 1970. There was even more emphasis on state-owned enterprises from 1972 to 1978 under Acheampong's military junta-NRC/SMC I 78 (Hutchful, 1979:54; Price, 1984:188). According to Price (Ibid.), Although the rapid expansion of the state into the economy was slowed during the 1966-1972 period, after the military coup of 1972 the Ghanaian state once again rapidly expanded into the sphere of the economy. Under the Rawlings' AFRC in 1979, the roster of Ghana's state-owned enterprises witnessed a further extension (Gyimah-Boadi, 1991:195). The PNDC's attempt to divestiture state enterprises to reduce the state's direct involvement in economic activities as demanded by the IMF and the World Bank since 1983, has not achieved any appreciable success due to "strong forces of a political, institutional, and administrative nature prevalent in the environment" (Ibid., p. 206). In short, therefore, there has been very little reduction, if any, in the Ghanaian state's active participation in the economy. Turning to tourism, it can be said that, like the other sectors of the Ghanaian economy, the state's involvement has been very active and fairly consistent. Specifically, such involvement has been in the areas of 1) setting tourism regulations, 2) formulating tourism plans and policies, and 3) financing tourism infrastructure and facilities. According to Jenkins and Henry (1982), such active governmental participation is crucial in a Third World country like Ghana where the private sector often lacks the resources or the willingness to bear that responsibility. The outcome of such state activism in tourism development is, however, determined by the nature of the state, its development orientation, and available economic and cultural resources. a) Tourism Regulation: In 1959, the Second Development Plan (1959-64), the first for independent Ghana, launched by the Convention People's Party (CPP) government featured tourism as an important sector to be developed. Consequently, the Ghana Tourist Board was created by this government in 1959 and incorporated on 28th April 1960 by Executive Instrument No. 121. to see to the healthy development of the industry. Attached to the Ministry of Parks and Gardens, the Board was 79 charged with the following functions (Ibid.): 1) to keep a register of private hotel and boarding house accommodation, classified according to suitability for tourists; 2) to make a list of all possible tourist sites and occasions, and to see, in collaboration with the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board, that all necessary preparations are made for their development; 3) to prepare and distribute literature on tourist facilities, and to advertise in appropriate places. On 25 January 1963, the Ghana Tourist Board was merged with the Ghana Hotels Corporation to form the Ghana Hotels and Tourist Corporation under the Executive Instrument No. 7. This merger, however, lasted for only two years. In 1965, under the Legislative Instrument L.I. 466, the hotels corporation was detached from the Board. The Board, redesignated the State Tourist Corporation, was formed to reflect the socialist ideology of the CPP government. When the CPP government was overthrown by a coup d'etat in February 1966, the National Liberation Council (NLC) military/police government which came to power dissolved the State Tourist Corporation. The committee appointed by the NLC to look into the operations of the Corporation, however, recommended the need to re-establish a national tourism organization (Ghana Year Book, 1977:248). Consequently the National Tourist Corporation was established on October 2, 1968 by a decree, NLCD 310. In order to conform with the requirements of the Second Republic's constitution, the Progress Party government re-enacted the National Tourist Corporation Decree, NLCD 310. On January 12, 1971, The Ghana Tourist Corporation Act, 1970, Act 349, was promulgated to amend the NLCD 310 and establish the Ghana Tourist Corporation (ACT 349: 2). The Corporation was made responsible for the discharge of the following functions (Ibid.: 3): a) the promotion, development and enhancement of places of historic and scenic interest 80 in Ghana; b) the encouragement and inducement of holiday-makers, travellers and tourists to travel to and see such places; c) the promotion and advertisement of tourism in Ghana and abroad; d) the promotion of the establishment of tourist organization; and e) the carrying of such functions relating to tourism as it may think fit and is in the national interest. For more purposeful and rational planning, this new military government amended the Act 349 of 1970 by NRCD 86 which empowered the national tourist organization to formulate policy and organize the industry in a more business-like manner. In November 1973, however, the Ghana Tourist Corporation Act, 1970 (Act 349) was repealed and the Corporation accordingly dissolved. In its place came the NRC Decree 224, which set up the Ghana Tourist Control Board and gave it these responsibilities (NRCD 224, 1973:1): a) the formulation of policy and co-ordination of activities on tourism; b) the regulation and control of the tourist industry; c) the marketing of tourism, both in Ghana and outside Ghana, including the publication of brochures; d) research and studies on trends in the tourist industry; and e) any other matters affecting tourism generally. The civilian government which came to power after the NRC/SMC, the PNP government (1979-1981) created a separate Ministry of Culture and Tourism, so as to enhance the Ghanaian culture in the process of tourism development. It was felt that the emphasis placed on international tourism in national policy hitherto had led to the neglect of domestic tourism as a need for national cultural awareness and as a means of enhancing the domestic revenue earning capacity of the government (Ibid.). 81 With this notion in view, the government even contemplated bringing "a greater measure of legal and administrative controls to bear on the conduct of international tourism so as to check such corrupting influences on culture as drug-peddling and prostitution." (Ibid.). In 1985 the PNDC government promulgated a national investment policy (Investment Code, 1985, PNDCL 116) encouraging greater private investment, both foreign and domestic, in Ghana tourism. The Investment Code (1985: 8) declared tourism as one of the four priority sectors of the Ghanaian economy and provided generous concessions for private investors in the industry. It must be noted at this juncture that the numerous tourism legislations introduced by the various governments of post-colonial Ghana, aimed at making the national tourism organization effective, have failed to achieved the desired results. The Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-1994 (1991: 36), describes the Tourist Board as weak and ineffective, attributing this situation to the financial and personnel constraints of the Board. b) Tourism Policy: Before the 1970s, Ghana tourism operated on legislative enactments rather than well-considered tourism plans and policies. This trend changed during the 1972 -1975 period. There were frantic attempts at systematic tourism planning initiated by the government. The reason for this change is that the military government which overthrew the Progress Party government, the National Redemption Council (NRC), recognized the key role a viable tourist industry in Ghana could play in the reconstruction of the country's deteriorating economy. With respect to tourism policy, unlike the other sectors of the Ghanaian economy, there was no official policy directing the tourist industry until 1974. Based on the Danish Report (1974), the NRC government issued a tourism policy paper, "Tourism in Ghana", to guide tourism developers in the country. This policy paper was, however, short-lived, since it was not 82 implemented and was never updated to reflect the economic and political orientations of the governments that followed-SMC II, AFRC, PNP and PNDC. To help fill this policy vacuum in Ghana tourism, in 1987, the Ghana Tourist Board submitted a proposal to the government. This tourism policy proposal was later in the year adopted by the PNDC government as policy measures to revamp the tourism industry in Ghana. Lack of adequate funding has, however, unduly slowed down the implementation of many aspects of the policy. Hence the declaration of the Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana, 1992-1994 (1991: iii) to review this tourism policy and to facilitate its implementation. c) Tourism Financing: With regard to tourism financing, unlike tourism regulation and policy, the state's active, direct participation becomes indispensable only when the development orientation is towards conventional tourism which tends to require large-scale, capital-intensive facilities. Conventional tourism development, to some extent, like industrialization, requires heavy capital outlay. Such tourism development thrives on elaborate modern transport and communication system, electricity, good water supply and sewage system, sophisticated tourism accommodation and restaurant facilities, high skilled Western-type management and working staff. Private entrepreneurs of a Third World country such as Ghana are unable to effectively participate in this type of tourism because they lack the capital and the know-how required. When the Ghana tourist industry was initiated in 1959, because of its orientation toward conventional tourism development, the CPP government rightly realized that the required private investment was lacking, so the state took upon itself the responsibility of pioneering the creation of tourism accommodation and provision of facilities like chairs, benches, refreshment centres, and toilets at tourist attraction sites (Second Development Plan 1959-64:24-25). This is not to mention the provision of general infrastructure and subvention for the maintenance of the national tourism organization. 83 To concretize this conviction of the CPP government, the state funded the construction of two first class hotels-Ambassador and Continental--in Accra as a start. Two other first-class state hotels were also built in Takoradi and Kumasi in the 1960s. In addition, the building of six more catering rest-houses in the country to augment the three already in existence at Takoradi, Kumasi and Tamale was proposed. The government also provided funds for the building of the small rest-house facilities at the sites of both Boti and Kintampo waterfalls. As Table 8 shows, by 1966, when the CPP government was overthrown, the State Hotels Corporation (SHC) was operating eleven hotels. TABLE 8: HOTELS OPERATED BY THE SHC: 1966* Hotel Location 1. Ambassador 2. Continental 3. Star 4. Meridian 5. Catering Rest House 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Atlantic 11. Citv Accra i i n Tema Cape Coast Kumasi Sunyani Tamale Bolgatanga Takoradi Kumasi Sources: Second Development Plan 1959-1964 (1959); Ghana Year Book (1977). * The Ghanaian state owned and operated these hotels until the late 1980s when Ambassador and Continental were divestitured. Since this time all the state hotels have been on the divestiture list for not making profits (see West Africa, April 5-11, 1993: 548-549). In order to encourage private investment in the industry, a three thousand pound loan scheme was created through the Small Loans Division of the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC). The NLC government which succeeded the CPP government did not do as much for the tourist industry in terms of financing projects. However, it continued to provide the necessary funds for the running of the national tourism organization and the State Hotels Corporation. This trend 84 continued during the Progress Party administration of 1969-1972. To put substance into its pronouncements on tourism and changes to be effected in national tourism organization, the NRC government (1972-1975) highlighted tourism in its Medium-Term Development Plan (1972-1976) and Five Year Development Plan 1975/76-1979/80. Likewise the Capital Investments Decree 1973 (NRCD 141: 13), provided generous incentives to investors in tourism. This decree stipulated that: With a view to encouraging the promotion of tourism in a big way, the Government has decided that all approved tourist projects which would be established in Ghana between 1st July, 1974, and the last day of December, 1980, will enjoy the following specified benefits under section 25 of the Capital Investments Decree, 1973 (NRCD 141): i) company income tax exemption for a minimum period of three (3) years and maximum period of five (5) years from such date as the Capital Investment Board may specify; ii) accelerated capital allowances at rates additional to the rates provided under the Income Tax Decree, 1966 (NLCD 78) as amended; iii) employment tax credit; iv) customs import duty exemption on all goods needed for the establishment and efficient operation of approved tourist projects for a minimum period of five (5) years; v) deferment of payment of registration fees and stamp duty on capital for a minimum period of three (3) years and a maximum period of five (5) years beginning from the date of such registration; vi) privilege to transfer 30 per cent of net after-tax profit provided however that 75 per cent of receipts are earned in convertible currencies and certified as such by the Bank of Ghana. In addition, Such tourist projects will also be exempted from the payment of tax under the Selective Alien Employment Tax Decree, 1973 (NRCD 201) for a minimum period of three (3) years and a maximum period of five (5) years (Ibid.). These generous concessions, however, did not attract any substantial investment in the tourist industry mainly because 1) investors were not sure of guaranteed political stability that would make their projects profitable and 2) the NRC's policy of foreign debt repudiation scared away prospective tourism investors. Moreover, the NRC government created the Ghana Tourist Development Company 85 (GTDC), the investment arm of the Government in the tourist industry (Ghana Year Book, 1977: 250). The Board was thus divested of its commercial functions. This was in response to the realization that the national tourism organization cannot efficiently perform both regulatory and commercial functions simultaneously. Specifically the GTDC was established with the following objectives: a) to take in its entirety all the commercial operations of the Ghana Tourist Control Board and all the ancillary services thereto; b) to take over the assets and liabilities of all the existing commercial undertakings of the Ghana Tourist Control Board and to finance, and develop tourist projects either by itself or jointly with other organizations or individuals; c) to provide extension services and technical advice to existing operations of the company or enhance the property values or rights of the company; and d) to carry on any other business which may conveniently render profitable the operations of the company or enhance the property values or rights of the company. Unfortunately, however, despite the enormous assets inherited from the Ghana Tourist Control Board, the Company's performance was disappointing. For instance, Many of the properties have been run down, for example, Akuaba Travel Agency is in debt, the [tourist] coaches were sold out without replacement, the operations of casinos are in disarray and works on Caprice and Marine Drive Cafeteria re-development are at a standstill (The Memorandum of the PNDC Secretary for Trade and Tourism Policy Measures to Revamp the Tourism Industry 1987: 7). In response to this gross failure of the GTDC to play the developmental role assigned it, the Ghana Tourist Control Board advised the Government to reinvest the Board with the responsibility to embark on tourist pilot projects. Accordingly, the Supreme Military Council Decree 80 (SMCD 80) was promulgated in 1977 to amend the NRCD 224. The name of the Board was changed to Ghana Tourist Board, and was given a new function (SMCD 80: 1): participation in the construction of tourism infrastructure and superstructure particularly in pilot schemes, either by itself or in joint venture with Ghanaian or foreign investors or both through the setting up of subsidiaries for specific projects 86 it considers necessary. Based on this new power, the Ghana Tourist Board initiated the Labadi Pleasure Beach Complex project in 1978, which has since been abandoned for lack of funds. In 1980, the PNP government transferred the tourism portfolio from the Ministry of Trade to the Ministry of Information. The rationale being that it was the Information Ministry which was better equipped to promote tourism, "especially among foreigners, and attracting foreign investment for the industry" (Economic Survey, 1982: 230). The government made attempts to negotiate joint ventures with foreign investors to rehabilitate some state hotels and to construct new ones (Ibid.). By the time it was overthrown in a coup d'etat on 31 December, 1981, these negotiations had not materialized. The state's financial support for the national tourism organization and the State Hotels system, however, continued. During the rule of the PNDC (1982-1992), the state continued to provide funds for the running of the national tourism organization and the State Hotels Corporation. In addition it introduced an Investment Code (1985), aimed at attracting substantial private investment to the industry. The investment code outlines various concessions given interested investors. According to the code, "Enterprises concerned with the development of the Tourist Industry such as tourist accommodation, insofar as these are net foreign exchange earning" (Ibid.) are to have the following incentives and benefits (Ibid): a) exemption from customs import duties on plant, machinery, equipment and accessories imported exclusively and specifically to establish the approved enterprise; b) depreciation or capital allowance as follows: i) plant and machinery 50 per cent in the year of investment and 25 per cent in subsequent years; ii) buildings:- 20 per cent in the year of investment and 10 per cent in subsequent years; c) exemption from taxes and rates levied on building 87 properties for a period not exceeding three years; d) investment allowance of seven and a half per centum per annum. These incentives and benefits are in addition to the general ones stipulated by the Code in sections 13-15. These concessions were reconfirmed in the Investment Code (Areas of Special Priority) Instrument, 1991 (L.I. 1519: 3-4). In effect, like in the other sectors of the Ghanaian economy, the state has not only been active in matters of tourism regulations and policies, but also in the area of entrepreneurship. It is important to stress here that Ghana's emphasis on 1) large-scale, capital-intensive development technique and 2) state activism in the economy, have failed to create economic development. As mentioned earlier, in the 1950s Ghana had over 200 million pounds sterling reserve and a per capita income the equivalent of US$354, and thus ranked first in sub-Saharan Africa (Fitch and Oppenheimer, 1966: 2; Morwetz, 1977) and very high among the then the Least Developed Countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, etc. (Nafziger, 1988). By the early 1960s this huge amount has all gone into fixing balance of payment deficits, per capita income had fallen sharply, and a national debt of about 349 million pounds had been incurred (Fitch and Oppenheimer, 1966: 93, 123). President Nkrumah's efforts to resuscitate the economy through socialist planning, import substitution industrialization, and mechanized agriculture in the first half of the 1960s only pushed the country into further economic doldrums. The 1970s and early 1980s witnessed an unprecedented economic deterioration in Ghana's history. For example, from 1970 to 1979, the gross domestic product, gross domestic investment, export volume and agricultural production were all in the negative (see Table 9). As Table 10 indicates, the growth of gross national product (GNP) experienced a similar trend. 88 TABLE 9: THE STATE OF GHANA'S ECONOMY 1970-79 ITEM FIGURE Gross Domestic Product Gross Domestic Investment Export Volume Agricultural Production -3.0 -7.9 -7.2 -1.5 Sources: World Bank, Accelerated Development in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1981; U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Problems and Prospects in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1981: 3. It is important to note that from 1981 to 1982, Ghana's gross domestic product declined by 6.1 per cent. While this decline in real output was characteristic of most sectors of the economy, the industrial sector recorded the highest rate of decline, that is, 20.5 per cent (Economic Survey, 1982: 5) mainly because of lack of imported inputs (Darko, 1977). 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 --3.7 +2.7 +8.6 -2.6 +0.6 -3.5 -6.0 TABLE 10: GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCT 1975-1982 GNP at 1975 Prices Per Capita GNP at 1975 Prices Year % change % change -6.2 N.A. +6.0 -5.1 -2.0 -5.8 -85 Source: Economic Survey, 1982: 4. Moreover, from 1979 to 1988 Ghana's foreign debt increased from $1.9 billion to $3.1 billion (West Africa, 27 Jan - 2 Feb 1992, p. 159). Since 1984, however, there has been a little reduction in the rate of decline in the growth rate of the economy, the effect of the Economic Recovery Programme initiated by the World Bank and the IMF (Economic Community of Africa, 1985). Despite the recorded improvements in the growth rate, however, "Ghana is still well below where it was even in the late 1970s" (Herbst, 1991:186). 89 The growth of tourism, unlike the general economy, has not plummeted to such low levels. As is rightly recognized by Bequele (1983: 223), agriculture, food and cocoa production declined absolutely, and growth of industrial production virtually grounded to a halt; only the service sector [including tourism] would appear to have grown at all. This seems to be an indication of tourism's comparative advantage as an economic development tool (see Sinclair et al, 1992: 48) in Ghana. With the exception of the period 1973,1978-1979, and 1984, Tourism's arrival figures have increased steadily from 4,800 in 1955 to 150,000 in 1991, and the foreign exchange generated has risen from $11.1 million in 1975 to $110 million in 1991 (see Table 1 for the composition of these figures). In spite of this apparent growth of tourism, however, like the Ghanaian economy, the industry has not taken-off (Teye, 1988:343; Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-1994, 1991: v). This is contrary to the expectations of the Advocacy Platform and proponents of state activism in tourism that the tourist industry in a Third World country will develop and be a catalyst for development when the large-scale, capital-intensive approach is used and when the state actively participates in it. Why have the Ghanaian economy and tourism failed to take-off despite the large-scale, capital intensive development strategy adopted and the state's active involvement in them? Rather than being the motor of development, state activism in the Ghanaian economy has been identified by Tony Killick (1978), John Campbell (1984) and James Ahiakpor (1987) as the main factor underlying the country's failure to achieve sustained economic development, and, by extension, tourism's failure to take-off and generate development. This explanation is, however, untenable since the state is actively involved in the economies of Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea, yet these countries continue to chalk up high economic growth rates (Dore, 1973; O'Donnell, 1978; Amsden, 1979; Deyo, 1987; Evans, 1979 & 1987; Winkler and Greenhalgh, 1988). In a similar vein, state activism in Ghana tourism may not be the reason why it has failed to be a catalyst for development, for the active state participation in the tourist 90 industries of Kenya, Mexico and Costa Rica has not prevented tourism to be an instrument of development. An important factor which seems to prevent the Ghanaian state from being a dynamo of development is its weak nature that contributes to political instability. Myrdal (1970), Giddens (1982), Price (1984) and Evans (1987) think that state activism has not helped many a Third World country to develop because of the weak or soft nature of their states. Price (1984: 186-7), for example, postulates that Ghana's economic demise is mainly caused by the weak nature of the Ghanaian state rather than state activism in the economy per se. He emphasizes the Ghanaian state is weak because unlike the South-East Asian NICs which possess states that are relatively autonomous in respect to their societies, the Ghanaian state has been permeated by every conceivable societal interests-ethnic, regional, familial, and class (Ibid.: 188). To secure their political incumbency, he argues, the Ghanaian ruling class tends to transform the country's economic resources into political largesse to appease various groups and individuals who could make effective political claim on the state. Hence, Price's (Ibid.) conclusion that political rather than economic criteria have been the determining factors in the harnessing and allocation of economic resources in post-colonial Ghana. What Price fails to recognize, however, is that post-colonial Ghanaian politicians could hardly sustain or secure their political incumbency for long through the largesse they distribute to "myriad groups and individuals". Despite Ghanaian politicians inability to retain their offices for long, many politicians continue to transform state resources into "political largesse". Moreover, non-politicians also transform state resources into largesse. These seem to suggest that in Ghana the managers of the state tend to transform state resources into largesse not primarily to secure their political incumbency as portrayed by Price (Ibid., p. 188). Economic realities and cultural processes in the Ghanaian society also have much to do with the use of state resources in this way. In Ghana, productivity is very low and poverty is widespread (Bequele and Van der Hoeven, 1980:382). Moreover, there is no reliable formal social security system for the greater majority of 91 the population. Economic demands (from kins, ethnic members, friends) on people with access to any resource are therefore enormous. Consequently, only the rich few can meet these demands from their honestly acquired wealth. In most cases, therefore, state resources are illegally used to meet these demands. Many politicians, both civilian and military, use state resources to accumulate personal wealth (foreign accounts, expensive houses and cars, private businesses), build houses, provide business capital, and use their influence to secure employment in the bureaucracy and public corporations for relatives and friends. Typical examples of the highest order include 1) Mr. Krobo Adusei, a CPP executive and a Minister of state in the Nkrumah government who used state resources to build over a dozen mansions in Kumasi, his home-town, and to import a very expensive gold bed for one of his wives; 2) General Afrifa, chairman of the NLC in 1968/69, who used state money to build a whole township at Abesewa for his people; 3) Mr. J.H. Mensah, a finance minister in the Busia government used state funds to establish an agricultural venture-Odumase Farms-in his home-town; and 4) General Achiampong, chairman of the NRC and SMC I, constructed a expensive and sophisticated secondary school in his home-town. Moreover, these politicians had huge amounts of money in foreign banks (Campbell, 1984:92). Most of the former civilian and military politicians probed are usually found guilty of embezzling state funds. For example, in 1979, six top military politicians were executed for offenses including "the acquisition or obtaining of loan, property, material promise, favour or advantage whatsoever by abuses or exploits by virtue of their official positions in public service" (Daily Graphic, Wednesday June 27, 1979: 1). Earlier in 1966, many of the ousted Ministers of State of the CPP government were found to have embezzled state money (see White Paper on the Second Report of the Sowah Commission of Enquiry into the Assets of Specified Persons, 1969: 2-11). It must be noted here that it is not only politicians who are guilty of misappropriating resources. Many Ghanaians from all walks of life-bureaucrats, bank officials, bursars, health workers, produce clerks, revenue collectors, etc.-misappropriate state resources when they get 92 the "opportunity". Ghanaian newspapers are replete with reports of such embezzlements. For example, on September 6, 1992, a Ghanaian weekly reported that, ...a man accused of misappropriation of 800,000 [cedis] is sentenced to a long term imprisonment with hard labour while a top official of the Bank of Ghana dips his hand into the public vault to take out nearly 5 million [cedis] to perform the funeral of his mother and yet still stays at post (The Statesman, Weekending September 6, 1992: 7) One of the reasons for such embezzlements is that Ghana's low productive economy does not allow high incomes, yet the demands of the collectivistic ethic remain relatively constant (individual contributions to funerals is one of the important means of maintaining this cultural ethic). Without knowing or understanding the cultural norms and values in the Ghanaian society the above actions of politicians, bureaucrats, professionals, and public workers using state resources for purposes other than advancing the development of the entire country may seem irrational or inept. Despite Ghana's long and close/intensive contact with the Western individualistic culture, collectivistic ethic in general, and extended family system in particular, remain fairly strong in contemporary Ghanaian society. This fact is very evident in 1) the elaborate celebration of funerals and festivals; 2) the prevalence of the compound house system, and 3) the proliferation of primary voluntary associations such as tribal/ethnic associations, welfare societies, cultural associations, and syncretic churches, particularly in the urban centres (see Little, 1965). The root of the collectivistic orientation or group consciousness in contemporary Ghanaian society is located in the mutual aid and responsibility system reflective of the strong kinship and ethnic spirit that was entrenched in Ghanaian traditional societies. In these traditional societies, the assistance of kins, ethnic members, friends and neighbours was freely asked by, and readily available to, those who needed it for tilling their land, harvesting crops, building and repairing houses, etc. Also, individuals and households in need of agricultural implements, foodstuffs, meat and other necessities of life readily got them from kins, ethnic members and friends who were better placed. This practice of asking for help, accepting help, and giving assistance was culturally obligatory. The cultural obligation to assist one's kins, ethnic members/group, and friends 93 embedded in the traditional mutual aid and responsibility system, has to a large extent, survived the onslaught of modernization in Ghana. Failure to fulfil this obligation usually results in the loss of prestige. Unlike in the traditional societies, in contemporary Ghana state resources are usually used by individuals with access to them to meet this cultural obligation. An important reason why Ghanaians use state resources this way is that the culture places a premium on peoples' loyalty to the kingroup and ethnic entity to the virtual exclusion of the modern state. The colonial administration in Ghana, by systematically preventing the extension of kinship and ethnic loyalties to the colonial state for political expediency, prevented, perhaps unintentionally through the "indirect rule" system, the creation/development of a "nationalist myth" and "legitimizing doctrine" in the country. Thus, as rightly observed by Price (ibid., p.188), "Ghana emerged from the colonial era as a multinational state. Its ethno-nations were not really part of a single national political community..." The strong loyalty accorded the kin group, particularly the extended family, and the ethnic entity has not been duly extended to the modern Ghanaian state created through colonial imposition. The colonial government was in the hands of the English who ruled "indirectly" through the aristocracies of the various ethnic groups. In this way, the colonial government did not have to cultivate the loyalty of the people directly. It was assumed that the loyalty accorded the traditional ethnic states would be automatically given to the colonial state. Such an extension of loyalty did not occur. Rather, the colonial government became alienated from the people and thus had a questionable legitimacy. Sabotaging such a government, particularly through the use of state resources for the benefit of the extended family and the ethnic group, was conceived by many as right and heroic. The independent state of Ghana has failed to neutralize this negative conception of and disloyalty to the modern state, and as such has so far been unable to legitimize government and to create a single nation state in the country. Only a few Ghanaians have thus developed loyalty transcending the kin group and the ethnic entity. In other words, there is a lack of the collectivist ethic or communal spirit (at the modern state level) which was the underlying force for the active 94 network of people in Ghanaian traditional societies who cherished to work to improve conditions of life for the benefit of all. A clear manifestation of this is, as highlighted earlier, the wanton misappropriation of state resources by many political leaders and bureaucrats, and some workers. This collectivistic ethic based on kinship and ethnicity greatly contributes to the political instability of the country since various ethnic groups vie for the control of the state to create economic largesse for their members. The block voting of ethnic groups for political leaders from their ethnic areas testifies to this (see Table 11). TABLE 11: ETHNIC VOTING PATTERNS IN GHANA: 1969-1992 % Seats Won Election Year Leading Contenders Ethnicity in Home Region 1969 K.A. Busia Brong 100 K.A. Gbedemah Ewe 100 1979 H. Limann Northerner Over 72 V. Owusu Ashanti Over 80 1992 J.J. Rawlings Ewe Over 93 A.A. Boahen Ash./Akim Over 61 Sources: Compiled from elections reports: 1969 and 1979; Home Front, Vol. 11, No. 2, Election Special, December 1992; Rimmer, 1992 Such block voting contributes to political instability in Ghana since the political leadership of the losing ethnic groups try to takeover power through the military. As shown in Table 12, so far, in Ghana, the ethnic backgrounds of coup leaders have been different from that of the heads of state they have overthrown. 95 TABLE 12: ETHNICITY AND POLITICAL INSTABILITY IN GHANA: 1957-1981 Regime Ethnicity and Name Ethnicity and Name of Regime Leader of Coup Leader CPP Nzima Akan (Nkrumah) Ewe (Kotoka) NLC Ga (Ankrah) Akan (Yeboah and others) PP Brong Akan (Busia) Ashanti Akan (Achiampong) NRC/SMC I Ashanti Akan (Achiampong) Akwapim Akan (Akuffo) SMC II Akwapim Akan (AKuffo) Ewe (Rawlings) PNP Northerner (Limann) Ewe (Rawlings) Sources: Author's own compilation. The resultant political instability of the coups d'etat usually blocks or drastically reduces the flow of foreign capital investment and conventional tourists as noted by Teye (1988). Moreover, it creates discontinuities in the national tourism organization, and thus frustrates tourism planning and policy-making which are crucial ingredients of tourism development. The strong loyalty to the kin-group and the ethnic entity also tends to prevent Ghanaians from adopting rational bureaucratic principles in organizing economic and other activities. Whether in their own private businesses or that of the state, many Ghanaians tend to use kinship and ethnic criteria rather than meritocratic criterion in recruiting people to key or sensitive positions particularly. A typical example is the Ghana Armed Forces under the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) government. There was a clear over-representation of the Ewe ethnic group in the Armed Forces command structure of Ghana (see Table 13 below) not because the Ewes possess any superior military talents for such positions, but mainly becuase the Head of State was an Ewe (see The Ghanaian Chronicle, Monday October 5, 1992:4). 96 Dumashie Akafia N.A. Agbemasu Dogbatse N.A. Kpetoe N.A. Mishio Ewe Ewe Akan Ewe Ewe Akan Ewe Ewe Ewe TABLE 13: ETHNIC DISTRIBUTION OF THE LEADERSHIP OF GHANA ARMY Position Name Ethnicity General Officer Commanding Army Commander Air Force Commander Support Services Commander 2nd Brigade Commander Navy Commander Staff College Commandant Commanding Officer Military Pol. Commanding Officer, F.R.B. Source: Compiled from the Ghanaian Chronicle, Monday October 5,1992: 4). In fact, unlike in the South-East Asian NICs, political leaders and bureaucrats are greatly influenced by kinship and ethnic demands in their management of state resources. The Ghanaian state is permeated most deeply by kinship and ethnic interests (Hutchful, 1979:42). State actors can therefore hardly "perform as economic entrepreneurs-setting output goals, designing economic strategies, accumulating savings, redirecting resources to high growth sectors, and choosing technologies based on economic criteria" (Nafziger, 1988: 97). 2.4: CONCLUSION: What the above discussion points to is that it is not the weak nature of the state per se which frustrates the development process; for Kenya and Mexico operate weak states, yet this has not prevented the development of their tourist industries. Neither is it the collectivistic ethic based on kinship and ethnicity, for Kenya operates a similar cultural system yet its economy and tourist industry are among the best in Africa. The problem seems to be with the contradiction between Ghana's conventional development orientation and the political instability the weak state creates because of the lack of any single dominant ethnic group as in the case of Kenya (see Ley, 1975). 97 Such political instability tends to prevent or greatly limit the inflow of foreign capital investment and experts needed to successfully operate conventional or Western-style development, in the absence of adequate domestic capital, Western-type skilled personnel and rational bureaucratic entrepreneurs/managers. In addition, the political instability repels conventional tourists, the target clientele of the conventional tourist industry Ghana is trying to create. Like industrialization, tourism appears to be an important item on Ghana's development agenda, and as in the general economy, and in line with the propositions of the Advocacy Platform, the emphasis of tourism development has been on large-scale, capital-intensive hotels. Also, the Ghanaian state has been an active participant in the industry. Unfortunately, these conventional tourism development approaches have not yielded the expected results, for Ghana's capital base and human, cultural and political resources have not been able to support this strategy for tourism development. What then is the nature of tourism in Ghana? The following chapter deals with this question by giving an ethnographic account of travel and tourism in Ghana, from the pre-colonial period to the present. 98 NOTE: 1. Tourism as a development instrument came into vogue only after the Second World War (see Jafari, 1973; Turner and Ash, 1975; English, 1986). It is, therefore, not surprising that tourism was not part of the development agenda of Ghana during the pre-colonial and early colonial period. During the later part of the colonial period, however, modern tourism was a social fact in many Third World societies, but the colonial administration of Ghana did not consider the possibility of its development as an economic activity in Ghana mainly because of its preoccupation with the extraction of raw materials to feed British industries and the fact that Ghana was not a settler colony. 99 CHAPTER THREE: A DESCRIPTIVE OVERVIEW OF TRAVEL AND TOURISM IN GHANA: PAST AND PRESENT. 3.1: INTRODUCTION: This chapter focuses on the evolution of travel and tourism in Ghana from the pre-colonial period to the present, and thus provides the necessary insight into the development problems of the Ghana tourist industry. Travelling has existed in the Ghanaian society since the pre-colonial period. However, tourism, strictly speaking, is a post-colonial phenomenon in Ghana though its roots go back farther than Ghana's independence from Britain in 1957. Foreigners travelled to Ghana and the inhabitants of Ghana travelled within and outside the country before the official recognition of tourism in the late 1950s. Unlike travel in post-colonial Ghana, however, earlier travellers relied almost entirely on the traditional hospitality system since there were virtually no hotels and modern restaurants. Travel and tourism in post-colonial Ghana have acquired some characteristics quite distinct from those of the pre-colonial and colonial eras. For example, 1) leisure or vacation travel has become prominent, although contrary to the expectation of the Advocacy Platform it has failed to achieve the level of development commensurate with available tourism resources, and 2) conventional travel facilities have emerged and are expanding. Pronouncements on tourism by various governments of Ghana and tourism plans highlight the need to develop both domestic and international tourism in the country. However, priority attention has mostly gone to the international type because of the perceived greater potential of this form of tourism to generate foreign exchange. The main focus of tourism development has been on conventional tourism which, apart from frustrating the development of Ghana's tourist industry because of the lack of the requisite resources for developing this form of tourism, exacerbates class, gender and ethnic inequalities. Since conventional tourism facilities are usually elaborate and capital-intensive and conventional leisure travel is quite expensive, it is mainly foreigners and the few Ghanaian business persons and 100 professionals, usually men from the southern ethnic groups, who seem to have the resources to invest in hotels and use hotel facilities and services. Studies on Ghana's tourism are, however, conspicuously silent on this aspect of the conventional tourist industry even though the Cautionary Platform and the Adaptancy Platform, two of the emerging theoretical approaches in the sociology of tourism, have highlighted the class, gender and ethnic/racial inequalities in the conventional tourist industry. 3.2: TRAVEL AND TOURISM IN PRE-COLONIAL GHANA: Travel as an activity among the inhabitants of present-day Ghana is not an importation from the industrial countries, but existed long before contact with Europeans on the coast in the fifteenth century. Migration, warfare, and trade were the main factors that induced movement in the country. Increased trading activities engendered by the contact with Europeans, however, increased the incidence of travel considerably. Before the first Europeans (the Portuguese) set foot on the Ghanaian coast in 1471, perhaps the only foreigners who had visited Ghana were Berber and Arab traders from northern Africa. These north African travellers to Ghana were traders rather than tourists in the popular sense of the concept. The Portuguese, the first Europeans to come to Ghana, travelled to the country mainly to trade-exchanged manufactured goods for gold. This trade later degenerated into the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Until the late nineteenth century when the slave trade was effectively abolished in Ghana, adventure, educational, health and religious travels, which were the existing forms of tourism in the world then (Turner and Ash, 1975), could not develop in the country primarily because of the insecurity created by slave wars and raids. The transportation problem was another serious limitation. 101 Migration was the single major factor which accounted for the movement of people in the territory now called Ghana before their direct contact with the Western world. Many of the ethnic groups presently living in the country are not the original inhabitants of the regions they occupy. According to oral tradition, which is supported by the accounts of historians dealing with the early history of the West African kingdoms, the Akans were the first group of people to migrate to present-day Ghana, entering the region from the north and northeast (Bourret 1952). In the period between the thirteenth and seventeenth centuries, the two principal groups of the Akans, who were originally nomadic or pastoral, entered and settled in the forest region of the south, the Volta plains and some parts of the coast (Ward 1948, Bourret 1952). The Twi-Fante group occupied the forest area and the coast while the Twi-Guan segment settled on the Volta plains. The second group of people to migrate to the region were the Moshi who settled in the north. On the south-eastern coastal plains are found the Ga- and Ewe-speaking groups. Oral history holds that these tribes migrated from the east during the seventeenth and later centuries (Ibid.). All these groups, through conquest and peaceful penetration, established their supremacy over the original inhabitants of the region, and through a series of stages they moved to occupy their present localities. The distinguishing characteristic of these earlier forms of migration was that the migrants aimed at permanent settlement in their destination areas. They cannot therefore in any way be classified as "tourists". In contrast, most migrants in post-colonial Ghana, although not tourists, maintain strong contacts with their hometowns/villages, and pay regular visits. Many hope to return to their original places of residence to settle eventually. Commerce was another potent force which induced travelling among the people of pre-colonial Ghana. In their early years of settlement, a flourishing commercial activity, the Trans-Saharan trade, developed between the people of Ghana and North Africa. In this north-bound trade, gold, ivory, pepper, and more importantly, kolanuts were exported (Ward 1948, Kimble 1963). Apart from the middlemen from within the local ethnic groups who bought and sold commodities to North African traders at the major commercial centres in the north, there might also have been some 102 local Ghanaian petty traders travelling within their localities for business transactions. The Trans-Saharan trade, however, dwindled and withered away with the arrival of Europeans on the coast. The Portuguese, arriving in 1471, are thought to be the first Europeans to have been on the Ghanaian coast. They were followed by the French, English, Dutch, Swedes and later the Danes. They settled in the numerous forts and castles they built in the coastal towns, occasionally venturing into settlements in the immediate hinterland. These early Europeans to Ghana came for trade and evangelism and not for touristic purposes. The European presence on the coast generated a great volume of trade with local inhabitants. Initially gold was the most important item, but later slaves came to be the leading commodity. Palm oil, rubber, cocoa, and other items were introduced after the abolition of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. These items were exchanged for beads, liquor, textiles, gun powder, firearms, etc. This system of trade greatly increased the incidence of travel among the people of Ghana, especially the middlemen. Many people from the hinterland travelled with commodities to the south and sold to the Europeans through the coastal ethnic groups. People from those ethnic groups, on the other hand, sent European merchandise to the inland market-towns such as Fosu and Manso to sell to interior groups (Boahen 1975). Ward's (1948: 82) observation on slave trading in the country further epitomises these extensive movements of people in pre-colonial Ghana. According to him, The supply of slaves was controlled by Accra or Fante middlemen, who sent their agents inland to buy slaves from the wholesale dealers. The Ashanti sent most of their slaves down to the great depot at Manso, some thirty miles from Cape Coast on the Kumasi road. The rampant cheating of the interior ethnic groups by the coastal people, coupled with the desire of these groups to control this lucrative south-bound trade led to several inter-ethnic wars, particularly between Ashantis and the Fantes in the eighteenth century (Boahen 1975). These inter-ethnic wars greatly hindered the development of touristic or leisure travel in the country. Warfare usually involved movement of the various ethnic groups from their local areas, mostly temporarily. Apart from the wars aimed at gaining control over the lucrative coastal trade, there occurred many wars of expansion by the ethnic groups. For example, in the eighteenth century the 103 Ashantis fought and conquered all the ethnic groups in the country with the exception of the Fante (Boahen 1975). The northern groups waged wars among themselves, likewise the coastal groups (Ibid.). The point being stressed is that migration, trading and inter-ethnic wars in pre-colonial Ghana involved extensive travelling, usually in a mass form, by the inhabitants outside their localities. These travels were, however, not touristic in the strict sense because they did not have any leisure component. Does this mean that there was no tourism in pre-colonial Ghana? If religious pilgrimages are regarded as touristic, as has been suggested in the tourism literature (see Turner, 1973:191 -230), then some tourism might have occurred in Ghana before the colonial period. Apart from the few emerging Christians who organized religious conventions, there were renowned shrines or fetishes like Tigari, Kwaku Fri, Akonedi, etc., which attracted adherents from different parts of the country, particularly during their anniversaries. However, this form of travel was on a very limited scale, given the hindrances created by wars and absence of modern transportation. Until the turn of the twentieth century, except in the immediate vicinity of the largest coastal towns, there were no roads in Ghana. What existed were foot-paths with high bush on either side, blocked by fallen tree trunks, interrupted by bridgeless rivers which were often flooded in the rainy season (Kimble, 1963). Railways were non-existent, and only crude water transport was found in a few favoured areas (Ibid.). It must be remarked here that the poor nature of the transportation system obviously placed a limitation on the movement of people during that period, but, as shown so far, never prevented it. How were the people that travelled to and within Ghana in the pre-colonial period catered to in terms of accommodation and food? Institutionalized accommodation and restaurant services undertaken with commercial objectives were not in existence until late in the colonial era. Hotels, for instance, have a very short history in the country, the first ones-Seaview, Aams, Accra, Trocadero-dating no farther back than the 1930s (Guide to Ashanti Hotels and Restaurants, 1986). Commercial restaurant services did not emerge until the cash nexus became widespread in the 104 1900s. Therefore, people travelling to places outside their own communities had to rely solely on the hospitality or generosity of the hosts. Services provided were not calculated in economic terms and not paid for by "strangers" or visitors. Hosts saw the performance of such services as part of their way of life and never expected any financial reward. This is the "traditional hospitality" which still exists in some form in Ghana. This "traditional hospitality" is a cultural system which tends to predispose Ghanaians to act in a friendly manner towards strangers. Ghanaians felt it was an act of social responsibility to assist the stranger in their communities in any capacity they could afford. Such help included showing directions, offering water and other drinks, providing food, and providing accommodation without any immediate expectation of material reward (Adu-Febiri, 1988). Put differently, it is a warm welcome ("akwaaba" in Akan language) extended to "strangers" and visitors irrespective of their sex, age, race, ethnicity, education, religion, economic status, etc. In this light the traditional hospitality set-up, unlike the modern one, did not exhibit any serious social inequality in terms of accessibility. It is important to note, however, that in accordance with traditional social division of labour, it was the women who had to prepare the food and provide housekeeping services for the strangers and visitors. Guests were, however, by tradition expected to reciprocate these kind gestures from the hosts by giving gifts to the women, children and servants who served them during their stay. 3.3: TRAVEL AND TOURISM IN COLONIAL GHANA: The imposition of colonial rule in Ghana from the mid-nineteenth century onward introduced some changes in the form of travel to and within the country. More English soldiers and administrators were sent to Ghana to maintain order and thus facilitate the exploitation of local resources for export. Medical personnel were sent to cater to the health needs of these Europeans 105 in Ghana. Many European and some Asian merchants also came to Ghana during this period to take advantage of the flourishing import-export trade, thus swelling the number of Europeans and other expatriates travelling to Ghana. Christian missionary evangelism was another crucial factor which stimulated travel and cultural contact in colonial Ghana. It is on record that some white missionaries came to Ghana long before the colonial period. For example, when the Portuguese explorers and traders first came to Ghana in 1471 they came with a few Catholic missionaries (Ward, 1948). Many and forts and slave castles on the Ghanaian coast, which were built long before the colonial period, had chapels (ibid.). The number of missionaries was, however, very small. With the imposition of colonial rule in Ghana, and the peace and order that followed, there occurred an intensification of christian missionary activities in the country. Consequently, many European and American missionaries entered the country during this period. Starting on the coast and the Akwapim ridge, the missionaries with their trained local catechists had crisscrossed the entire country by the time of Ghana's independence in 1957. Annual church conventions gave the converted inhabitants the opportunity to visit other parts of the country. The colonial era also opened up opportunities for Ghanaians to travel to foreign countries, especially Britain. Commerce and formal education were the main reasons for this type of travel. Rich indigenous merchants like Hutton Mills, Pa Grant, and others took business trips to Britain on several occasions. Also intellectuals such as Philip Quaque, Kwegir Aggrey, J.B. Danquah, Kofi Abrefa Busia, to mention only a few, had the chance to travel to Britain and the United States to pursue higher education. Some prominent politicians like Kobina Sekyi, Caseley Hayford, etc., travelled to Britain to present petitions or to have political discussions with the colonial secretary. It is noteworthy to point out that all travellers entering Ghana are included in tourist arrival statistics as tourists (see Teye, 1988:343). It can therefore be concluded that the above categories of Ghanaian travellers returning to Ghana and the European and American soldiers, administrators, medical officers, educationists and missionaries coming to Ghana constituted the travellers 106 recorded by Ghana immigration as tourists during this period. The 1955 tourist arrival figure of 4,500 therefore comprised all these categories of travellers entering the country legally that year (see Ghana Tourist Board, 1987). On the domestic front, it must be pointed out that with the movements occasioned by warfare greatly minimized, and with the discouragement of ethnic migration by the colonial administration (Colson 1960; Kuper 1965), mass movements of people no longer occurred in the country. Individual and nuclear family migration, especially to urban centres and cash-crop growing areas for purely economic reasons, became the trend. For example, the introduction of cocoa into the country in the late nineteenth century intensified economic migration among the people. The cocoa boom led to many people, especially Ashantis, Brongs, Ewes and Akwapims, moving to other suitable areas for the cultivation of cocoa plantations after exhausting their own local plots (see Hill, 1956). Many from the northern ethnic groups also moved down to the forest regions to work as labourers in the plantations (Mikell, 1989). The transportation of cocoa beans to the purchasing centres in the beginning required head portering, thus adding to the volume of travel. Improved systems of road and rail transportation facilitated travelling considerably during this period. According to Kimble (1963: 30): "The rapid growth in passenger traffic, and the reduction in transport time and costs, were equally remarkable. In 1904 over 91,000 passengers were carried". Four years earlier there was no rail transport, neither was there any significant road transport. From 1904 transportation in the country saw tremendous expansion resulting in a concomitant increase in the volume of passenger traffic. Apart from a few Europeans and Americans who visited Ghana as tourists, the rest of this passenger traffic were people who travelled for purposes other than recreation or pleasure. The virtual non-existence of leisure travel in colonial Ghana or its insignificance to the colonial economy was reflected in colonial development plans. The Guggisberg Ten-Year Development Programme (1919-1929), the first ever colonial development plan for Ghana, focused on the building of basic physical and social infrastructure for the extraction of primary resources from the country (Guggisburg, 1927: 68). 107 Tourism was not mentioned in this all-important plan. The next colonial development plan, the Ten-Year Plan of Development and Welfare for the Gold Coast 1946-56, followed a similar pattern. Its objective was to consolidate the achievements of the Guggisberg Plan. Hence tourism was not considered. With regard to providing accommodation facilities and restaurant services for travellers, as pointed out earlier, commercialization did not emerge until the second quarter of the twentieth century. In the early colonial period, therefore, travellers had to rely solely on the traditional hospitality system. Before the 1930s when the first hotel and commercial restaurant facilities came into operation, Europeans coming to Ghana had to put up in the forts and slave castles, mission houses and the few government rest-houses in the country. In the early 1930s, commensurate with the "modernization" processes going on in the Ghanaian society, Western-type commercial travel accommodation was introduced. The Seaview Hotel, and later the Aams Hotel, Avenida Hotel, Trocadero Hotel, Accra Hotel and Ringway Hotel, all in Accra (the capital city of Ghana), were established by private investors to cater to the growing population of European seamen, medical officers, merchants, adventure tourists, etc., visiting Ghana. The Government Rest-houses in the regions and districts were also established around the same period to serve the travel needs of the colonial administrators. Until the late 1950s and early 1960s when the State Hotel system-Catering rest-houses at Cape Coast, Kumasi and Tamale, Ambassador Hotel, Continental Hotel, Atlantic Hotel, City Hotel-was created the Ghanaian domestic traveller had to utilize the traditional hospitality system. With the emergence of the cash economy in the colonial period and the increased incidence of domestic travel, commercial restaurant facilities sprang up in all parts of the country, particularly in the urban centres. The traveller in transit could therefore purchase prepared food, especially at the lorry stations or on the streets. These catering facilities were not the international conventional type. Unmarried and unaccompanied government workers who were on transfer and itinerant traders mainly from Mali and Niger, had to rely on the "kankyema" catering system which emerged 108 to meet this exigency. "Kankyema" was a practice whereby a woman served the "stranger" with food regularly, the cost of which was usually paid on a monthly basis. It seems it was from this system that the Ghanaian traditional restaurant ("chopbar"), which is now so widespread in the country, developed. The foregoing discussion of travel and tourism in pre-colonial and colonial Ghana show some continuities and discontinuities which shed light on the perceptions and characteristics of travel and tourism in post-colonial Ghana. For example, a) travel was viewed as an activity undertaken for serious purposes rather than for pleasure or recreation. It is not surprising, therefore, that tourism is generally associated with frivolity and wastefulness; b) the generally warm reception and friendliness local residents accorded travellers because they were perceived as strangers, to a large extent, still remain though the generosity aspect is being eroded by increasing commercialization of relationships; and c) travellers, particularly Ghanaian domestic travellers, were catered to by a mainly traditional, non-commercialized hospitality system which minimized the cost of travel and also prevented isolation of travellers from hosts. The virtual replacement of this system by modern hotels and restaurants in post-colonial Ghana does not only make leisure travel an expensive activity for the lower income/budget traveller, but also has made the success of the hospitality sector dependent upon huge capital investment, a labour force skilled in the modern hospitality system, and rational bureaucratic entrepreneurs. In fact, the complete break from the traditional hospitality system in the promotion of tourism is the most significant feature of tourism in contemporary Ghana. 109 3.4: TRAVEL AND TOURISM IN POST-COLONIAL GHANA: Travel in post-colonial Ghana, like in pre-colonial and colonial Ghana, has both international and domestic components. But unlike travel in those periods, travel in colonial Ghana has a definite leisure dimension which is based on modern tourism infrastructure, facilities and services. Virtually unknown in the past, vacation or leisure travel relying upon hotel accommodation and conventional restaurant facilities is now an observable phenomenon on the travel scene of Ghana, particularly with regard to international tourism. With the exception of the Seaview Hotel, Aams Hotel, Avenida Hotel, Trocadero Hotel, Accra Hotel and Ringway Hotel, the rest of the over 500 hotels in Ghana were built in the post-colonial period. Moreover, the over 100 conventional or Western-type restaurants emerged in this same period. Associated with the conventional tourism orientation are the inequalities in the use and ownership of hotel facilities. Domestic Tourism: Many Ghanaians travel within the country for trading, farming, funerals, festivals, religious conventions, etc., but not for leisure purposes (Adu-Febiri, 1990:124). Only a few Ghanaians, and expatriates residing in the country engage in domestic leisure travel using conventional tourism facilities (see Adu-Febiri, 1988). Domestic tourism in Ghana is at best an incipient travel phenomenon, and is on a far less smaller scale than international tourism. This is in spite of the plans of various post-colonial governments to promote domestic tourism along-side international tourism. In the Second Development Plan (1959-64), the first time that tourism was officially discussed in Ghana's development plan, there was recognition of the need to develop domestic tourism in Ghana. According to the Plan (1959: 24), Quite apart from external visitors to Ghana, it is important to provide tourist facilities for Ghanaians themselves. With the development of the country, and the spread of education, the number of Ghanaians able to take a vacation for a week or more is growing very rapidly, and Ghanaian tourists visiting different parts of the country will probably always exceed the number of visitors from abroad. Even if 110 there were no external visitors it is desirable to encourage Ghanaians to travel around their country, and to provide facilities for them to do so. Despite this intention about developing international and domestic forms of tourism in Ghana, the first tourist facilities created in Ghana had mostly external visitors in view. For example, the first major modern hotel in Ghana, Ambassador in Accra, "was built to meet the accommodation shortage for invited guests [from abroad] to our glorious 1957 Independence celebration" (Tourist Ghana, No. 7, December 1977: 3). Moreover, in the State hotels, until recently the core of commercial accommodation in Ghana during that period, preference was given to government guests over private guests or tourists (Ibid.). The declaration to develop and promote domestic tourism in Ghana, therefore, remained in the realm of rhetoric. In the 1970s, the government accepted the important role domestic tourism can play in Ghana's socio-economic development. However, because of the country's dire need for hard currency, it concentrated on the promotion of international tourism. According to a Government policy paper (1975: 3) on the Danish Report--"tourism in Ghana", Economically and socially all types of tourism [domestic, regional and international] described can be important to Ghana. But in view of the country's balance of payment problems government's emphasis will be placed on the development and the promotion of regional and long distance in-bound tourism from Europe, America, Japan, etc. Unlike the previous government, the Peoples National Party (PNP) government (1979-1981) proposed to lay more emphasis on the promotion of domestic tourism. This government felt that the emphasis placed on international tourism in national policy hitherto had led to the neglect of domestic tourism as a need for national cultural awareness and as a means of enhancing the domestic revenue earning capacity of the Government (Economic Survey,1982: 230). In this light, a separate Ministry of Culture and Tourism was created to promote tourism along-side the development of Ghanaian cultural activities. "But while emphasis was placed more on the development of domestic tourism, international tourism was not to be discouraged" (Ibid.). Earlier on, in 1979, this same government emphasized the promotion of international tourism (Ibid.). Since 1986, however, attempts have been made to place equal emphasis on the 111 development of both international and domestic tourism, at least at the level of policy. For example, the objectives of the International Tourism Fair (INTER-TOURISM '86) organized in Accra in November 1986 included (Handbook on Ghana Inter-Tourism '86, 1986: 3): i) exposing the tourist product of Ghana in particular and Africa in general to overseas tour operators.travel agents, wholesalers and charter flight operators as a means to boost the promotion of tours to the continent as to maximise the foreign exchange receipts from the tourism industry of each African country; iv) giving a boost to domestic and regional tourism by making the Ghanaian public and the nationals of our neighbouring countries aware of the tourist attraction of Ghana. Similarly, the 1987 Tourism Policy Proposals formulated by the Ghana Tourist Board and adopted by the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) government aimed at, among other things, developing and promoting "international in-bound tourism, regional tourism and domestic tourism" (Policy Measures to Revamp Tourism, 1987:5). In the area of domestic tourism, there was an emphasis on initiating both intensive and extensive publicity and public education programmes, formation of tourist clubs at work-places, organize more out of town tours and "Meet-Me-There"1 programmes, and encourage "informal tourism" based on festivals, funerals, and sports (Tourism Policy Proposals, 1987: 3). Like previous tourism plans and policies, domestic tourism development is one of the three objectives of the Medium Term National Tourism Plan for Ghana 1992-1994 (1991: 3). This latest tourism plan for Ghana proposes to 1) "lay the foundation for a qualitative take-off of the tourism industry", 2) "increase Ghana's share of the international and regional tourism market", and 3) "promote the vigorous development of domestic tourism, encompassing wider segments of the Ghanaian populace" (Ibid.). Tourism officials of Ghana seem very optimistic about the development of domestic tourism in Ghana because of the 1) the abundant tourist attractions, 2) the patronage of festivals and "meet-me-there" programmes, 3) the fun-loving nature of Ghanaians, 4) incipient individual and group excursions to popular tourist destinations within the country, and 5) the emergence of tourist clubs at work-places (see Adu-Febiri, 1988: 45,46). The officials, however, 112 contend that much of this potential has not been transformed into large-scale "conventional" tourism mainly because of inhibiting factors such as poor tourism facilities, unreliable and costly transportation, expensive hotel accommodation, ignorance about the existence of tourist attractions, cultural attitudes as to the benefits of leisure travel, and low income levels (Ibid.: 46). The immensity of these obstacles to domestic tourism development suggests the need to change the conventional orientation of Ghana's tourism if domestic tourism is to flourish. International Tourism: Travellers from Europe, Asia, America and some African countries visited Ghana in the pre-colonial and colonial periods. As indicated earlier, most of these travellers were traders, explorers, researchers, soldiers, medical doctors, administrators, etc., who visited for purposes other than leisure. In post-colonial Ghana, however, many of the international visitors come for holidays mainly, as portrayed by Table 14. TABLE 14: TOURIST ARRIVALS BY PURPOSE OF VISIT (000) Year 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 Purpose of Visit Holiday 38.5 38.8 42.2 35.0 23.6 20.2 Business 2.3 10.9 10.1 4.5 8.1 14.5 Studies 3.1 6.1 6.7 8.7 5.8 4.9 Other N.A Source: Economic Survey 1982, Central Bureau of Statistics, Accra, p. 231. 113 This trend has continued into the 1990s. According to a 1991 survey of visitors to Ghana, "The main purpose of visits are for holiday and business" (Ingflur Blondal Consultant, 1991: 5). The statistical breakdown is as follows: holiday - 57%, business - 36%, and studies - 7% (Ibid.). International tourist arrival figures for Ghana, compared to that of Kenya and other sub-Saharan African countries with similar tourism resources, clearly show the low level of Ghana's tourism. The arrival figures have greatly increased since 1985, but given that about half are Ghanaians visiting home (Teye, 1988: 343; Ingoflur Blondal Consultant, 1991: 4), the figures are nowhere near that of the other African countries (see Table 15). This observation equally applies to tourism revenue (Ibid.). TABLE 15: TOURIST ARRIVALS AND REVENUE: A COMPARISON OF GHANA AND SOME AFRICAN COUNTRIES, 1991. Country Morocco Egypt Senegal Kenya Botswana Zimbabwe Tanzania Ivory Coast Nigeria Ghana Arrivals (000) 3,468 2,351 759 714 691 474 193 180 161 150 Revenue ($m) 1,146 1,646 N.A. 420 N.A. I I n n n 110 Sources: African Review of Business and Technology, May 1992: 26; West Africa, June 8-14, 1992:971. The main reason why Ghana lags behind these other countries in tourism development, despite its attractive natural and cultural resources, is that it does not have the required tourist facilities, service, and the political stability to attract significant numbers of tourists (see Teye, 1988, for example). With regard to tourism facilities, for example, according to Ghana Tourism Market 114 Study (1987: Appendix), The external appearance of the hotels was very attractive but the interior condition of the rooms and bathrooms was often poor. Again, a common failing was a lack of any interior decoration and poor furniture. The restaurant, bar, beach sports facilities were all below the standards expected by European and American tourists (emphasis supplied). Unfortunately this is the type of tourists (European and American conventional tourists) Ghana has been targeting since the late 1950s. The 1987 Tourism Policy Proposals and the recent national tourism plan, the Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-1994, seem to make some room for alternative tourists like roots tourists, ethnic or cultural tourists, and eco-tourists. However, the insistence on the provision of international standard tourism infrastructure, facilities and services continues. For example, the Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-1994 (1991: 49) states that, In the hotel and restaurant sectors, the inadequacy of facilities at international standards outside Accra, remains a major constraint to packaging and marketing Ghana's tourism product, to those areas. During the planned period, it is expected that in the accommodation sector, Ghana would attract new investments in hotel rooms at international standards in each tourist circuit (emphasis supplied). This contradiction between the lack of conventional tourism facilities and Ghana's tacit targeting of conventional tourists is a big constraint on tourism development in Ghana. Patterns of Social Inequality in Ghana's Tourism: Despite the fact that the Cautionary Platform and the Adaptancy Platform reveal the widespread social inequality in the conventional tourist industry, social inequality in Ghana's tourism is yet to be thoroughly studied. Even the Addo Study (1975), the only tudy on Ghana's tourism which had as its objective the assessment of the impact of tourism on social life in Ghana, neglects this aspect of the tourist industry. Yet class, gender and ethnic inequalities exist in Ghana's 115 tourism, particularly in the areas of a) use of hotel facilities and services, and 2) ownership of hotel facilities. It is the contention of this thesis that conventional tourism tends to exacerbate inequalities that already exist in Third World countries such as Ghana mainly because of the contradiction between the industry's focus on luxury and the generally low income levels. As Wyllie (1993: 217) aptly expresses, As host nation for the 1991 Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement Ghana conducted a crash program of new hotel construction and upgrading, resulting in accommodation and facilities that are beyond the financial reach of all but the most affluent Ghanaians. These "most affluent Ghanaians" are a small portion of the 3-4 per cent high income category who are mostly urban male professionals and business owners/managers (Ingoflur Blondal, 1991: 9) from the southern ethnic groups. Ghana's adoption of alternative forms of tourism may alter this picture. Alternative forms of tourism do not depend on luxurious, elaborate tourism facilities and modern tourism services (Saglio, 1979; Nielsen, 1984; McKean, 1989; Johnston, 1990). Many Ghanaian workers, peasants, women and people from economically disadvantaged ethnic groups who have so far been outside the tourism orbit would, therefore, be able to participate in touristic travels and also own and operate tourism facilities. a) Use of Tourism facilities and Services: Most of the Ghanaians who use hotel facilities and services are usually business persons or company employees, bank officials, bureaucrats and government officials on official duties. Statistics on the clientele of Ghanaian hotels indicate this trend (see Tables 16 and 17). 116 TABLE 16: OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF GHANAIAN CLIENTELE OF SOME POPULAR GHANAIAN HOTELS: JANUARY - JUNE 1992 Hotel Agyeiwaa (N=554) Atlantic (N=793) Grand (N=49) Matvin (N=219) Mole (67) Partners (N=1044) Savoy (N=188) Tamale C. (N=144) Upland (N=260) TOTAL (N=3318) Profes-sional % 51.8 73.4 46.9 58.0 67.1 85.1 68.1 79.9 90.0 73.2 Busi-ness % 20.4 20.3 18.5 34.2 8.9 6.9 23.4 12.5 7.3 15.6 Police/ Army % 1.3 1.3 4.1 4.6 6.0 0.2 0.5 1.4 1.1 1.2 worker % 7.8 3.3 12.2 0.9 7.5 4.8 4.2 0.0 0.4 4.3 Farmer Driver % 2.7 0.5 2.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 1.1 0.0 0.0 0.7 % 14.6 0.6 16.3 2.3 1.5 1.8 0.5 0.0 0.4 3.6 Std. % 0.5 0.2 0.0 0.0 1.5 0.0 1.1 0.7 0.0 0.3 Other % 0.9 0.4 0.0 0.0 7.5 1.0 1.1 5.5 0.8 1.1 Source: Calculated from the Lodging Registers of the hotels, January-June, 1992. Where lodging registers were not available, the proprietors/managers of the popular hotels interviewed readily gave rough estimates of the occupational distribution of their clientele. Table 17 shows estimates of occupational distribution of the clientele of those hotels. 117 TABLE 17: ESTIMATES OF OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE CLIENTELE OF A SAMPLE OF POPULAR HOTELS IN GHANA Hotel Occupations of Clients Mostly Professionals Mostly Business Other Animens Bolgatanga Catering Cape Coast Catering Cicero City Dynms Eredec Golden Tulip Inter Royal Kunateh Labadi Beach Midway Miricha Mudek Novotel Nyansapow Oyster Bay Picorna Rose's Royal St. Michael Volta Western Home Western Palace Yeenuah Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No N/A No Yes Yes No No No Yes No No No Yes No No Yes No No No Yes Yes No No No No Yes N/A Yes No No Negligible N/A Source: Interview Data, June-August 1992. According to the hoteliers, only a few of their clientele are tourists, that is, leisure travellers. The large majority of the higher professionals and business persons who lodge in the Ghanaian hotels actually travel to work for the government and companies, and/or to transact business. Their hotel expenses are, therefore, borne by the state, their companies and businesses. The Ghanaians who participate in this form of domestic travel are mostly male urbanites who are in the high income group and/or are highly educated (Adu-Febiri, 1988:57-8). This trend has not changed much since 1988, for according to a study done by Ingoflur Blondal Consultant (1991:9), The typical member of this [domestic] tourist traffic is a male, aged over 35 years, 118 married, has tertiary education, is a professional/business owner-manager, and earns average monthly income of over c70,000 (in Ghana). My observations in selected hotels (June-August 1992) showed the virtual invisibility of women lodging at hotels on their own when they travel.2 My examination of hotel lodging statistics and interviews with hoteliers confirmed this observation (see tables 18 and 19). TABLE 18: GENDER DISTRIBUTION OF THE CLIENTELE OF SOME POPULAR GHANAIAN HOTELS (JANUARY-JUNE, 1992) Gender Distribution of Clientele Hotel Agyeiwaa Atlantic Grand Matvin Mole Partners May Savoy Tamale Catering Upland TOTAL Male No. 540 749 47 219 64 1034 172 135 247 3207 % 97.5 94.5 95.9 100.0 95.5 99.0 91.5 93.7 95.0 96.7 Female No. 14 44 2 0 3 10 16 9 13 111 % 2.5 5.5 4.1 0.0 4.5 1.0 8.5 6.3 5.0 3.3 Total No. 554 793 49 219 67 1044 188 144* 260 3318 Source: Calculated from the Lodging Registers of the hotels. * This figure is for March-June 1992. The operation of the hotel was interrupted from June 1991 - February 1992 by the divestiture programme of the PNDC government 119 TABLE 19: ESTIMATES OF GENDER DISTRIBUTION OF THE CLIENTELE OF A SAMPLE OF POPULAR HOTELS IN GHANA (JANUARY-JUNE, 1992) The Gender of Clients H o t e l M o s t l y M a l e M o s t l y F e m a l e No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No N/A No No No (50%) Source: Interview Data, June-August 1992. With regard to ethnic inequality in the use of hotel facilities and service, it must be remarked that it is very difficult to determine. Ethnic distribution of Ghanaian hotel clientele, unlike occupation and gender, is very difficult to calculate because many of them, particularly those who are not government- or company-sponsored, do not give their real names when completing the hotel lodging form, according to hoteliers interviewed. Two factors help account for this behaviour of the clientele: a) the fear of being vetted by a military regime-military regimes in Ghana are noted for their investigation of the sources of wealth of Ghanaians who live "ostentatiously" or posses huge bank accounts; and b) the fear of their illicit sexual activities being discovered by their spouses-many of the married male clientele lodge at hotels with their girlfriends some of whom Animens Bolgatanga Catering Cape Coast Catering Cicero City Dynms Eredec Golden Tulip Inter Royal Kunateh Labadi Beach Midway Miricha Mudek Novotel Nyansapow Oyster Bay Picorna Rose's Royal St. Michael Volta Western Home Western Palace Yeenuah Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes N/A Yes Yes No (50%) 120 may be married (see Dinan, 1983: 361; Adu-Febiri, 1988: 86-88). In the area of racial inequality, it is important to stress that, unlike in other African countries such as Kenya and Gambia or Third World tourism destinations like the Caribbean countries, it is not a problem in Ghana tourism (see Tables 20 and 21). Perhaps this is because conventional tourism is at its embryonic or pre-"development" stage in Ghana (see Butler, 1980). TABLE 20: GHANAIAN-FOREIGNER DISTRIBUTION OF CLIENTS OF SOME POPULAR HOTELS IN GHANA:JANUARY-JUNE 1992 Hotel Agyeiwaa Atlantic Grand Matvin Mole Partners May Savoy Tamale Catering Upland TOTAL Distribution of Clientele Ghanaian Male No. 540 749 47 219 64 1034 172 135 247 3207 Female No. 14 44 2 0 3 10 16 9 13 111 % 91.1 69.1 92.5 97.8 15.4 95.5 72.6 86.2 71.6 76.3 i Foreigner * Male No. 47 334 4 4 310 45 61 14 84 903 Female No. 7 20 0 1 58 4 10 9 19 128 % 8.9 30.9 7.5 2.2 84.6 4.5 27.4 13.8 28.4 23.7 Total 608 1147 53 224 435 1093 259 167 363 4349 Source: Calculated from the Lodging Registers of the hotels. * Many of the foreigner group are African Americans and blacks from other African countries, according to the hoteliers. Estimates of the Ghanaian-Foreigner composition of other popular hotels also show that the Ghanaian (black) component form the great majority of their clientele. Of the 25 hotels in this category, as many as 19 (76%) indicated that their clientele are mostly Ghanaians. Table 21 depicts this pattern. 121 TABLE 21: ESTIMATES OF GHANAIAN-FOREIGNER COMPOSITION OF THE CLIENTELE OF A SAMPLE OF POPULAR HOTELS IN GHANA (JANUARY-JUNE, 1992) Hotel Animens Bolgatanga Catering Cape Coast Catering Cicero City Dynms Eredec Golden Tulip Inter Royal Kunateh Labadi Beach Midway Miricha Mudek Novotel Nyansapow Oyster Bay Picorna Rose's Royal St. Michael Volta Western Home Western Palace Yeenuah Distribution Mostly Ghanaian Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes N/A Yes No Yes Mostly Foreigners No No No Yes No No No Yes No No Yes No No No Yes No No No No No No N/A No Yes No Source: Interview Data, June-August 1992. The tourist traffic involving Ghana residents consists mainly of members of the high income brackets, estimated to represent 3-4% of the national population. Low income or budget travellers cannot afford to use these conventional tourism facilities. Even of the high income group many may not engage in leisure travel because of their extended family commitments which greatly reduce their discretionary incomes. Apart from transportation and food which cost the Ghanaian domestic tourist a lot of money, hotel accommodation costs a fortune. The average decent hotel room ranges between 7,700 cedis (US$18.00) and 16,600 cedis (US$38.00) per night for single accommodation. Meanwhile the average daily wage/income of workers and peasants is between US$1.00 and US$4.00. A single room at the Volta Hotel costs 25,000 cedis (US$55.00) per night. 122 The most expensive hotels in Ghana, the three foreign hotels-Novotel, Golden Tulip and Labadi Beach-charge US$138.00, US$140.00 and US$150.00 respectively. The high expense of hotel accommodation is one of the main reasons why many Ghanaians associate conventional tourism with "wastefulness" (Adu-Febiri, 1988: 106). The prevailing collectivistic ethic tends to reduce the discretionary incomes of many Ghanaians and thus may reduce their propensity to engage in conventional leisure travel. As is discussed at length in chapter two, despite the onslaught of Westernization and its individualistic ethic on the Ghanaian society since the pre-colonial times, the collectivistic ethic is still very strong in post-colonial Ghana. Relatively well-to-do Ghanaians, either from ethnic groups practising matrilineal or patrilineal descent system, contribute in one way or another to the education, housing, health, feeding, clothing, funerals, etc., needs of their underprivileged extended family members. This takes reasonable proportions of incomes (average of 5-10 per cent-see chapter 5) of Ghanaians in the high income group, and thus reduces their discretionary incomes which could be spent on conventional leisure travel. The lower income Ghanaians who are positively disposed to tourism cannot afford the expense involved in any extended conventional leisure travel. They, therefore, usually engage in group day-trips (excursions) organized by ethnic associations, churches, social clubs, educational institutions, tourist clubs, etc., to places such as the forts and slave castles, Akosombo and Kpong hydro-electric dams, the universities, and other tourist attractions in Ghana. A cursory examination of statistics of visitors to these places reveals the above trend. The types of Ghanaian groups which made excursions to the Cape Coast and Elmina Castles from January to May 1992, are quite typical of the situation (see Table 22). 123 TABLE 22: ORGANIZED GROUPS VISITING CAPE COAST AND ELMINA CASTLES: JANUARY - MAY 1992. Cape Coast Castle Elmina Castle Total Group No No Na Students 19 31 50 Tourist Clubs 0 1 1 Workers Groups 2 3 5 Ladies Clubs 2 2 4 Churches 1 2 3 Companies 2 4 6 Ethnic Associations 1 1 2 Youth Associations 3 4 7 Other 1 4 5_ Total 31 52 83_ Source: Compiled from the Monthly Statistical Report January-May 1992, Museums and Monuments Board, Cape Coast. Some Ghanaians, particularly women, do not engage in leisure travel involving stays at hotels. This is because many Ghanaians perceive hotels as a citadel of moral laxity and illicit sex (Adu-Febiri, 1988: 108). Ghanaian hotel guests who are married men are usually suspected of having sexual relations with girlfriends or married women. Women who come to hotels on their own are often labelled as prostitutes. Unlike in Third World tourism destinations such as the Philippines and Thailand (see Lea, 1989), however, the prostitution associated with Ghana's tourism is between Ghanaian female prostitutes and male Ghanaian domestic travellers. It must be remarked that such illicit sexual practices could not develop within the traditional hospitality system, because unlike conventional tourism facilities, it did not provide a hide-out for the traveller. The genesis of hotels in Ghana may help us to situate this negative perception of recreation involving leisure travel and hotels. Unlike the traditional travel accommodation (guest-room system), most of the pioneer hotels in Ghana started as drinking bars. Some of the male customers who usually went to the drinking bars with women wanted a "key" (room) to have sex. Drinking bar operators met this demand by adding one or two rooms to their bars for this purpose. These "drinking-bar-brothels" later developed into small hotels. The "key" image has persisted to 124 this day casting its shadow even on modern hotels. Hence the association of hotels with prostitution by many Ghanaians, which is inhibiting Ghanaian women from staying in hotels on their own. Tourism-related prostitution may, however, not be widespread in Ghana compared to South-East Asian nations, perhaps because conventional tourism is not as developed in Ghana. My informal interviews with some tourism officials and hoteliers revealed that such prostitution in Ghanaian hotels is not rampant. My own observations in popular hotels in Ghana confirm this view. Apart from one hotel each in Accra, Tema, Takoradi and Kumasi, no other hotel seems to have any serious prostitution problem. It is worthwhile to note that prostitution existed in Ghana before the introduction of hotels and tourism (see Accam, 1976; Twumasi, 1978; Attafuah, 1982), and may not be as rampant as the perceptions of some Ghanaians indicate. However, since the negative perception exists, it either has to be countered if Ghanaian women are to be encouraged to participate in conventional tourism or alternative forms of tourism have to be designed for them. b) Social Inequality in Ownership of Hotels in Ghana: The heavy investment usually involved in establishing modern hotels tends to restrict its ownership to people with very high incomes, those with the right connections to obtain substantial bank loans, international conglomerates, the state and other corporate institutions. It is thus not surprising that in Ghana the hotels are owned by business persons, large-scale farmers, higher professionals, international hotel chains, the state and institutions (see Table 23). 125 TABLE 23: OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF HOTEL PROPRIETORS IN GHANA Male Female Total* Occupation No. % No. % No. % Business 345 93.2 66 97.1 411 93.8 Higher Professional 19 5.1 2 2.9 21 4.8 Large-Scale Farming 6 1.6 0 0.0 6 1.4 Total 370 100.0 68 100.0 438 100.0 Source: Computed from the list of hotels and their owners compiled by the Inspectorate Division, Ghana Tourist Board, 1992. * 41 hotels owned by the state, institutions and international hotel chains, and 26 hotels jointly owned by males and females are not included in the table. The male domination of the hotel industry in Ghana is very glaring. As shown in Table 24, nearly 80 percent of hoteliers in Ghana are men. A further 5.6 percent of the hotels are jointly owned by males and females. Moreover, about half of the hotels owned by women are mostly guest houses, lodges and motels. Many of these premises converted into hotel accommodation were houses bequeathed to them on the death of their husbands. Typical examples are St. Martin's, Rose's Ltd., Karithia and Blue Angels. * TABLE 24: GENDER DISTRIBUTION OF OWNERS OF HOTEL ACCOMMODATION IN GHANA. Owner No % Male 370 79.7 Female 68 14.7 Male/Female 26 5.6 Total 464 100.0 Source: Ibid. * This table excludes the 41 hotels owned by the state, institutions and international hotel chains. 126 The gender inequality in hotel ownership becomes more conspicuous when the above distribution is situated within the context of male-female composition of the Ghanaian population. The latest population figures of Ghana show that there are 6.8 million females and 6.6 million males. Of this distribution, there are 2.9 million economically active females as against 2.7 males (Ghana in Figures, 1987: 1). The reasons for the low representation of women in hotel ownership in Ghana are economic and cultural. Only a small percentage of Ghanaian women are higher professionals or own wholesale businesses, large retail enterprises, or large-scale capitalist farms which are the main sources of private capital accumulation in Ghana. Cultural stereotyping also greatly contributes to the low representation of Ghanaian women in capital generating businesses and higher professions. When the capitalist economy and Western education were introduced in full-swing in Ghana during the colonial period, the prevailing gender ideology prevented women from going into the higher professions and large-scale commercial ventures both in business and agriculture (see Hill, 1956; Kaplan et al, 1971; Mikell, 1989). For example, there was a prevailing notion in the Akan societies that "obaa ton nyadowa na onton atuduro", literally, a woman sells garden-eggs (vegetables) and not gun powder. To a large extent, this situation continues in post-colonial Ghana. Another cultural factor which seems to contribute to the male domination of Ghanaian hotel business is the traditional notion that women's worth or status is dependent mostly on marriage. It seems many Ghanaian women have conformed to this cultural stereotype, for they tend to spend the major portion of their incomes on clothing and other beauty gadgets which make them attractive to men. Such heavy expenditures on personal adornments may prevent many women from accumulating enough capital for investment in businesses like hotels which require huge capital outlay. According to a hotel proprietress, Ostentatious lifestyles of Ghanaian women prevent them from saving and sacrificing for investment in productive ventures such as tourism facilities. Fashion is a big drain: I have some friends who spend so much on expensive clothes. For example, some of them own from five to ten "bubu". ("Bubu" was the latest most expensive women's traditional cloth in Ghana during the period of the 127 field work). My interviews with other hoteliers support this viewpoint. In response to a question as to why only a few Ghanaian women own hotels, the typical explanation was that Ghanaian women do not accumulate enough capital to invest in hotel business mainly because they spent their money on fashion. One hotel manager succinctly puts it this way: "How can women have money for building hotels when they use their incomes in buying clothes and cosmetics?". This explanation is, however, not very strong, for the reality is that the great majority of women in Ghana earn very low incomes. Over 80 percent of the economically active Ghanaian women are engaged in low-paying petty trading and petty commodity production in the informal sector of the economy (Ninsin, 1991), and even if they spend nothing on adornments they cannot in any way accumulate enough money to build hotels. Turning to the ethnic composition of hotel owners in Ghana, the inequality against the Northern ethnic groups is very evident. As tables 25 and 26 indicate, the Southern ethnic groups own over 95 percent of hotels owned by Ghanaians, despite the fact that Northerners constitute about 17 percent of the population (see Table 5 in Chapter 2). With regard to the separate ethnic entities, the Akan are over-represented. The Akan constitute less than 50 percent of Ghana's population, yet they own over 80 percent of the Ghanaian hotels. TABLE 25: ETHNIC DISTRIBUTION OF HOTEL OWNERS IN GHANA: SOUTHERN-NORTHERN RATIO Male Female Total Ethnic Location No. % No. % No. % Southern Northern Total 348 16 364 95.6 4.4 100.0 63 2 65 96.9 3.1 100.0 411 18 429 95.8 4.2 100.0 Source: Estimated from the list of hotels and their owners compiled by the Inspectorate Division, Ghana Tourist Board, 1992. 128 TABLE 26: ETHNIC DISTRIBUTION OF HOTEL OWNERS IN GHANA: A BREAK-DOWN Male Female Total Ethnicity No. % No. % No. % Akan 305 82.4 54 79.4 359 82.0 Ewe 26 7.0 3 4.4 29 6.6 Ga-Adangbe 17 4.7 6 8.8 23 5.2 Mole-Dagbani 16 4.3 2 3.0 18 4.1 Other 6 1.6 3 4.4 9 2.1 Total 370 100.0 68 100.0 438 100.0 Source: Ibid. The disparity between the Southern and Northern ethnic groups and that between the Akan and non-Akan groups with regard to the composition of hotel ownership in Ghana, are mainly created by natural resource and cultural value differentials. The Ghanaian economy, focusing as it does on petty commodity production, makes the ethnic groups inhabiting the areas endowed with natural resources wealthier. In Ghana, the mineral and timber resources, and the lands suitable for the cultivation of export crops such as cocoa and coffee, are located in the Southern half of the country, particularly in the Akan areas and the North-Eastern part of the Volta Region (see Appendix 4). These staples, exploited for export, constitute a primary source of capital accumulation in Ghana. The Northern sector of Ghana occupied by the Mole-Dagbani ethnic groups, on the other hand, is located in the Sahel zone with a savanna vegetation unsuitable for the cultivation of cocoa and coffee, and is not endowed with timber. Moreover, so far, no mineral with any substantial commercial value has been discovered in the North. Only a few people from the Northern ethnic groups who could accumulate capital through large-scale cattle rearing and rice farming (since the 1970s) or by engaging in business activities in the South, therefore, own hotels. 129 Like the Northern sector, the land of the Qa-Adangbes (Greater Accra Region) has no forests suitable for cocoa and coffee production, neither does it possess timber or any valuable mineral resources. However, the Ga-Adangbes, especially the Gas, are generally wealthier than the Northerners mainly because of the former's territorial location which makes it the entreporte of Ghana. The Gas, therefore, benefit greatly from the import-export trade and higher education which are important means of capital accumulation. Hence their owning proportionally more hotels than the Northerners. Volta Region, the home of the Ewes, in a large measure, is similar to the North and Greater Accra in terms of flora and mineral endowments. Yet the Ewes come next to the Akans with regard to hotel ownership. As noted above, this may be due partly to the fact that the North-Eastern part of the Eweland is suitable for cocoa and coffee cultivation (and partly to the cultural values of the Ewes). Perhaps due to the poor ecology of most parts of the Volta Region, generally the Ewes tend to place a very high premium on higher education. They are fairly represented in the higher professions such as law, medicine and accounting. Through these professions some of them are able to accumulate capital to invest in hotel business. A typical example is Dr. Glover, the proprietor of Cisneros Villa, a 3-Star hotel at Sogakope in the Volta Region. Another factor which seems to contribute to ethnic inequality with regard to hotel ownership is the differences in the cultural values of the various ethnic groups (see Febiri, 1991: 50). This factor is, however, very difficult to pin down due to the lack of ethnographic documentation on the various ethnic groups. Any attempt to use the differences in value systems may, therefore, be tantamount to ethnic stereotyping. 130 3.5: CONCLUSION: The discussions in this chapter show that travel has been very prominent in Ghana since the pre-colonial period. However, travel did not acquire any significant leisure or touristic component until the post-colonial period. In terms of travel accommodation and other hospitality facilities, there has been a significant change since Ghana's independence. In post-colonial Ghana, in contrast to the earlier periods, Western-type commercialized hospitality system is predominant, though it is generally below the international standard. The creation of the Western-type hospitality system in Ghana signifies the clear conventional orientation of Ghana's travel industry. Given the low levels of income, this conventional tourism focus of the industry tends to make the ownership and use of tourism facilities the prerogative of the rich. These are for the most part foreigners and Ghanaian business men and male professionals from mostly the southern ethnic groups. The masses are thus virtually excluded from the benefits of tourism. This is because 1) conventional tourism facilities require heavy capital investment; only a few of even the 3-4 percent high income Ghanaians could afford to invest in the industry, 2) conventional touristic travel is costly and, therefore, the lower income Ghanaians (generally workers, peasants, women, and Northern ethnic groups) cannot afford the expense involved, and 3) conventional tourism facilities in Ghana, particularly hotels, are associated with wastefulness and prostitution which tend to discourage many Ghanaians, especially women, from using tourist facilities. Although, since 1959, Ghanaian governments have expressed interest in developing both domestic and international tourism, the bias has been towards international tourism. This is mainly to exploit the foreign exchange potential linked to this form of tourism. Tourism in post-colonial Ghana has so far remained on a low profile compared to countries such as Egypt, Morocco, Kenya, Senegal, Mexico and the Caribbean. The irony is that Ghana boasts of tourism resources equal to, if not greater than, those of the countries mentioned. The following chapter looks at Ghana's tourism resources. 131 NOTES: 1. A "meet-me-there" is a form of domestic excursion which has been practised in Ghana since 1977. It involves a variety of organized entertainment programmes at specific sites, especially the beaches, lakes, waterfalls, and cultural centres. Large numbers are usually attracted. 2. Tables 16 and 17 portray a glaring statistical disparity in gender distribution in the use of Ghanaian hotel facilities and services. In reality, however, the disparity may not be that great. This is because many of the Ghanaian male higher professionals and businessmen go to hotels with women, mainly their girlfriends, according to hoteliers interviewed. I discovered a similar pattern through my participant observations in three popular State hotels-Volta, Atlantic, City—in the Fall of 1987. The same men kept on bringing different women who were usually far younger than them to the hotels (see Adu-Febiri, 1988:176,177). Dinan (1983:361) observed a similar pattern earlier. According to her, Weekends spent outside Accra with boyfriends were alsoquite common [among white collar single women in Accra]--going for "time". This "time" was usually spent stayingin luxury state hotels in either the coastal towns of CapeCoast or Sekondi/Takoradi, or inland at Akosombo on theVolta Dam. The names of these women do not appear in hotel lodging registers because they are brought there by men who pay for the expenses. In effect, although many Ghanaian women do use hotel facilities and services, they do so only through men and, therefore, as subordinates. 132 CHAPTER FOUR: GHANA'S TOURISM RESOURCES 4.1: INTRODUCTION: This chapter, discussing Ghana's potential tourism resources, aims at establishing that these resources constitute a strong foundation for developing a viable tourist industry in the country. Unlike industrialization, tourism cannot be developed in a country through importation of its raw materials. The availability of specific and/or unique attractions in a country are, therefore, very crucial in the development of tourism as an industry. Fortunately, Ghana is endowed with vast tourism resources (see Appendix 2 and Appendix 5) which when judiciously combined with the other comparative advantages discussed in Chapter One could make tourism the mainstay of Ghana's development. The tourism resources of Ghana could be classified broadly into natural, cultural and historical. The natural tourism resources consist of about 350 miles of coastline endowed with coconut-fringed sandy beaches having many picturesque lagoons; long hours of sunshine for more than 300 days in a year; rich variety of flora and fauna; ridges and mountains; lakes and rivers; waterfalls; geological wealth-gold and diamond particularly; and agricultural attractions. Among the cultural resources are traditional festivals, variety of funerals, public markets (bazaars), traditional arts and crafts, fetishes and shrines, and the proverbial authentic Ghanaian hospitality. With regard to the historical tourism assets, the most spectacular ones include the numerous European forts and slave castles along the entire Ghanaian coast, historic church/missionary houses and mosques, and relics of ancient settlements and archaeological sites. While the existence of tourist attractions is a necessary resource, whatever the approach ("conventional" or "alternative") adopted for developing the tourist industry, it is not a sufficient condition for creating a viable tourist industry capable of socio-economic transformation of a country. This point is supported by the case of Ghana. There are unique tourism resources in Ghana, but unlike countries such as Morocco, Senegal, Gambia, Kenya, the Caribbean, Mexico, 133 Indonesia, just to mention a few, Ghana has not been able to develop such resources to develop a vibrant tourist industry capable of contributing to its development. Moreover, Ghana, unlike many of these countries, is not likely to successfully mobilize these tourism resources for development through the conventional tourism approach proposed by the Advocacy Platform. 4.2: GHANA'S TOURISM NATURAL RESOURCES: a) Beaches: Nearly the entire coastline of Ghana has some deposits of sand forming golden and white sandy beaches of various widths. These range from under 50 metres in some parts of Accra to over 100 meters in Busua, Labadi and Prampram (see Adoboe, 1988: 25-28). The most touristically important beaches in Ghana are, from east to west, Azizanya, Prampram, Nungua, Labadi, Dansoman, Botianor, Brenu, Winneba, Fetteh, Elmina, Busua, Cape Three Points, Niamia, Adjua, and Princesstown. The reliable sunshine in most part of the year, particularly from October to May when many parts of the tourist generating countries are experiencing winter conditions, could make these beaches havens for the sun-loving European and American tourists (Wyllie, 1990). Some of these beaches which, in their natural setting, are comparable to the world's popular beaches in California, Florida, Hawaii, Mexico, Greece, Italy, the Caribbean, Gambia, Kenya, etc., however, remain only a potential, particularly in terms of the number of tourists visiting. Apart from the Labadi Beach Hotel resort, the rest of the Ghanaian beaches are not developed to meet international resort standards. The Coco, Winneba, Biriwa, Oyster Bay, and Elmina beach resorts, are the only beaches that come close to resorts in Ghana. Apart from the Labadi Beach Hotel resort, the rest are far below international standards for conventional tourists (Inglofur Blonda Consultant, 1991). The Busua Beach chalets are still under construction, and the Labadi beach 134 which is supposed to be the most developed public beach in Ghana has no international standard facilities. Transportation links to most of the beaches are very poor. For example, Nungua beach which is about 200 metres from the Accra-Tema coastal road has no paved road leading to it: "Beach goers have, themselves, through constant driving to the beach 'constructed' some kind of 'road' to the beach" (Adoboe, 1988:30). The 8-kilometre road, off the Accra-Winneba trunk road, leading to Botianor beach is typical of the roads leading to other principal beaches in Ghana. This road "has been classified under third class road just because there is no lower class into which it can be put." (Ibid: 31), and "it takes a vehicle an average of about 30 minutes to cover this short distance" (Ibid). Some of the roads are paved, but, like the road from Agona Junction to Busua beach, are full of potholes. b) Lakes and Rivers: The Volta lake, one of the three largest man-made lakes in the world, is a valuable tourism resource for Ghana. Its touristic value lies in the Volta dam which is among the most modern hydro-electric dams in Africa, the large stretch of water which is suitable for a variety of water sports, and the number of beautiful islands (in the lake), particularly Dodi island. The only sizeable natural lake in Ghana is Lake Bosumtwi, a crater lake located about seventeen miles south-west of Kumasi in the Ashanti Region. Like the beaches, this lake lacks a good road and conventional tourism facilities. The only motel being built in the lake town of Abonu has not been completed. Apart from the lakes, Ghana has rivers such as Tano, Ankobra, Bia, Pra, Densu, Black Volta, and White Volta which could be used for boating, rafting, pleasure fishing. Some of these rivers are of historical importance. For example, 1) Tano was used to float timber from the interior to the coast during the colonial period (also fish in this river are believed to be sacred and are not eaten), and 2) King Osei Tutu, a great eighteenth century Ashanti king, was killed on river Pra during a war 135 expedition. c) Waterfalls: There are five known waterfalls in Ghana--Wli, Boti, Kintampo, Tsatsadu and Tagbo. Wli falls, the highest and the largest in the country (1,800 feet high and over 100 feet wide) is found on the Ghana-Togo border, about 15 miles north west of Hohoe. This waterfalls is located in the heart of a luxurious tropical rain forest. The river that flows from the pond of the falls meanders several times in the forest, and one has to cross it twelve times before reaching the falls itself. The nearer one approaches the falls, the cooler the water becomes. At the foot of the falls is a pond forming a natural swimming pool. The Boti falls, located about 25 miles north west of Koforidua, the Eastern Regional capital, is 90 feet high. It has two arms flowing on a cliff face. During the peak of the rainy season in July the two arms almost join together to form a broad falls. According to local legend, the left arm is a female called "Afi" (Friday born female) and the right arm is "Kofi" (Friday born male). The immediate surroundings of this falls is a thick tropical rainforest while the outlying areas are covered by savanna vegetation. Other waterfalls in Ghana are Kintampo Falls, Tagbo Falls and Tsatsadu Falls. Kintampo Falls, the only one in the northern half of Ghana, is spectacular-it tumbles on several natural stairs before entering the pool at the base. The other two waterfalls, Tagbo Falls and the Tsatsadu Falls, are similar to the Kintampo Falls, only that they are smaller and perennial. Although the waterfalls in Ghana are smaller compared to say the Victoria Falls in Zambia and Zimbabwe, and Niagara Falls in Canada, their situation in lush tropical rainforests makes them a unique tourist attraction, particularly for eco-tourists. My observations showed that despite the attractions of Ghana's waterfalls, they do not have conventional tourism facilities. For example, there are no modern washrooms and catering facilities at the sites of these waterfalls; hotel accommodation and Western-type restaurants are non-existent in the nearby villages; the roads leading to the falls are not in good shape. In terms 136 of infrastructure, Boti falls is the most developed in Ghana. It has a 150-step concrete stair case leading to the foot of the falls. There are also a two-bedroom chalet facility, two summer huts and a house for the caretaker. However, like the other waterfalls, this falls lacks washroom facilities, benches/chairs, and restaurants/food outlets. As observed by a Ghanaian weekly, the Mirror, May 23 1992: 11, The Falls which was developed in 1959 during the First republic looks like a deserted village with no catering and snack services. Besides, apart from the only chalet whose operation is even in doubt, there is no place where a tourist to the Falls could sit, relax and even have his [or her] meals. Without any place to rest, the tourists of the Lolonyo Social Club could only stand and stare. d) Mountains, Rocks and Caves: The few mountains in Ghana which rise suddenly above the low undulating surrounding areas provide very attractive scenery. They also have a great potential for becoming centres of recreational sports such as hiking and mountain climbing, but they lack developed trails and mountain climbing facilities. These mountains include Obuo Tabiri (Koforidua), Aburi Mountains, the Nkawkaw scarp, the Gambaga scarp, the Shai hills, and the Togo hills, particularly the Afajato which is the highest mountain in Ghana. In addition to the mountains, Ghana also boasts of spectacular ancient rocks and caves. Examples are the "Umbrella" Rock near Boti Falls, the grottos of Kpandu, Mbuoho and Asuoye, the "Whistling" Rocks of Tongo and the "Mystery" Stone of Larabanga. The caves include the Elongated Cave near Boti Falls and the Ancestral Caves of Likpe. 137 e) Ecological Attractions: The closest tropical rainforests from Europe are found in Ghana (Tourism Market Study, 1987). These rainforests are located in the Central, Western, Eastern, Volta Ashanti and Brong Ahafo Regions. The existing rainforests in Ghana are preserved in the form of "forest reserves" which form a natural habitat for a variegated plants and wildlife. Table 27 shows the official forest reserves in Ghana. TABLE: 27: FOREST RESERVES IN GHANA Reserve Kankum Pra-Suhen Yenkum Ankasa Boin Bia-Tawya Krokosua Cape Three Points Yoye Kalakpa Kolor Wli Falls Buofum Bomfobiri Kogyae Owabi Digya Region Central Central Central Western Western Western Western Western Western Volta Volta Volta Ashanti Ashanti Ashanti Ashanti Ashanti Sources: Five-Year Development Plan 1975-1980, 1977: 285-286. Ghana Tourist Map, 1986; Medium Term National Tourism Plan for Ghana 1992-1994, 1991: Annexure 3, pp. iii-v). Unlike Costa Rica (Salazar, 1988) which is successfully harnessing its rainforest resources to develop a lucrative eco-tourist industry, Ghana's forest reserves are yet to be utilized as touristic assets. There are also reserves or National Parks in the savanna zone of Ghana. Like the forest 138 reserves, the National Parks in the savanna regions of Greater Accra, Brong Ahafo, Northern, and Upper Regions, stock lots of wildlife. Unlike the rainforest reserves, however, the savanna reserves do not contain many variety of flora. They are, therefore, maintained mainly as game and wildlife reserves. Table 28 shows the savanna reserves in Ghana. TABLE: 28: SAVANNA RESERVES IN GHANA Reserve Region Shai Hill Greater Accra Attebubu Brong-Ahafo Bui Brong-Ahafo & Northern Mole Northern Gble Upper West Sources: Five-Year Development Plan 1975-1980, 1977: 285-286. Ghana Tourist Map, 1986; Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-1994, 1991: Annexure 3. The forest and Savanna reserves in Ghana contain a huge stock and variety of wildlife. Animals such as elephants, buffaloes, duckers, deer, hedgehogs, baboons, monkeys, antelopes, lions, leopards, etc., abound in the reserves. Birds found in the reserves include parrots, fowls, and a variety of other tropical birds. The Obuasi bird sanctuary, the largest one in Ghana, is a home for many of the above bird species. Favourite migrant birds include swallows (Five-Year Development Plan 1975-1980, 1977: 285-286; Tourism Market Studies, 1987: 11; Tourism Development Scheme for Central Region, 1988: 6). There are also two monkey sanctuaries (Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary and Tafi Monkey Village) which are kept sacred by the local communities of these areas. The Atewa-Atwirebu butterfly sanctuary and the Paga and Akatakyi 139 crocodile ponds are another fascinating natural attractions in Ghana. The above wildlife and flora reserves, unlike those in Kenya and Tanzania, have not been developed into prominent conventional tourist attractions through the provision of modern tourism infrastructure and facilities. With the exception of the Mole National Park which has a motel and a few roads which make the animals quite accessible, all the other reserves lack modern tourist facilities. According to the Five-Year Development Plan 1975-1980 (1977: 276), Ghana has not yet been able to take advantage of her wildlife resources in promoting tourism because of the poor and undeveloped nature of tourist accommodation and infrastructure in the national parks and game reserves. The situation in the national parks and game reserves remain virtually the same today. My personal observations show that 1) the Mole National Park's 100 room motel is well below international standards in terms of facilities; 2) the road system in the park is not motorable during the rainy season, and the road from Damango to the park is in a bad state; 3) the other national parks and reserves still do not have any accommodation and tourism infrastructure. f) Geological Attractions: Ghana has a considerable mineral wealth which may be a source of attraction to tourists with special interests in precious metals such as gold and diamond (Tourism Market Study, 1987:11). Minerals found in Ghana include gold, diamond, manganese, bauxite, and iron. Of these minerals the most valuable and widespread is gold which is the second largest export of Ghana. It was the enormous gold endowment of Ghana which made European merchants name it Gold Coast, a name maintained until the country achieved political independence in 1957. At present, gold is mined on a large-scale in four areas-Obuasi, Konongo, Tarkwa and Prestia, in order of size. The Obuasi goldmine has "the best grade ore of any large goldmine in the world" (Wyllie, 1990: 16). Opportunity for tourists to see gold and other precious metals in their raw and processed forms could be a very important tourist attraction. These mineral attractions of Ghana, however, have not 140 been packaged and promoted. Thus they remain only as latent tourist resources. g) Agricultural Attractions: Ghana has lost its first place in the production of cocoa. However, it is still one of the largest producers of cocoa in the world. The first hand opportunity for Europeans and North Americans, who consume a lot of chocolates and cocoa drinks, to see cocoa trees in their natural environment and to witness the traditional cultivation and preparation of cocoa, would be a wonderful experience. Ghana has, however, not been able to tap into farm tourism which is now booming in Europe and the United States (Pizam and Pokela, 1980; Frater, 1983; Dernoi, 1983). 4.3: CULTURAL RESOURCES OF GHANA'S TOURISM: A unique and significant tourism resource of Ghana is its rich, diverse cultural forms, practices and artifacts. The most significant of these are the numerous traditional festivals, funeral celebrations, bazaars, arts and crafts, shrines, and traditional architecture. So far Ghana, unlike destinations such as Kenya, Hawaii, Bali, Mexico, Tonga, Fiji and other South Pacific islands (see Smith, 1989), has not systematically packaged and promoted its vast cultural attractions as a tourism product to the tourist generating countries. 141 a) Festivals: Every ethnic group in Ghana celebrate some festival in a particular month of the year. The most popular of these festivals are Asafotufiam, Homowo, Hobetsotso, Odwira, Ngmayem, Ohum, Aboakyer, Akwammo, Bakatue, Fetu Afahye, Odambea, Kundum, Akwasidae, Kwafie, Apoo, Kobine, Damba and Bugam. "Modern" festivals celebrated are Christmas, particularly the "Edina Buronya" at Elmina, and Easter, especially among the Kwawu ethnic group. Table 29 below shows all the popular festivals, the ethnic areas which celebrate them, and the months of the year in which they are celebrated. TABLE 29: POPULAR FESTIVALS IN GHANA: Festival Hobetsotso Asafotufiam Homowo Odwira Ngmayem Easter Bakatue Edina Buronya Aboakyer Fetu Afahye Odambea Kundum Akwasidae Apoo Kwafie Kobine Damba Bugum Month Celebrated November July-August July-August Sept.-October March-April March-April July January May September August August-November Every Six Weeks November November-December September November November-December Traditional Area Anloga Ada G a/Accra Akuapim Krobo Kwawu Elmina Elmina Winneba Cape Coast Saltpond Ahanta-Nzema Kumasi/Ashanti Techiman, Wenchi Akwamu, Nsuatre, Berekum, Dormaa Dagaaba Dagbon, Gonja, Mamprusi, Nanumba Dagbon, Gonja, Mamprusi, Nanumba Sources: Ghana: A Tourist Guide, 1991; Medium Term National Tourism Plan for Ghana 1992-1994 (1991). Many of the festivals in Ghana attract a large number of people, both Ghanaians and foreigners. During the celebrations many people, natives and non-natives, flock to these festival areas to participate in the celebrations. Hotels are always fully booked in advance during these 142 occasions (Wyllie, 1968). My interview with the manager/proprietor of Yeenuah Hotel and examination of the lodging registers (in August, 1992) of the three hotels in Winneba where the Aboakyer festival is celebrated, confirm this observation of Wyllie's. All the three hotels-Sir Charles, Yeenuah, Flamingo-enjoy 100 per cent occupancy during the Aboakyer festival, compared to less than 15 per cent in the other periods of the year. Although the festivals are mainly religious celebrations, they provide participants the opportunity to temporarily escape from the hustle and bustle, and the boredom of the routine involved in everyday life. b) Funerals: Funerals in Ghana also have the potential of becoming an important cultural tourist attraction. Elaborate funerals celebrations are one of the ancient traditions of Ghana which is still very vibrant throughout the country. They are usually celebrated on Saturday afternoons, in most cases after the burial ceremonies. At funerals, there are almost always a large gathering of mourners, and sympathizers, and people with interests other than the funeral (see Fiawo et al, 1978). Drumming, singing and dancing are vital accompaniments of funeral celebrations in Ghana. The traditional funeral clothes worn by both men and women come in different colours and hues, the common ones being red, black, brown, blue, and green. Some of these funeral cloths have the "adinkra" (traditional motifs) touch. The Gas usually use white cloths for their funerals, and also among the Akans, white cloth is worn by all twins during a funeral of a twin. These different colours and hues of funeral costumes make funerals in Ghana very colourful. There are a variety of funerals-royal, rich, poor, driver, musician, lawyer/judge, hunter, priest/priestess, witch/wizard, twin, etc.-with their unique formalities and rituals. 143 c) Bazaars: Public markets (open bazaars) of various sizes which are a prominent characteristic of Ghanaian cities, towns and villages. Each city and town, and some villages have "market days" when traders and clients troupe to the market centres for various businesses and activities. The most prominent of these bazaars in Ghana are shown in Table 30. TABLE 30: PROMINENT BAZAARS IN GHANA Bazaar City/Town Region Agbozume Akatsi Ho Hohoe Kpando-Tokor Makola Kwasea Timber Kaneshie Osu Night Adwaso Agatha Asesewa Nsawam Mankessim Market Circle Sekondi Agona Beposo Central/Kajetia Asafo Ejura Techiman Nkoranza Yeji Berekum Sampa Bupe Bolgatanga Wa Agbozume Akatsi Ho Hohoe Tokor Accra Accra Accra Accra Osu Adwaso Koforidua Asesewa Nsawam Mankessim Takoradi Sekondi Agona Beposo Kumasi Kumasi Ejura Techiman Nkoranza Yeji Berekum Sampa Bupe Bolgatanga Wa Volta M II M I I Greater Accra M II 11 I I Eastern I I I I I I Central Western n n n Ashanti I I n Brong-Ahafo I I M M M Northern Upper East Upper West Sources: Compiled from Ghana: A Travel Guide, 1991; Medium Term National Tourism Plan for Ghana 1992-1994 (1991). 144 d) Handicrafts: Arts and crafts constitute a very prolific aspect of the Ghanaian traditional culture. The artifacts produced include paintings, cane products, pottery, carvings, gold-weights, and traditional clothes such as the batik, adinkra, batakari, and particularly the kente cloth, which decorates the foyer of the United Nations General Assembly. In Table 31 the villages which specialize in the production of the above artifacts are shown. TABLE 31: PLACES OF HANDICRAFT PRODUCTION IN GHANA Town/Village Region Akpafu Akim Enyiresi Kwawu Nsaba M praeso-Amanf ram Aburi Ahwerease Winneba Mankessim Gomoa-Otsew-Jukwa Enyam Maim Ajumako Oware Duakwa Mensah Krom Pankronu Ahwiaa Ntonso Bonwire Boama Nsuta Daboya Bolgatanga Volta Eastern Central Ashanti Brong-Ahafo II Northern Upper East Source: Compiled from Ghana: A Tourist Guide, 1991; Medium Term National Tourism Plan for Ghana 1992-1994 (1991). 145 e) Shrines: Before the introduction of Christianity to Ghana in the mid- fifteenth century, traditional religion and Islam were the dominant forms of religion. Even after five centuries of Christianity in Ghana, traditional religion is still prominent. The thousands of shrines in various parts of the country are the concrete evidence of this form of religion. The shrines are basically places of worship and rituals. On the sacred days for the fetishes of these shrines, the traditional priests and priestesses perform cures for different diseases, do divinations, and pour libations. The most famous of the traditional shrines are shown in Table 32. TABLE 32: FAMOUS SHRINES IN GHANA * Shrine Akonedi Okomfo Anokye Posuban 11 i i Abirem Ejisu Besease Kentinkrono Patakro Kwaku Fri Buruku Akankammea Naa Gbewaa Tigari Sources: Ibid. Town/Villaae Lartey Awukugua Anomabo Gomoa Otsew Apam Abirem Besease Kentinkrono Patakro Nwoase Several I I Pusiga Several Region Eastern I I Central I I I I Ashanti M II M Brong-Ahafo Many Regions I I Upper East All Regions There are many important shrines in Ghana, particularly in Cape Coast and Elmina areas, not shown in tourism brochures. For the past five years or so the Kwaku Fri shrine has been very famous at least in Ghana due to the claim of its priest that he has discovered a cure for aids. 146 f) Traditional Architecture: The dominant house forms in Ghana are very different from those in the major tourist destinations of Western Europe, North America and Japan. Since these houses are "exotic" they could be an important tourist attraction to tourists from these industrialized nations. In line with the extended family system, the compound house system is the most dominant form of housing in Ghana. This house type is rectangular (in southern Ghana) or circular (in northern Ghana) structure made up of rooms surrounding an open central courtyard. Usually residents share common kitchens and washrooms. It is either one-storey or a maximum of five storeys. In the rural areas of Ghana, there are remarkable differences in the housing types. In southern Ghana generally, the typical house, is a compound house built of mud, bricks, wood, palm fronds or bamboo. The roof is either aluminium corrugated sheets, thatch or bamboo. In contrast to the south, the houses in the rural areas of Northern Ghana are a series of rectangular and/or circular rooms connected to form a large compound house for one or more patrilineage households. The houses are switch with wooden frames, and the roofs are either mud or thatch. The walls are usually decorated with different colours in the dry season of the year. g) Traditional Hospitality: The proverbial Ghanaian traditional hospitality makes many visitors feel welcome to the country. According to the Tourism Market Study (1987:10,11), the friendliness and the personal security this traditional hospitality offers the visitors enable them to explore instead of making contact with local culture only through the windows of tourist coaches and at a stereotyped hotel displays lacking the authenticity and enthusiasm of local festivals. This kind of hospitality, as highlighted in chapter three, is an extension of the traditional Ghanaian 147 system of receiving and catering to strangers and visitors. While the friendliness and warmth of the hosts remain, the generosity aspect of this hospitality system, that is, free provision of accommodation and food, is virtually non-existent. 4.4: GHANA'S HISTORICAL ATTRACTIONS: a) Forts and Slave Castles: No coastline the world over can boast of more forts and slave castles than Ghana's coastline. About 50 forts and slave castles were built by the Portuguese, Dutch, English, French, Danes, and Germans on the 350 mile coastline (Teye, 1988: 339). Many of these forts and slave castles are, however, in total ruin or without trace (Tourism Development Scheme for Central Region, 1988: 5). Table 33 shows the forts and slave castles in good enough shape to be used as tourist attractions. 148 TABLE 33: EXISTING FORTS AND SLAVE CASTLES IN GHANA Location Name Town Region Fort Prinzenstein Fort Konigstein Fort Vernon Fort Friedensborg Fort Augustaborg Christiansborg Castle James Fort Fort Crevecoeur (Ussher) Fort Good Hope Winneba Fort Fort Patience Fort Amsterdam Fort William Cape Coast Castle Fort Victoria Castle Sao Jorge Fort St. Jago Fort Komenda Fort St. Sebastian Fort Witsen Fort Metal Cross Fort Dorothea Fort Sophia Louise Fort Fredericksborg Fort San Antonio Fort Appolonia Kumasi Fort Keta Ada Prampram Accra Accra Accra Accra Accra Senya Bereku Winneba Apam Kromantse Anomabo Cape Coast Cape Coast Elmina Elmina Komenda Shama Takoradi Dixcove Akwida Cape Three Points Princesstown Axim Benyin Kumasi Volta Greater Accra Greater Accra Greater Accra Greater Accra Greater Accra Greater Accra Greater Accra Central Central Central Central Central Central Central Central Central Central Western Western Western Western Western Western Western Western Ashanti (inland) Sources: Ephson, 1970; Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-1994, 1991: Annexure 2; Ghana: A Tourist Guide. These forts and castles are the living symbols of the intense European mercantilism and the trans-Atlantic slave trade in Africa. The oldest slave castle in Ghana, Sao Jorge or Elmina castle, was the place where Christopher Columbus received his navigation training before he "discovered" the "New World". The forts and slave castles in Ghana, therefore, constitute a rich resource for tourists interested in authentic evidence of the relationship between Western intervention in Africa and developments in the Americas. These forts and slave castles are also a valuable tourist attraction for African Americans who want to discover their roots. Unlike in Mexico where ancient 149 and colonial buildings and monuments have been effectively exploited for the tourist industry (see Chant, 1992), these valuable forts and slave castle in Ghana have not been systematically packaged for tourism promotion. Despite the intrinsic attraction of the forts and slave castles in Ghana, some tourism officials think their touristic value is limited by their present shabby condition and lack of modern facilities. For example, according to the Tourism Scheme for the Central Region (1988:5-6), even the Cape Coast and Sao Jorge Castles which are currently of some marketable value, "can be aptly described as a collection of barren rooms, but for the canons, dungeons and museums...Besides, the castles lack modern public facilities". The official perception is that these historical monuments have to be rehabilitated and given a modern touch before they are marketed. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have earmarked the Cape Coast and Sao Jorge Castles and Fort St. Jago for rehabilitation and modernization. These monuments have also been placed on the World Heritage list of the International Commission for Museums, Monuments and Sites (ICOMUS). The Christiansburg Castle which is used as the seat of Government has seen remarkable renovation and extension work since independence, thus its "authentic" nature has been quite reduced. It is hoped that the touristic value of the other forts and castles would not decrease with the proposed renovation works. b) The Slave Markets: The relics of the slave trade in Ghana (which began in the trans-Saharan trade period and was intensified during the era of the trans-Atlantic trade) include not only the forts and the slave castles, but also the slave markets in the various parts of the country. The most famous of these slave markets during the apogee of the trans-Atlantic slave trade (17th and 18th centuries) were Abonse in the Eastern Region and Salaga in the Northern Region. In these slave markets, slaves were exchanged for Kola and gold. Some of the traces (leg pegs and shackles) of this trade in 150 humans are still observable in the Abonse and Salaga markets. c) Other Historical Attractions: Other historic buildings in Ghana include a) the early missionary houses and churches, particularly those of the Basil Mission on the Akwapim Ridge and the Bremen Mission in the Volta Region; b) ancient mosques such as Larabanga and Nkwanta mosques; c) famous traditional palaces such as the Manhyia and Wa Na palaces; d) the "abrosanyi" of Cape Coast and Elmina; e) archaeological sites like Hani; f) the historic walls of Gbollo and Narelugu; g) relics of historic settlements such as Manso and Asantemanso, the ancestral homes of the Brongs and Ashantis respectively; h) the ancient iron mines of Akpafu; i) the first cocoa farm in Ghana; and j) the Aburi Botanical Gardens. Like the forts and slave castles, these historic buildings and sites are likely to attract foreign tourists. As it is, even many Ghanaians are unaware of their existence due to the lack of promotion. 4.5: CONCLUSION: The enormous potential natural, cultural and historical tourism resources of Ghana have to be harnessed and promoted as tourist attractions if the industry is to become an important contributor to development by 1) generating substantial income/revenue to invest in other productive ventures and social amenities, 2) creating more employment avenues, and 3) forging dynamic inter-sectoral linkages in the Ghanaian economy. As highlighted in chapter three, unlike in many other Third World countries, Ghana has not been able to utilize its vast tourism resources to achieve the above-mentioned ends. In contrast to: a) Senegal, Gambia, Kenya, the Caribbean and Mexico-Ghana has been 151 unable to use its sandy, coconut-fringed beaches to develop beach tourism; b) Kenya and Tanzania-Ghana's rich wildlife as a tourist attraction remains latent; c) Costa Rica-Ghana has yet to tap into the growing eco-tourism market; d) Mexico-Ghana's historical monuments are yet to be developed into any significant tourism product; and e) Bali-Ghana has not succeeded in using its rich and diverse cultural traditions and artifacts to create a flourishing cultural tourism. The question is why Ghana, unlike these Third World countries, has so far failed to develop a tourist industry capable of generating development despite its enormous tourism resources. This is the focus of the next chapter of the thesis. 152 CHAPTER FIVE: THE PROBLEMS OF TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN GHANA 5.1: INTRODUCTION: Post-colonial governments of Ghana have recognized the enormous tourism potential of Ghana, and this potential has been confirmed by the various plans and commissions which have taken inventory of tourism resources in the country (Obuam Committee, 1972; Tourism Master Plan 1975-1990,1974; Tourism Policy Proposals, 1987; Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-1994, 1991). The wish of most of the post-colonial governments of Ghana and tourism planners to harness this potential to accelerate the socio-economic development of Ghana has, however, not translated into reality. To date, tourism has not "taken off' in Ghana (Teye, 1988:343; Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-1994,1991: v). What are the sources or roots of the problems which frustrate tourism development in Ghana, and thus prevent the industry from becoming a catalyst for development? The three theoretical approaches in the sociology of tourism would put the blame on a) the lack of substantial capital investment, b) lack of Western-type tourism personnel/entrepreneurs, c) foreign domination, and d) conventional tourism per se. Protagonists of state activism in tourism would allude to the lack of active state entrepreneurship in the industry. Studies on Ghana's tourism, that seem to adopt the Advocacy Platform by focusing on specific internal factors such as inadequate funds, lack of skilled tourism personnel, lack of a comprehensive and workable tourism policy, institutional weakness of tourism organizations, cumbersome immigration and entry formalities, and political instability (Obuam Committee, 1972; Hoff and Overgaard Planning Consultants, 1974; Egan, 1975; Singh, 1978; Tourism Market Study, 1987; Tourism Policy Proposal, 1987; Tourism Development Scheme for the Central Region, 1988; Teye, 1988; Ghana Tourist Board Work Plan for 1990, 1990; Ankomah, 1991; Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-1994,1991), fail to identify the core source of Ghana's tourism 153 development predicament. Among these studies, it is only that of Teye (1988) which attempts to trace the roots of the above specific problems of the industry, but even Teye concentrates exclusively on political instability. A more serious weakness of these studies, however, is their failure to realize that those specific factors they emphasize are mere manifestations of the contradiction between the industry's conventional orientation and the available economic, cultural and political sources of Ghana. It is in the light of the above that this chapter of the thesis a) analyses the problems hindering Ghana's tourism development within the contexts of the country's low productive economy, its collectivistic culture, and its chequered political history, and b) shows that it is the contradiction between these local realities of Ghana and the country's conventional tourism orientation which prevents the industry from becoming a catalyst for development. 5.2: FOREIGN OWNERSHIP AND CONTROL: The problems of Ghana's tourism are attributable to factors internal to Ghana rather than external. Contrary to the argument of the Cautionary Platform, Ghana does not experience the problem of foreign ownership and control of the tourism industry as in the case of Gambia (Esh and Rosenblum, 1975; Farver, 1984), Kenya (Jommo, 1987; Dieke, 1991; Sinclair et al, 1992), the Caribbean (Barry et al, 1984), the Pacific Islands (Britton, 1989) and Mexico (Chant, 1992). Out of the 505 registered hotels in Ghana only three (Labadi Beach Hotel, Novotel and Golden Tulip), that is, 99.4 per cent, are owned and/or managed by foreigners. This is in sharp contrast to other African countries (see Table 34). 154 TABLE 34: FOREIGN OWNERSHIP IN AFRICAN HOTELS Country % of Foreign Ownership Seychelles 61.0 Kenya 60.0 Ivory Coast 41.7 Zambia 39.2 Egypt 28.5 Morocco 16.6 Sources: Compiled from United Nations, Transnational Corporations in International Tourism, 1982: 21,23; Dieke, 1991: 285. The predominance of indigenous ownership and control of Ghana's tourism industry is not the result of any conscious effort to ward off foreign participation in the industry. If anything at all, successive governments of Ghana have actively tried to attract foreign investment to tourism. For example, in 1973 the National Redemption Council (NRC) government introduced the Capital Investments Decree, 1973 (NRCD 141). This decree gave a number of concessions to interested investors in tourism. Among the incentives were: i) company income tax exemption; ii) accelerated capital allowances; iii) employment tax credit; iv) customs import duty exemption on all goods needed for the establishment and efficient operation of approved tourist projects; v) deferment of payment of registration fees and stamp duty on capital; vi) privilege to repatriate 30 per cent of net after-tax profit; and vii) such tourist projects were also exempted from the payment of tax under the Selective Alien Employment Tax Decree, 1973 (NRCD 201). These generous concessions were for both indigenous and foreign investors. The Master Tourism Plan 1975-1990, which was launched by this same government in 1974, was even more forthright in soliciting foreign investment. For example, the plan expected over 63 per cent of its projected funding to come from foreign sources (see Hoff and Overgaard, 1974: Appendix 1). In the 1980s governments of Ghana followed this earlier tradition of attempting to attract foreign investment to tourism. The Peoples National Party (PNP) government for instance made changes in the national tourism organization in 1980 with the aim of promoting tourism, "especially among foreigners, and attracting foreign investment for the industry" (Economic Survey, 1982:230). 155 The introduction of the 1985 Investment Code by the PNDC government, aimed at attracting substantial private domestic and foreign investment to the industry. This investment law (PNDC Law 116) gives "enterprises concerned with the development of the Tourist Industry such as tourist accommodation," (p.8) incentives including a) exemption from customs import duties on plant, machinery, equipment and accessories; b) depreciation or capital allowance; c) exemption from taxes and rates levied on building properties; and d) investment allowance of seven and a half per cent per annum. The generous concessions, however, failed to attract substantial foreign investment into the tourist industry mainly because investors were not sure of guaranteed political stability that would make their projects profitable (see Teye, 1988). An additional factor would be that Ghana's tourism may still be at the inception or pre-development stage of Butler's (1980) cycle of area evolution. According to Butler (Ibid.: 8), unlike at the pre-development stage of the cycle, at the "development stage" local involvement and control of development will decline rapidly. Some locally provided facilities will have disappeared, being superseded by larger, more elaborate, and more up-to-date facilities provided by external organizations, particularly for visitor accommodation. Noronha (1975), Peck and Lepie (1977), Rodenberg (1980) and Cohen (1983) make similar observations. It must be noted, however, that it is this use of foreign capital for tourism development which usually leads to foreign domination of the industry in the Third World and its consequent high leakage of tourist expenditure (see Biyden, 1973; Esh and Rosenblum, 1975; Barry, 1984; Jommo, 1987; Britton, 1989; Campbell, 1990). Also noteworthy is the fact that foreign capital investment becomes imperative in tourism development only when the conventional approach is adopted. The adoption of alternative forms of tourism renders substantial foreign capital investment in tourism unnecessary, since they require only a minimum capital investment which can be provided by the state and local entrepreneurs (see Nielsen, 1984; McKean, 1989; Johnston, 1990). 156 5.3: THE CONVENTIONAL TOURISM ORIENTATION OF GHANA: As pointed out earlier, the Adaptancy Platform would attribute Ghana's inability to successfully use tourism as a strategy for development, to the country's conventional tourism orientation per se. That is, conventional tourism, by its very nature, is incapable of fostering development. Certainly Ghana has adopted conventional tourism as a path of developing its tourist industry. However, it is doubtful whether this tourism development strategy in and of itself is the source of the industry's failure. The problem is that it is inappropriate for Ghana. Since 1959, Ghana's tourism has focused on conventional tourism, virtually neglecting alternative strategies for developing the industry. In the Second Development Plan 1959-1964, the main emphasis of tourism development was the establishment of first-class accommodation. For example, although the Plan recognized that "[t]he demand for first-class accommodation will always be small when compared quantitatively with the demand for hotel [motel] and boarding house accommodation at moderate prices", the government invested only in first-class hotels and rest-houses and encouraged private investors to follow suit (Second Development Plan 1959-64,1959: 24). Of the 1,000,000 Ghanaian pounds allocated for the tourism sector, only 3,000 pounds was devoted to assisting small-scale investors (Ibid.). The tourism plans and investment of the 1970s had a similar orientation. For example, the Tourism Master Plan proposed that Ghana should concentrate on capital-intensive hotels and beach resorts (Hoff and Overgaard, 1974: Summary). From 1975 to 1980, it recommended the upgrading of Ghanaian hotels to international standards (Ibid.: 13). In addition it proposed the creation of Ada, Botianor and Lake Bosumtwi tourist resorts, large-scale rehabilitation of rest houses scattered over the country, Paga Tourist Complex, a 400-room hotel for Tamale, and a 300-room Kintampo Falls Resort (Ibid,). In the period 1981-1985, this Plan projected "development of large-scale mass beach-oriented tourism involving great charter operations" (Ibid.). It recommended the construction of the following resorts: Kokrobite, Busua, Butre, Akwida and 400-bed first-class Winneba Beach resort 157 (Ibid.: 14). Also, the construction of cape Coast Hotel, Boti Falls 100-room hotel, Amedzofe 300-bed chalet/hotel, and extension of Atlantic Hotel were to be seriously considered (Ibid.). The Government White Paper on the Master Tourism Plan endorsed this conventional tourist orientation of the industry (see Tourist Ghana, No. 7, 1977: 3). The 1987 Ghana Tourism Policy towed a similar line. It put so much premium on sophisticated hotels in promoting tourism in Ghana that it had to lament thus: The few fairly good hotels are all below three-star standard and have limited bed capacity of 10-30 rooms. These are not effective in promoting international and domestic [conventional] tourism because of their size (Policy Measures to Revamp the Tourism Industry, 1987: 7). The latest tourism plan, the Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-1992 (1991), and the tourism arm of the Central Region Development Commission (CEDECOM) seem to recognize the need to promote alternative types of tourism based on the country's cultural, historical and ecological assets. For example, in addition to resort tourism, the former proposes the development of "leisure tourism" based on 1) historic monuments and sites including the slave castles, 2) culture and traditions, and 3) rainforest ecology and wildlife (Ibid.: 18). Similarly, the latter aims to integrate wildlife, historical and beach tourism (see Ingoflur Blondal, 1991; CEDECOM Tourism Market Study, 1991). The contradiction, however, is that they seek to develop the alternative forms of tourism by using capital-intensive tourism infrastructure and facilities. For example, the Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-1992 (1991:49) emphasizes that In the hotel and restaurant sectors, the inadequacy of facilities at international standards outside Accra.remains a major constraint to packaging and marketing Ghana's tourism product, to those areas. During the planned period, it is expected that in the accommodation sector, Ghana would attract new investments in hotel rooms of international standards... At this juncture, it is important to re-state that Ghana's conventional tourism orientation per se is not the main reason why the industry has failed to be a development catalyst. This observation is based on the fact that in the advanced industrialized countries, the South-East Asian 158 newly industrialized countries, and Third World countries such as Mexico and Kenya where tourism is a dynamic development mechanism, conventional tourism is the focus of the industry. Wherever the required ingredients for developing conventional tourism exist, the tourist industry flourishes and contributes substantially to the development processes. Thus conventional tourism has been unable to achieve a similar success in Ghana not becuase there is something specifically wrong with this form of tourism, but because Ghana lacks the economic, cultural and political resources to develop it. It is this contradiction rather than the mere focus on conventional tourism which is the main source of Ghana's tourism problematic development. 5.4: THE STATE AS ENTREPRENEUR: Protagonists of state activism in tourism, on their part, would argue that Ghana's tourism is not a catalyst for development because of the lack of active state participation in the industry. This is, however, untenable given the preponderant role of the state in Ghana's tourism. Like Kenya, Mexico, Costa Rica and many other Third World countries (see Jenkins and Henry, 1982; Jommo, 1987; Chant, 1992) where tourism blooms, the state has been very active in Ghana's tourism since its inception in 1959. As discussed at length in chapter two of the thesis, the Ghanaian state has not only been active in making regulations and formulating policies for the industry, it is also a principal tourism entrepreneur. State activism in Ghana's tourism is, therefore, not in doubt, since according to Jenkins and Henry (1982:502, 503), "active involvement" means government setting "tourism objectives", introducing "necessary organizational and legislative support", and undertaking "an operational [entrepreneurial] role". In the Second Development Plan 1959-64, the first post-colonial development plan for Ghana, the Convention Peoples Party (CPP) government rightly recognized the unavailability of private capital to invest in high class tourism facilities. As a result, the state took upon itself to 159 invest in hotels and rest-houses. During this plan period the State Hotel system comprising the Ambassador Hotel, Continental Hotel, Star Hotel, Meridian Hotel, Atlantic Hotel, City Hotel and the Catering Rest-houses of Cape Coast, Kumasi, Sunyani, Tamale, Bolgatanga and Wa was created. Until the 1990s this hotel system formed the core of hotel accommodation in Ghana. The state hotels are operated by the State Hotels Corporation (SHC) which used to be an arm of the Ghana Tourist Board from 1963 to 1965. Even when the Corporation was separated from the Board, the Board continued to exercise some entrepreneurial functions (e.g. the operation of a foreign exchange shop and a tourist agency, the Akuaba Travel Agency). In 1973 the NRC government, realizing that the Ghana Tourist Board could not efficiently perform both regulatory and commercial functions at the same time, created the Ghana Tourist Development Company (GTDC), the major investment arm of the Government in the tourist industry (Ghana Year Book, 1977:250). The GTDC was given the responsibility of a) operating all the commercial ventures of the Ghana Tourist Control Board; b) financing and developing tourist projects either by itself or jointly with other organizations or individuals; c) providing extension services and technical advice to tourism enterprises; and d) carrying on any other profitable business (Ibid.). Unfortunately, however, unlike the Kenya Tourist Development Corporation (KTDC) established in 1965 to, inter alia, "ensure government direct participation in commercial investments in the tourism industry" (Jommo, 1987:55), the Ghana Tourist Development Company has failed to live up to expectations. It has been unable to manage the Akuaba Travel Agency, the tourist coaches, the casinos and the Marine Drive Cafeteria successfully (see The Memorandum of the PNDC Secretary for Trade and Tourism Policy Measures to Revamp the Tourism Industry, 1987: 7). It was this dismal failure of the GTDC which led to the NRC/SMC government re-vesting the Ghana Tourist Board with commercial functions in 1977 (see SMCD 80: 1). The GTDC, however, has, since the 1980s, resumed this function again. In the 1980s, the state continued its entrepreneurial role in the tourist industry by 1) running the state hotels system through the State Hotels Corporation, and 2) operating the Akuaba 160 Travel Agency, the Foreign Exchange Shops and tour coaches through the Ghana Tourist Development Company. The Ghanaian state continues to operate these tourism facilities. As discussed in detail in chapter two, despite this active state participation in Ghana's tourism, however, and like in the case of Costa Rica before 1987 (see Chant, 1992), the industry experiences stunted growth and thus is unable to play a catalytic role in Ghana's development process. 5.5: PERTINENT FACTORS FRUSTRATING THE DEVELOPMENT OF GHANA'S TOURISM: Ghana's tourism development plans, tourism policy, tourism sector papers and articles, all lament Ghana's inability to use its immense tourism resources to create a viable tourist industry. Like the proponents of the Advocacy Platform, they see the problems as located within the Ghanaian society. The main obstacles usually cited by these sources as frustrating the development of the tourist industry in Ghana are summarized by the Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-1994, 1991: 33-34). These problems are: a) lack of coherent product identity; b) lack of tourist information and effective promotion targeted at the European and North American markets; c) poor accessibility characterized by bureaucratic and burdensome immigration requirements, poor facilitation and visitor reception systems at entry points; d) inefficient receptive tourism sector; e) the structure of tourism administration; f) the qualitatively weak human resource base; 161 g) hitherto ineffective tourism development planning at both national and regional levels; and h) lack of financing for the tourism industry. These perceived development problems of Ghana's tourism could be classified into financial, personnel, bureaucratic and entrepreneurial or managerial. For a fuller understanding of these problems of tourism development in Ghana, apart from the conventional tourism orientation of the industry discussed above, there is the need to put the industry on the trajectory of Ghana's a) low productive economy, b) collectivistic culture, and c) unstable political conditions. a) GHANA'S ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND THE PROBLEM OF TOURISM DEVELOPMENT: As highlighted in chapter two, since pre-colonial times Ghana's economic activities have concentrated on the extraction of staples such as minerals, cocoa, coffee, rubber, and palm oil for export, petty commodity production in the informal sector of the economy, and retail trading. The deteriorating world market prices for these staples, coupled with the low value added capacity of staples production, petty commodity production and retail trading have led to the degeneration of Ghana's economy. The import substitution industrialization started in the 1960s has failed to salvage the economy because of its overdependence on imported technology and inputs (Darkoh, 1977) and lack of local expertise to operate it (see 7-Year Development Plan 1963-1970). As shown in chapter two, both the gross domestic product (GDP) and gross national product (GNP) have generally been negative since the early 1960s. The negative growth rate of the economy is a reflection of low productivity. Tourism is supposed to help change this trend in Ghana's economy. However, the paradox is that instead of 162 tourism salvaging the economy it has become a victim of the economic deterioration because of the conventional tourism orientation. This happens because with such low productivity, it is difficult to accumulate enough capital to 1) invest in the development of tourism products acceptable to conventional tourists, 2) promote/market Ghana's tourism products in the tourist-generating countries, and 3) create infrastructure, facilities and services required by the international standard hospitality system, and a viable conventional domestic tourism. Ghana's Tourism Products: Unlike African countries such as Kenya and Gambia which are known for their safari tourism and beach resort tourism respectively, Ghana, so far, has not developed any specific tourism product identity. The natural tourist attractions of Ghana are not unique. For instance, waterfalls, beaches, game and wildlife, forests, etc., are also found in some other countries of Africa. The only attractions unique to Ghana that could be a basis for the creation of product identity are the cultural and historical attractions. However, the infrastructure, facilities and services needed to make these assets marketable to conventional tourists are lacking due to funding problems. For example, many of the localities having exotic cultural attractions lack "modern" or conventional tourism accommodation and restaurant facilities. As shown in Table 35, up to 1990, the few 3-5-star hotels in the country were located in the capital city, Accra. Since 1991, however, a few 3-star hotels have been established in Central, Western, Ashanti, Eastern and Vorta Regions. 163 TABLE 35: DISTRIBUTION OF HOTEL ACCOMMODATION IN GHANA1: No. of Room Reqion Ashanti Brong-Ahafo Central Eastern Greater Accra Northern Upper East Upper West Volta Western 5-Star Nil Nil Nil Nil 104 Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 4-Star Nil Nil Nil Nil 180 Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 3-Star Nil Nil Nil Nil 234 Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 2-Star 209 Nil 10 23 295 Nil Nil 38 35 93 1-Star 93 28 13 88 287 35 Nil Nil 105 186 Listed 941 374 373 291 1,379 123 111 93 189 402 Source: Ghana Tourist Board, 1990. Reproduced in the Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-1994, 1991: Annexure 2. Tourism Promotion and Marketing: As pointed out earlier, Ghana is hardly known in the major tourist generating countries-United States, Canada, Britain, Germany, Italy, Sweden, France, Japan (Tourism Market Study, 1987: 2,5). No world "expo", sports, musical or cultural event has taken place in Ghana to popularize the country. In the absence of such major world events, the best strategy to make Ghana known in the tourist generating countries is to embark upon extensive promotion through the media and tourism literature/brochures. So far Ghana has not done much in this direction. Until 1991 there was no tourism brochure of any high quality/standard. The two brochures on Ghana's tourism produced by the Ghana Tourist Board (Ghana: A Travel Guide) and the Ghana Tourist Development Company (Travel in Ghana) in 1991 are mono-lingual--only in English. Moreover, there are no 164 accompanying fliers highlighting the major tourist attractions, and providing detailed specific information on them. The brochures are not widely distributed. The only video documentary giving a quick overview of Ghana's tourist attractions does not provide any commentary on the attractions, and like the brochures, it is not widely distributed in the tourist generating countries. This lack of effective promotion of Ghana tourism is one of the crucial factors that underlie the "general public ignorance and lack of understanding of the nature, characteristics, and benefits of tourism..." in Ghana (Ghana Tourist Board Work Plan for 1990,1990: 2). Tourism Facilities: Conventional tourists are very particular about where they sleep and what they eat and drink. As aptly expressed by Cohen (1979: 19), a large number of these type of tourists want to live in their "environmental bubble". This makes the hospitality sector a very vital link in a conventional tourist industry. In Ghana, this sector hardly measures up to standards acceptable to conventional tourists. Despite the great improvement during the past five years or so, hotels and restaurants in Ghana still have a long way to go to create a positive image among conventional leisure travellers. As remarked by the Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-1994(1991:34), In the accommodation sector, there is lack of hotels specifically located and designed to attract the leisure travel markets. Outside Accra, hotels of international standard are hard to come by. My country-wide observations of the hotel sector confirmed the above point. The State hotels (Meridian, Atlantic, City, and the Catering Rest-houses at Cape Coast, Kumasi, Sunyani and Tamale), until recently the core of the Ghanaian hotel system, have greatly deteriorated. Furnishings are defaced, air conditioners do not work well, water does not run regularly, hot water is a luxury, and quality of service is generally sub-standard. The Aburi Botanical Garden Motel, 165 Hotel Eredec, Mole National Park Motel, and Bolgatanga Catering Rest-house owned by public institutions, and most of the 2-star, 1-star and the unrated or unlisted hotels have characteristics similar to those of the state hotels. Tourism Personnel: The following remark made by the Ghana Tourist Board Work Plan for 1990 (1990: 1) epitomizes the personnel situation in Ghana tourism: There is poor quality service offered in virtually all segments of the tourism industry but more particularly hotels, restaurants, entry points to Ghana, ground transportation due to lack of professional training for personnel in the industry... But as Holder (1979: 15) emphasizes, 'Today, [conventional] tourism must be directed and managed by professionals if it is to survive". None of the management staff of the Ghana Tourist Board and Ghana Tourist Development Company have received any substantive professional training in tourism. According to the Executive Director of the Ghana Tourist Board, the Board is ill-staffed in terms of quality and calibre of personnel. Tourism is now highly technical and we need specific skills; we only have general graduates (Interview data, September, 1992). The hospitality sector, particularly the hotels, faces a similar problem. Only a few hotel managers/proprietors have any formal training in hotel management. As Table 36 indicates, of the sample of 41 hotels selected for interviews throughout Ghana, only 10 had some formal training in hotel management. This sample includes all the 3-5-Star hotels in Ghana. None of the 1 -star and unrated hotels which constitute the great majority of Ghanaian hotels, has a manager/proprietor with any formal qualification or training in hotel management. 166 TABLE 36: QUALIFICATIONS/BACKGROUNDS OF HOTEL MANAGERS/PROPRIETORS IN GHANA. Hotel Manager/ Proprietor Lake Side Benkum Motel Volta Aburi Garden Motel Eredec Partners May St. James Grand Matvin Cape Coast Catering Savoy Mudek Oyster Bay Nyansapow Atlantic Western Home Western Palace Animens City Georgia Rose's Guest House Cicero Tamale Catering Picorna Inter-Royal Miricha Bolgatanga Catering Sand Gardens Royal Upland Kunateh Dymns Agyeiwaa St. Michael's Midway Sir Charles Yeenuah Flamingo Novotel Golden Tulip Labadi Beach Hotel Management Qualification No No Yes No No No No No No No No No No No Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No No Yes No No No No No No No No No Yes No No No No No Yes Yes Yes Main Profession Accountant Businessman Hotelier Horticulturist Civil Servant Sch. Cert. Businessman B u s i n Businessman N.A. N.A. Businessman Businessman Businessman Hotelier N.A. Hotelier Distiller Hotelier Hotelier Accountant Restaurantier Hotelier I.C.M.A. N.A. Auditor Civil Servant Businessman Teacher Contractor N.A. General Magt. Hotelier Tutor Contractor Contractor E x . P o Ex. soldier Hotelier Hotelier Hotelier e s s m a n i c e O f f Source: Interview data (June-August, 1992). It is clear from the above that Ghana's tourism is managed by amateurs rather than professionals. 167 This creates problems for the development of a conventional tourist industry, for as is observed by USA Department of Economic Affairs (Organization of American States, 1984:18), industrial maturity, regional and international competition, and technological changes have diminished the ability of the amateur to effectively participate in the development of the [tourism] industry. The low calibre/quality of the personnel in Ghana's tourism, particularly at the management level, is mainly "due to the absence of any tourism vocational training institution in the country and lack of overseas scholarship opportunities" (Ghana Tourist Board Work Plan for 1990, 1990: 1). The former Star Hotel in Accra, originally planned to be a training school for hotel staff, could not serve that purpose because of lack of funds to provide the necessary equipment, logistics and qualified teaching personnel. The building to house the proposed Tema Tourism and Hotel School which was started in the mid-1960s has not been completed due to lack of funds. This stark shortage of skilled labour in the Ghana tourist industry prompted the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to start short training courses for tourism workers in 1991. Some of the tourism management staff have also benefitted from this programme. The programme, however, provides only refresher courses, and, therefore, cannot substitute for a substantive professional training in tourism and hotel/restaurant management required by conventional tourism development. It must be noted also that due to this lack of skilled tourism personnel, a number of the major studies on Ghana's tourism industry are undertaken by foreign experts. Typical examples are shown in Table 37. 168 TABLE 37: STUDIES ON GHANA'S TOURISM Study 1.Developing the Tourist Industry in Ghana 1973 2.Tourism Master Plan 1975-1990 3.Tourism Manpower and Training Requirement Study 1978 4.Tourism Market Survey 1987 5.Ghana's Tourism 1990 6.Strategies for Reviving the Receptive Tourist Industry 1991 Author USAID Hoff and Overgaard (Denmark) Kunwa Singh (India) Travel Trends International Ltd. (Britain) Prof. Robert Wyllie (Canada) Ingoflur Blodal Consultant (Virginia, USA) Source: All the above. Tourism Administration: Tourism administration plays a crucial role in the development of the tourist industry. Apart from its policy and plan formulation functions, the national tourism organization is responsible for the co-ordination of the activities of all the institutions having some bearing on tourism, for example: immigration, customs and excise, finance and economic planning, civil aviation, transport and communication, game and wildlife, travel agencies and tour operating enterprises, museums and monuments board, parks and gardens, etc. In addition, it is responsible for the regulation of or quality control in the hospitality sector, the training of personnel of the industry, research, promotion and marketing, etc. The Ghana Tourist Board, so far, has not been able to perform these tasks effectively. According to the Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-1994 (1991: 36), in Ghana tourism "[a] critical constraint is the weakness of the Ghana Tourist Board at both the national and regional levels". The weakness of the Tourist Board, according to the above source (Ibid.), is due to the following factors: 169 1) scanty budgetary allocations and under-funding of its activities especially in the critical areas of research, marketing and promotions, and quality assurance; 2) poor manpower situation characterized by staff who lack professional training, poor salary levels, conditions of service and working environment; and 3) lack of permanent office accommodation and modern office equipment vital for the travel and hospitality industry. Tourism Development Planning and Policy: As discussed in chapter two, until 1974 there was no comprehensive tourism planning in Ghana and until 1987 Ghana had no tourism policy. Thus, from 1959 (when tourism was officially recognized) to 1973, the tourism scene was characterized by haphazard, uncoordinated establishment of tourism projects and enterprises. The absence of tourism plans and policy in Ghana for such a long time is specifically attributed to not only lack of continuity in tourism administration, but also lack of funding and quality personnel (Teye, 1988:330,337). For example, the Tourism Master Plan 1975-1990 was formulated by foreign experts because funds and expertise were lacking in Ghana. The tourism plans of the 1970s and the Ghana Tourism Policy could not be successfully implemented because of these same constraints. It is in this light that the most recent Ghana tourism development plan, the Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-1994 (1991: 37) made this pertinent observation: 170 Effective planning, integrating policy, human resources and institutional development, research and information, and an assessment of socio-economic impact of the industry is yet to be carried out and constitutes a major obstacle to the development of the industry. The implementation of this most recent tourism development plan of Ghana seems to be experiencing the same frustration which crippled the earlier plans and policy. For example, in this plan (Ibid.: 65,66), it was expected that 1) by June 1992, computers, office and communication equipment for the Tourist Board have been procured; 2) by July 1992, a comprehensive tourism legislation would be promulgated 3) by August 1992, vehicles would have been procured for all tourism regional offices and headquarters; and 4) by September 1992, a suitable office accommodation would be provided for headquarters and the ten regional offices. Unfortunately, as of now, none of these projects has materialized due mainly to financial problems. Tourism Projects: Unavailability of investment capital due to the low capital formation capacity of Ghana's economy tends to frustrate the implementation of the comprehensive projects proposed by tourism planners. This problem of inadequate capital was emphasized by both the Executive Director of the Ghana Tourist Board and the Acting managing Director of the Ghana Tourist Development Company when interviewed. The current funding problem of the industry becomes more evident when the estimated capital cost of proposed projects are viewed against the available funds (see Table 38). There is virtually no internal funding available for projects from the Ghanaian state-only 20 million cedis ($0.05 million) (Ibid., Annexure 3: vi). So far, only the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have provided any concrete support for some of the proposed tourism projects. These two international institutions have donated $3.4 million and $5.6 million respectively (Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-1994 (1991: 31). 171 TABLE 38: TOURISM PROJECTS, COST ESTIMATES AND AVAILABLE FUNDING Project 1.Restoration of Elmina & Cape Coast Castles, & Ft. St. Jago 2.Stabilization of Forts St. Anthony, Friendrichsburg and Metal Cross 3.Rehabilitation of Kumasi Ft. 4.Development of Kankum Native Park 5. Mole National Park 6.Shai Hills Game Reserve 7.Paga Crocodile Pond 8.Akatakyi Crocodile Pond 9. Redevelopment of Aburi Botanical Gardens 10.Development of Boti, Wli, Tagbo and Kintampo Waterfalls 11.Development of Beach Resorts 12. Development of Lake Resorts 13. Development of Mountain Resorts 14.Conservation of Historic Townships Cost Estimate $6.0 million $1.2m $0.2m $2.5m $1.5m $0.3m $0.8m $0.6m $0.5m $0.5m $0.6m $0.3m $0.4m $0.6m Available Funding $6.0 m* Nil Nil $2.5 m * Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil $0.05m Nil Nil Nil $0.6m * Source: Compiled from Project Profiles of Attractions to be Developed (Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-1994, 1991: Annexure 3). * Funding made available from UNDP and USAID. The low productive base of the Ghanaian economy reduces not only the capital formation capacity and ability to invest in tourism with regard to the state, but also that of the banks. Banks in Ghana do not normally lend to entrepreneurs in the tourism sector, mainly because tourism projects are usually of a long-term nature and involve huge capital outlay. According to the Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-1994 (1991: 57), The policy of Ghana's banking system has been geared to short term lending which adversely affects tourism projects which are long term in nature. Besides, tourism is not listed among the lending portfolios as a priority area. As a result many Ghanaian hoteliers and restauranteurs complain of lack of any loans scheme for them. In my interviews with selected hoteliers, the following remarks were typical: 172 1) The Tourist Board is not doing enough for hoteliers. They are only interested in enforcing standards but not providing a loan scheme to help hoteliers improve their hotels; and 2) Facilities and fixed assets of tourism are very expensive, so it's not easy to use one's own capital, and the banks and government wouldn't make loans available for such investment. That is why many Ghanaians prefer to invest in buy and sell business which does not require much capital and brings in quick returns. Without funding from the government or the banks most hotel and restaurant proprietors cannot upgrade or expand their facilities. This is because their hotels or restaurants do not generate enough income to pay for their over-head costs and to cater for reinvestment mainly due to low patronage and high pilferage by workers. One significant effect of this funding problem is the predominance of sub-standard hotels and restaurants in the hospitality sector of Ghana's tourism. In terms of rooms, 67.5 percent of the hotel accommodation is unrated or substandard. Only 8.2 percent meets international standards. Table 39 below showing the distribution of hotel accommodation types in Ghana, is illustrative of this situation. TABLE 39: TYPES OF HOTEL ACCOMMODATION IN GHANA (ROOMS/BEDS): 1991 Rating No. of Rooms % No. of Beds % 5-Star 4-Star 3-Star 2-Star 1-Star Unrated Total 104 180 234 703 835 4.276 6.332 1.7 2.8 3.7 11.1 13.2 67.5 100.0 208 360 484 1,142 1,155 5.837 9.186 2.3 3.9 5.3 12.4 12.6 63.5 100.0 Source: Calculated from the Medium Term National Tourism Plan for Ghana 1992-1994 (1991: Annexure 2). 173 Domestic Tourism: Another significant effect of the low productive base of Ghana's economy and the attendant low wages is that many Ghanaians cannot afford to take leisure trips. Given the relatively expensive hotel rates (see Table 40) only a few Ghanaians can travel on their own and stay in hotels. This really limits the growth of domestic tourism. TABLE 40: ROOM RATES OF SELECTED TOP HOTELS IN GHANA Room Rates (US$) Hotel Labadi Beach Golden Tulip Novotel Shangri-La Fissure Lodge Sanaa Lodge Western Palace Cicero Volta Villa Cisneros Location Accra Accra Accra Accra Accra Cape Coast Takoradi Kumasi Akosombo Sogakope Rating Single 5-Star 4-Star 4-Star 3-Star 3-Star 3-Star 3-Star 3-Star 3-Star 3-Star 150 140 138 48 N.A. 48 N.A. 48 54 N.A. Double Suite 180 170 165 57 N.A. 52 N.A. 54 65 25 350 225 290 63 74 61 57 59 N.A. 35 Sources: Ghana: A Travel Guide, 1991; Interview Data, June-August 1992. It must be noted that most hotels in Ghana are not as expensive as the above ones. However, by local income standards even the lower priced hotels are too expensive for the great majority of Ghanaian travellers. The type of clientele these hotels attract confirms this observation. For example, over 90 per cent of the clientele of the three top hotels in Ghana are business persons 174 (see Table 41). This is not to deny the fact that at present the scale of tourism in Ghana is very small and, therefore, the majority of hotel clientele are predominantly non-tourists. TABLE 41: DISTRIBUTION OF TYPES OF HOTEL GUESTS OF THE THREE TOP HOTELS IN GHANA Customer Type Hotel Business Tourist Novotel 98% 2% Labadi Beach 95% 5% Golden Tulip 91% 9% Source: Interview Data (August, 1992) The situation in other hotels in Ghana may not be different. According to a sample of hoteliers interviewed, only an insignificant proportion of their clientele are tourists (leisure travellers). The large majority of the professionals and business persons who lodge in Ghanaian hotels actually travel to work for the government and/or to transact business (see Table 17). Their hotel expenses are, therefore, borne by the state, companies and businesses. It is important to remark here that when these categories of Ghanaians travel for pleasure they usually stay with relatives or friends (see Adu-Febiri, 1988: 72). It is clear from the foregoing discussion that the problem of finance, particularly funding for tourism projects, has been an impediment to Ghana's tourism since its inception in the late 1950s. The 1,000,000 Ghanaian pounds financial push given the tourism sector in the Second Development Plan 1959-1964, was not enough for a take-off (Second Development Plan, 1959: 25). It could only build few state hotels and rest-houses, and helped sustain the national tourism organization. Plans to develop tourist attraction sites and road networks to these sites could not be implemented due to insufficient funds. In the next development plan, the 7-Year Development 175 Plan 1963-1970, tourism had to be dropped, for there was not enough capital left after the expenditures on agricultural, import substitution industrialization, and infrastructural projects. Likewise, the first tourism plan for Ghana, Tourism Master Plan 1975-1990, was still-born because the government "could not provide the necessary financial resources to fund the implementation" (Policy Measures to Revamp the Tourist Industry, 1987: 2). Conventional tourism projects started in the 1970s such as the Ada Resort Village, the Azizanya Beach Resort, the 200-room beach hotel in Accra, and the 1000-room Labadi Pleasure Beach and Aquatic Sports complex were abandoned for lack of funds (Ampah and Ofosu-Yeboah, 1978, 1979a, 1979b; African Research Bulletin, 1983: 6783; Teye, 1988: 348). The incentives provided by the 1985 Investment Code do not seem enough to attract substantial tourism investment. For example, of the ten State hotels put on the divesture list in 1990 (see Gyimah-Boadi, 1991), only three have been purchased to date. According to the Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-1994 (1991: 37), to date, there has not been any elaborate and specific national strategy to attract financing in support of private and public investments in the tourism sector and to fund the operations of the national and regional tourist organizations. The problem goes deeper than lack of a national strategic plan to marshall funds; there is just not enough financial resources in the country to finance such conventional tourism projects. b) THE COLLECTIVISTIC ETHIC AND THE PROBLEM OF TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN GHANA: By limiting capital formation, reducing the disposable income of prospective Ghanaian tourists, and compelling tourism proprietors to employ relatives no matter their skills, the collectivistic ethic as a cultural system in Ghana adversely affects the development of conventional tourism in Ghana. How specifically does this cultural value influence the savings and investment capacities of tourism entrepreneurs, their managerial styles, and the quality of service in Ghana 176 tourism? As discussed at length in Chapter Two, the collectivistic ethic ensures that Ghanaians from the various ethnic groups contribute to the welfare of their underprivileged kins and ethnic members. This culturally endorsed assistance adversely affects tourism development in Ghana in the following ways: 1) lowering profit generation, savings and reinvestment; and 2) impeding the provision of high quality tourism services. Capital Accumulation of Tourism Entrepreneurs: Informal interviews with a sample of Ghanaian hoteliers throughout the country revealed that many of them do not derive substantial profits from their tourism ventures. This is partly because these enterprises do not attract enough clientele due to the undeveloped nature of tourism in Ghana, and partly because portions of the revenue generated are usually squandered by employees who are most often relatives of the proprietors. Typical cases are as follows: a) The proprietor/manager of a motel lamented on his horrible experiences with employing relatives in his motel. According to him, I have got lots of bad experiences with relatives working for me. Cousins and nephews working for me in my motel duped me a lot by making spare keys to rent rooms to customers without my knowledge and make use of the money collected. When I travel, they rent out rooms in my absence without recording them and keep the money involved. b) According to a hotel proprietress, her enterprise is not flourishing as it should mainly because of misappropriation on the part of the workers who are mostly her relatives. She specifically mentioned that some of her female employees usually serve food and drinks to their boyfriends free of charge. This she sees as a serious drain on her business. c) A hotel proprietor/manager made the following remark: No employment of relatives. I don't like it that way; they would think the business is for "us", and won't work hard but help "chop" [spend] the money. My father 177 brought in some relatives into the hotel when he was managing it and they nearly collapsed the business-they squandered the money. Meanwhile, I later discovered that he had one of his nephews working temporarily for him in the hotel. Other hoteliers interviewed recounted similar experiences. The main point emphasized was that relatives they employ in their hotels usually misappropriate portions of the revenue generated because these workers know that they cannot be easily fired or disciplined because of their kinship ties with the proprietors. One manager articulated the point this way, Relatives working in your hotel spend the hotel money because they don't have any fears. They are sure that you cannot "lock" [arrest] them, for other family members would not agree to that. Hotel proprietors/managers who fired relatives who messed up things in their hotels actually incurred the displeasure of other relatives. The experiences of two proprietors are typical. In the words of one of them, I dismissed four employees who were my relatives for not working hard. Other relatives were angry, accusing me of being cruel and acting like a "white man"--throwing away extended relations. The experience of the other proprietor, echoes that of the above. According to him, Relatives create disciplinary problems. I have sacked many of my relatives I employed. When I sack them, their mothers react negatively. They think I am cruel. But if I don't put my feet down they [such employees] will destroy my business. It must be remarked that not many Ghanaian hotel and restaurant proprietors could withstand this kind of negative reaction from relatives. Many proprietors, therefore, do not fire relatives working in their enterprises who do not perform well or embezzle money. Another major factor which reduces the capital accumulation capacity of tourism entrepreneurs is that many of them use portions of income to meet extended family or kinship obligations. It is interesting to note that as high as 90.9 percent of the sample of Ghanaian hotel proprietors/managers I interviewed intimated that they spent some portion of their incomes on extended family relations (see Table 42 below). 178 TABLE 42: PORTIONS OF INCOME SPENT ON EXTENDED RELATIVES Percentage of income No. of Hotel Percentage spent on ext. relatives operators Nil 3 9.1 1-10 15 45.5 11-20 10 30.3 21-30 0 0.0 31-40 0 0.0 4 1 - 5 0 4 12.1 5 1 - 6 0 1 3.0 61 -70 1 3.0 Total 33. 100.0 Source: Interview Data (June-August, 1992). As table 42 indicates there are a few extreme cases where respondents either spend nothing at all on extended relatives or spend major part of their incomes on such relatives. Those who indicated that they expend nothing on their extended relatives are those who either have relatives who are financially secure or those whose incomes are inadequate to permit such expenditure. For example, one manager intimated that he does not spend on extended family members because "all my sisters, brothers and their children are doing financially well on their own. Even my aging mother has sufficient income from renting out her house". The assistant manageress of a hotel, represents the other category. According to her, "I don't help extended relatives because my income is not enough even for myself alone." On the other end of the spectrum, that is, those respondents who indicated that they spend major portions of their incomes on extended family members, their experiences are instructive. For example, the co-proprietor of a hotel presented his experience thus: Sometimes I spend a whole month's income on the extended family. Yesterday, 179 for example, I went to my hometown with 50,000 cedis [$108.69], but I had to borrow 5,000 cedis [$10.86] to pay my way back to Bolga. I have about two hundred relatives, and it happened to be that this day was a market day. Many of them were around and each of them had genuine needs so I had to go to their aid. That is our way of life, it is through this that you acquire prestige. Put differently, those who are perceived by their extended relatives to be well-placed enough to help them but fail to help are not respected in the family. To illustrate this point, one manager lamented that because he does not have enough income to redistribute to extended family members, he is considered a "dead goat" (useless) in the family. Since helping relatives materially is a way of acquiring prestige in the extended family, many Ghanaians would go to any length to provide that help so as to command respect. The experience of a hotel manager is illustrative. My salary is so low that if I want to help the extended family my immediate family will starve. Occasionally, however, I find it very difficult to resist requests for help. On such occasions what I do is to contact some contractor friends of mine for assistance. For example, quite recently my mother asked me to buy a "trunk" (metal box) for a nephew who was starting secondary school. I did not have the money, but in order to save my face in the family, I had to literaly beg a contractor friend to help me with money. He did, but you know, it means that whenever he also wants me to use my office to help his business, I cannot refuse. With such expenditures on the extended family, coupled with the low profits they make, it is very difficult for entrepreneurs to accumulate enough capital to invest in ventures such as conventional tourism projects which usually require heavy capital outlay but do not bring in quick returns in the case of Ghana. It must be noted here that helping extended relatives financially is not limited only to enterpreneurs or the higher income earning Ghanaians. Even lower income workers spend parts of their meagre incomes on helping less privileged extended family members, and on funerals which constitute a vital aspect of the collectivistic ethic in Ghana. This shows the resilience of the collectivistic culture in Ghana despite the onslaught of Western individualistic culture on the Ghanaian society since the colonial period. The examination of the income redistribution pattern of Ghana Tourist Board staff substantiates this phenomenon (see Table 43). 180 TABLE 43: PORTIONS OF INCOME OF TOURIST BOARD STAFF MEMBERS SPENT ON EXTENDED RELATIVES AND FUNERALS. Extended Relatives Funerals Portion of Income No. of Per- No. of Per-(Percentage) Interviewees centage Interviewees centage 1.25 2 2.5 26.25 29 36.25 55.0 40 50.0 15.0 6 7.5 2.5 1 1.25 OQ 2 2.5 Total 80 100.0 80 100.0 Source: Survey Data, August 1992. Nil 1 - 10 11-20 21 -30 31 -40 41 -50 1 21 44 12 2 0 Entrepreneu rial/Managerial Styles: On the issue of employment of relatives in Ghana's tourism, it must be noted that the practice is widespread and it negatively affects discipline of workers, efficiency of management and quality of service offered by the industry. Informal interviews with a sample of hoteliers revealed that apart from the three foreign hotels and the State hotels, all the others in the sample have their relatives working for them. According to an official of the Ghana Tourist Board, This practice of hoteliers employing their relatives in the businesses is everywhere in the private hotel sector. Relatives keep on hanging on to the private hotels, and this is killing the industry. She also intimated that a "white man" living in Accra complained to her that He would not patronize hotels or tourist facilities managed solely by Ghanaians because Ghanaians are not professional-like; they rely so much on extended relations that they are not efficient. They employ relatives and, therefore, can't sack them if they are inefficient. Table 44 shows the extent of employment of relatives in the selected private Ghanaian hotels. 181 TABLE 44: EMPLOYMENT OF RELATIVES IN SELECTED GHANAIAN HOTELS Hotel No. of Workers who are Relatives Total %aqe Lake Side Benkum Partners May Matvin Grand Savoy Mudek Nyansapow Oyster Bay Western Home Western Palace Animens Rose's Georgia Cicero Picorna Inter Royal Miricha Sand Garden Royal Upland Kunateh Agyeiwaa St Michael's Dymns Yeenuah Midway 2 0 * 2 5 1 2 3 2 2 2 1 2 2 6 0 3 1 0 * 7 2 4 5 3 0 * 0 4 1 6 5 18 8 4 12 8 4 N.A 9 23 37 28 30 28 37 9 5 10 6 23 5 17 4 N.A. 6 4 33.3 0.0 11.1 62.5 25.0 16.7 37.5 50.0 N.A. 22.2 4.3 5.4 7.1 20.0 0.0 8.1 11.1 0.0 70.0 33.3 17.4 100.0 17.6 0.0 N.A. 66.7 25.0 Total 62 341 18.2 Source: Interview Data, June-August 1992. * These hotels were formerly employing relatives. In terms of proportion, it would seem employment of relatives does not constitute much of a problem. However, given the fact that such employees tend to occupy the key positions-manager, accountant, head of catering, head receptionist, chief security-their performance determines the quality of service provided by the hotel. It is also important to note that those hotels with no or 1 -3 relatives of the proprietors/managers working in them used to have more employees who were relatives. It is mainly the disciplinary and embezzlement problems which led those hotels 182 to stop or limit the employment of relatives. For example, according to one proprietor, "no relatives are working for me now. In fact, some years back, I used to have some of my relatives working here. But they were not good so I sacked them". Some recent hotels have not hired relatives of proprietors/managers because of the bad experiences of earlier hoteliers who adopted that employment practice. The following remark of the manager of one of the newer hotels typifies this view: I employ no relatives. When you want your business to flourish you don't employ your relatives. I advised the owner not to bring in relatives to work because when instruction is given to them they won't take them. They will create discipline and efficiency problems. With the exception of three of the Ghanaian hoteliers interviewed, all the others indicated that employment of relatives poses disciplinary and efficiency problems for the operation of their hotels. The question then is why do these hoteliers continue to employ relatives? The main reasons given by those hoteliers are: 1) they are culturally obliged to help their extended relatives materially, so it is better to employ some of them to help create revenue from which they would directly benefit; 2) Since such employees may be naturally loyal to the proprietors because of their kinship ties, they may serve as a check on other workers who may steal money or materials; and 3) they serve as a vital source of cheap labour. These cited advantages of employing extended relatives in hotels, however, seem to be outweighed by the disadvantages. The problems emphasized by hoteliers as associated with employment of relatives, summarized below, give substance to this claim. a) Since many of such employees do not have the requisite 183 training or qualifications for working in a hotel, their productivity or efficiency is usually very low, b) since such employees think that the proprietors are culturally obligated to help them, they know that they cannot be easily fired, and , therefore, they usually do not work hard enough for the business, and c) because of the belief of these employees that the business partly belongs to them because of their blood ties with the proprietors, they do not usually obey orders of management. Such behaviour makes it very difficult for management to instil any discipline among other workers who are not relatives of the proprietor or manager. The remark of a proprietor/manager epitomizes the negative effects of employing relatives in hotels: I started with my brother and sister's son. They created lots of mess to the extent that my hotel was mentioned on the national radio that it is not a good hotel because of the poor service and bad behaviour of my relatives working in the hotel. The traditional entrepreneurial and managerial styles adopted by Ghanaian hoteliers because of the collectivistic ethic may, therefore, partially explain the widespread low standard of services in the hotels observed by the Ghana Tourist Board Work Plan for 1990 (1990: 1). According to this document, there is "poor quality service offered in virtually all segments of the tourism industry but more particularly hotels". Such a low quality service is unsuitable for the development of conventional tourism which thrives on high standards (see English, 1983:12). The discussion in this section of the chapter shows that the collectivistic ethic in the Ghanaian society which is extended to the organization and management of the tourism sector, particularly hotels, undermines both large investment and high quality service which are vital ingredients for 184 the development of a conventional tourism industry. c) POLITICAL CONDITIONS AND THE PROBLEM OF TOURISM DEVELOPMENT: The collectivistic cultural tradition of Ghana, coupled with the low capital accumulation capacity of the economy make the need for an extensive foreign participation in Ghana's tourism imperative, if Ghana is to develop a viable conventional tourist industry. Such foreign participation, particularly in terms of capital investment, is not forthcoming due to the political instability of the country. Ghana has the highest number of total military involvement in sub-Saharan Africa. From 1957 up to December 1985, it had experienced five successful and six abortive coups d'etat, and 13 reported plots to overthrow governments (Africa Coup Projects Files, 1987, cited in Teye, 1988: 334). As highlighted in chapter two, at the root of the political instability in Ghana is the endemic disloyalty of Ghanaians to the modern state. Ghana's coup leaders always cite the deplorable economic conditions, especially among workers, and rampant corruption of civilian politicians as the main reasons for their interventions in government. Unfortunately, however, the military politicians who promise to minimize poverty and corruption fail. By the time they are out of power these problems remain, if not worsened. The strong loyalty of politicians to their extended families and ethnic groups seems to make them commit state resources toward these ends rather than the development of Ghana as a whole. Most former civilian and military politicians who were investigated are found guilty of embezzling state funds (see Daily Graphic, Wednesday June 27, 1979, p. 1; White Paper on the Second Report of the Sowah Commission of Enquiry in to the Assets of Specified Persons, 1969: 2-11). Apart from politicians, there are many Ghanaians from all walks of life who misappropriate state funds and property whenever they get the chance. Ghanaian newspapers report many of such 185 embezzlements and misappropriations. The basic reason for such acts by many Ghanaians is that the low productive base of the economy does not allow high incomes, yet the demands of the collectivistic ethic remain constant. The coups d'etat resulting from the economic and cultural dynamics of the Ghanaian society have had negative impacts not only on the flow of foreign investment to the country, but also on the development of the national tourism organization, immigration and entry formalities, and the flow of international tourists to Ghana (see Teye, 1988: 344-350). Foreign Investment in Ghana's Tourism: Ghana has consistently failed to attract substantial foreign investment into its tourist industry. The NRC governments 1973 Investment Decree gave generous concessions to foreign capital participation in tourism. These, however, could not produce fruits. The Master Tourism Plan 1975-1990 could not be implemented due mainly to the fact the expected 63 per cent foreign capital participation could not be obtained. In the early 1980s, the PNP government's negotiations for foreign participation in Ghana's tourism did not achieve fruition before the government was overthrown in December, 1981 (Ghana Economic Survey, 1982). Like other investment policies for tourism, so far the 1985 Investment Code has not succeeded in convincing foreign investors to consider Ghana's tourism potential in spite of the enormous incentives offered (see Investment Code, 1985:8-12). 186 The National Tourism Organization: With regard to the national tourism organization, as Table 45 shows, the impact has involved rapid changes in its name and structure. According to Teye (Ibid.: 344), "between 1966 and 1973 there were more than eight changes in the name, status and mandate of Ghana's NTO due to three changes in government in 1966 (military), 1969 (civilian), and 1972 (military)." TABLE 45: CHANGES IN THE NATIONAL TOURISM ORGANIZATION (N.T.O.) OF GHANA SINCE ITS INCEPTION IN 1959. Year Government National Tourism Organization 1959-1963 Civilian (rightist Ghana Tourist Board 1963-1965 Civilian (leftist) Ghana Hotels & Tourism Corporation 1965-1966 Civilian (leftist) State Tourist Corporation 1966-1968 Military State Hotels & Tourism Corporation 1968-1970 Military National Tourist Corporation 1971-1972 Civilian Ghana Tourist Corporation 1973-1974 Military Ghana Tourist Control Board 1975-Present Military/Civilian Ghana Tourist Board* Sources: Compiled from Ghana Year Book, 1977: 248-250; Teye, 1988: 344. * Since 1975, there has not been any change in name of the national tourism organization, but it has been shuffled around a lot-attached to Ministries of Culture, Information, and Trade. It must be remarked that changes in the designation of the national tourism organization were usually accompanied by changes in the leadership. For example, since 1960 there have been more than eight directors who have headed the national tourism organization. They include Anim, Obuam, Odjidja, Ankrah, Agyei-Bawuah, Quaynor, Kobla, and Ofosu-Yeboah. The discontinuities associated with the changes in the national tourism organization have contributed to its weakness, and, therefore, its inability to formulate and implement comprehensive tourism plans and policies (Teye 1988:330, 337). Until 1974 there was no comprehensive tourism planning in Ghana, and until 1987 Ghana had no tourism policy. Military interventions in Ghana also break the continuity in overall economic policies which are crucial for successful national development (Ibid.: 346). For example, the 1966 coup truncated the 187 7-year Development Plan 1963-1970 and the ensuing military government did not have any economic policy. These are largely true of the 1972 and 1979 coups as well. The main effect of the discontinuities and lack of economic vision of such military governments was the cancellation or suspension of tourism development projects (Teye, 1988: 348). Immigration and Entry Bottlenecks: Tourists travelling to Ghana are required to obtain visas from the Ghanaian embassies and consulates in their home countries or those closest to them. Visa applications take so long (four weeks or longer) to process because of the scrutiny usually involved. As if these are not enough, apart from instances of extortion, tourists entering and leaving Ghana are subjected to cumbersome arrival and departure formalities. In early periods of military regimes, travellers arriving in Ghana have to be escorted and searched by armed soldiers. The main reason why travellers to Ghana undergo such scrutiny is political. The government usually fears that political dissidents will infiltrate the country under the guise of tourists and other legitimate forms of entry. These cumbersome, tortuous procedures and formalities make Ghana a less attractive conventional tourist destination compared to other African countries such as Kenya, Egypt, Morocco, Senegal, Gambia, Ivory Coast and Togo where they go through less formalities. For example, tourists visiting Kenya are not required to obtain visas, and those going to Gambia receive their visas at the entry points. It is in light of such formalities that the Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization, Antonio Savignac, observed that "the problem of visa acquisition, the cost involved as well as custom and immigration procedures hamper the effective development of tourism [in Ghana]" (People's Daily Graphic, July 10, 1992: 9). 188 The Flow of Conventional International Tourists to Ghana: The cumbersome immigration and entry procedures and formalities combined with the perceived insecurity created by coups tend to discourage conventional tourists from choosing Ghana as a vacation destination. Coups d'etat in Ghana always involve the closure of the country's only international airport, blocking of borders, and demonstrations denouncing Western imperialism. These prevent the movement of people to and from Ghana, and the adverse publicity in international media usually creates a negative image of Ghana as a tourist destination. Thus the flow of [conventional] tourists is drastically reduced (Ibid.: 345-6). Given the success stories of Bali, the Casamance Villages of Senegal, and Costa Rica, the above economic, cultural and political conditions of Ghana should not constitute problems for tourism development in the country. As discussed in chapter one, Bali and the Lower Casamance villages have created self-sustaining and flourishing tourist industries which are sources of socio-economic development in these societies (see Saglio, 1979; McKean, 1989). The significant aspects of these cases are that their success in tourism development has been attained, contrary to the expectations of the Advocacy Platform, 1) without creating any Western-type tourism transportation, recreational, accommodation and restaurant facilities, 2) without any substantial foreign capital, and 3) despite the preponderance of traditional entrepreneurial and management styles. The question then is, how come Ghana's low capital base, inability to attract substantial foreign investment and predominant use of traditional entrepreneurial and management styles frustrate the development of the tourist industry and thus prevent it from being a catalyst for the country's development? The contradiction between conventional tourism orientation of Ghana and the above discussed economic, cultural and political factors seems to be at the heart of the development problems of the country's tourist industry. Conventional tourism thrives on high standard, elaborate tourism infrastructure, facilities and services. These require substantial capital investment, western-style skilled personnel, rational-bureaucratic entrepreneurial and managerial styles, and political 189 stability. Ghana's low capital base, low calibre tourism personnel, traditional entrepreneurial and managerial resources, and its history of political instability cannot support the development of a viable conventional tourist industry. Thus it is not surprising that Ghana's tourism has been, to repeat Teye (1988: 343) "a miniaturized industry". 5.6: CONCLUSION: The Cautionary Platform and protagonists of state activism in tourism fail to locate the source of Ghana's failure to develop its tourist industry. In fact, Ghana has not been able to attract foreign capital investment and management expertise to its tourist industry; and the Ghanaian state's participation in tourism cannot be described as passive. The Adaptancy Platform makes a mistake by blaming conventional tourism, for this form of tourism adopted by many countries has not prevented them from developing viable tourist industries. Studies on Ghana's tourism, like the Advocacy Platform, aptly point to the lack of capital, skilled personnel, elaborate tourism infrastructure and facilities, high quality tourism service, and political stability as factors causing problems for Ghana's tourist industry. Yet this perspective fails to relate these factors to Ghana's precarious economy, resilient collectivistic ethic, and conventional tourism orientation. In fact, the financial, personnel, infrastructural, superstructural (facilities and services), and political dificulties constitute a problem for tourism development only because they do not fit with the conventional tourism orientation of Ghana. It must be remarked that it is not a bad thing to adopt a conventional tourism orientation with its concomitant international standard hotels and restaurants, elaborate tourism infrastructure, and high quality service. After all, Kenya and Mexico (see Dieke 1991; Chant, 1992) have achieved substantial success through that strategy (see Chapter One, pp. 22-25). However, given the low 190 capital formation of Ghana's economy, the political instability which blocks the flow of foreign investment and conventional tourists, the low calibre of tourism personnel, and the preponderance of traditional entrepreneurial and management styles, this is not a practical strategy for Ghana. Even if it is practical, this approach is less desirable because these very conditions would restrict the ownership and use of tourism facilities to mostly foreigners and rich Ghanaians. In fact, given Ghana's existing economic and cultural conditions, the pursuit of conventional tourism strategy is very likely to prevent the industry from promoting social justice or fostering equality, an important objective of Ghanaian governments and a vital ingredient of development. Since these conditions of Ghana cannot easily be changed, the conventional tourism orientation has to be altered if the industry is to take-off and serve as a catalyst for development. It is in this context and the successes of Bali, the Casamance villages of Senegal, and Costa Rica in developing alternative forms of tourism that the adoption of alternative forms of tourism by Ghana is suggested in the concluding chapter of the thesis. 191 NOTE: 1. The rating of a hotel in Ghana (and internationally) is determined by the number of double rooms and suites it has, and the type of facilities and services available in it. For example, the only "5-star" hotel in Ghana (Labadi Beach Hotel) has 100 double rooms and 4 luxury suites; all bedrooms have air conditioning, fans, mini bars, TVs and VCRs, radios, direct dial telephones, luxury bathrooms, and 24-hour room service; a shopping centre; 3 restaurants and cafes; 3 bars; conference and banqueting facilities with capacities of up to 200; a terraced swimming pool; health centre; sports facilities; and a car parking for up to 200 cars (see West Africa, 8-14 June, 1992: 973). The hotel rating reduces in number of "stars" as the size of the hotel, the number of facilities, and services reduce. The "listed" hotels are those with less than ten rooms with none of the above facilties and services. 192 CHAPTER SIX: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION: MAKING TOURISM A CATALYST FOR GHANA'S DEVELOPMENT: 6.1: INTRODUCTION: The thesis challenges the underlying rationale and appropriateness of a conventional tourism orientation in a country such as Ghana which lacks the necessary capital base, trained/skilled tourism personnel and entrepreneurs, and the political stability conducive to this form of tourism. It emphasizes that tourism can become a key to development in many Third World countries if it is approached differently. Based on an analysis of Ghana's experience in tourism development since the late 1950s, the thesis rejects the wholesale adoption of the conventional tourism model recommended by the Advocacy Platform as a universal strategy for tourism development. The thesis, examining Ghana's tourism development problematic, notes that 1) Ghana has adopted conventional tourism as the main strategy for developing its tourist industry, particularly since 1974, even though the country lacks the requisite capital, personnel, entrepreneurs and managers demanded by this form of tourism; and 2) this contradiction is the underlying factor responsible for Ghana's failure to develop a viable tourist industry, despite its vast tourism resources and the efforts of various governments. It was also found through the analysis of empirical data on Ghana's tourism that the low capital accumulation capacity of Ghana's economy and the resilience of the collectivistic ethic 1) limit capital formation and therefore investment in the development of tourism facilities and training of tourism personnel; 2) restrict the use of rational bureaucratic management in all sectors of the industry, and hence lowers the quality of service below what is acceptable to conventional tourists; and 3) contribute to political instability and thus impede the flow of foreign investment as well as conventional tourists. However, these factors seem to frustrate Ghana's tourism development mainly because of its conventional orientation which does not fit in with these economic and cultural conditions of the country. The specific factors such as lack of finance and tourism product 193 identity, ineffective tourism promotion, burdensome immigration requirements, poortourism facilities and services, weak tourism human resource base, ineffective tourism administration, and political instability identified by studies on Ghana's tourism as the sources of the failure of the industry to develop and generate development are mere symptoms of this contradiction. This contradiction between the conventional tourism orientation of Ghana's tourist industry and the available economic resources and cultural realities of the country must be resolved if tourism is to become a catalyst for development. Ghana has two options: 1) attracting substantial foreign investment and tourism management expertise or generating adequate domestic capital and creating more local skilled tourism workers and rational bureaucratic entrepreneurs and managers; and 2) adopting the forms of tourism which do not require high standard, capital-intensive tourism infrastructure and facilities and services. The first option is not feasible, given Ghana's low capacity for capital formation, its collectivistic culture and political instability. Nor is it desirable, considering the fact that it may lead to foreign control of the industry, and its concomitant revenue leakage and exacerbation of social inequality. The only realistic option, therefore, is the latter. The thesis suggests that Ghana adopts a new tourism policy which emphasizes the development and promotion of alternative forms of tourism which are congruent with the country's existing indigenous resources. Alternative forms of tourism can help resolve this contradiction imposed by the local conditions such as low economic productivity, the collectivistic ethic and political instability because the type of tourists attracted to this kind of tourism are not pre-occupied with luxury and comfort (Cohen, 1972). The lack of conventional tourism infrastructure, facilities and services may be part of the attraction to such tourists, for they are more interested in the "exotic", "unusual", "authentic" and "novel" aspects of Third World societies (Cohen, 1972 and 1989: 32; MacCannell, 1976:10; Graburn, 1989: 31; Johnston, 1990: 3; Weiler and Hall, 1992: 201). 194 6.2: POLICY SUGGESTION: ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF TOURISM AS A STRATEGY FOR DEVELOPING GHANA'S TOURISM: The underlying reason for many of the negative connotations associated with Third World tourism such as increasing social inequality, promoting prostitution, and the cultural and environmental degradation is the conventional tourism approach that most nations adopt. This is not to suggest that conventional tourism per se is the problem. The advanced industrial countries pursue conventional tourism, yet the above problems are not associated with their tourism industries. Conventional tourism creates such problems for many Third World countries because they lack the requisite indigenous economic, social and cultural resources to support this form of tourism. When Third World countries adopt alternative forms of tourism which are congruent with their indigenous resources the above problems associated with tourism will be greatly reduced. Given Ghana's problems of 1) low capital base, lack of Western-type skilled tourism personnel and entrepreneurs, poor tourism infrastructure and facilities, substandard tourism services, and political instability; and 2) its objectives of promoting social justice and local control, and protecting the traditional culture and the natural environment, it is imperative that the existing conventional tourism development strategy be re-assessed. Ghana should rather pursue alternative forms of tourism, which, unlike the conventional form, have a great capacity for adapting to the realities of the country's indigenous resources and promoting its development objectives. "Alternative tourism" as a concept emerged in the 1980s along with "heritage" and "sustainable" development (Butler, 1990:40), although as an approach to tourism development it has an earlier existence. For example, Saint Vincent, Bali, and Senegal were already developing alternative forms of tourism in the 1970s (Britton, 1977;Saglio, 1979; Nielsen, 1984). Valene Smith (1992: 190) has pointed out that alternative forms of tourism are as old as tourism itself. The source of the concept is, however, traceable to the Ecumenical Coalition on Third World Tourism. The Ecumenical Coalition is critical of Third world tourism on lines of the Cautionary Platform. But it also goes beyond indictment to searching for ways of restructuring and organizing tourism so as 195 to enhance its utility to people of the Third World. This search became crystallized in the concept of "alternative tourism" in 1984 at the conference of the Ecumenical Coalition in Chiang Mai, Thailand (Holden, 1984:8). At this conference alternative tourism was not only contrasted with "mass tourism", but also aimed at obliterating it. It was emphasized that this latter line of action is imperative if tourism is to be salvaged and made beneficial to Third World peoples. In a recent work edited by Smith and Eadington (1992) entitled Tourism Alternatives, there was consensus among the contributors that the concept of alternative tourism should be replaced by "alternative forms of tourism". No matter the name, this type of tourism is thought by proponents as being more sensitive to the natural and cultural environments of destination areas, as requiring nominal capital investment, minimal tourism infrastructure and facilities, and emphasizing social justice. As Campbell (1990: 98) aptly puts it, alternative tourism has great potential to reduce the foreign exchange leakages in the Third World associated with conventional international tourism, provide more income for local tourism entrepreneurs, create employment for local residents, enhance host-guest relationships, lessen inequality in the use of tourism facilities, and reduce the usual contrast between the quality of facilities for tourists and for residents in destination areas. Despite these attributes of alternative tourism, however, it has come under attack since the late 1980s (see Cohen, 1989; Butler, 1990, 1992; Weaver, 1991; Oppermann and Sahr, 1992; Smith and Eadington eds., 1992). The criticisms centre around the utility of the concept itself and the real benefits this form of tourism could produce. The concept is generally seen by critics as vague. For example, according to Butler (1992:31), "[a]s with sustainable development, the phrase can mean almost anything to anyone". With regard to the actual contribution of this perspective of tourism, critics argue that although it provides a solid critique of conventional tourism, it fails "to formulate a realistic and cohesive view of what 'alternative tourism1, however defined, can reasonably offer" (Smith and Eadington, 1992:3). It is further pointed out that proponents of alternative tourism fail to recognize its down-side. In the view of Butler (1992: 69), quite apart from the fact that this form 196 of tourism cannot create more jobs and generate substantial revenue, it does not make room for mass tourists. He further emphasizes that at least potentially, alternative forms of tourism penetrate further into the personal space of residents, involve them to a much greater degree, expose often fragile resources to greater visitation, expose the genuine article of tourism to a greater degree, proportionally may result in greater leakage of expenditure, and may cause greater political change in terms of control over development than traditional or mass tourism (Ibid.) It is not clear as to how alternative forms of tourism could cause "greater leakage of expenditure", given their emphasis on local ownership, control and management of tourism facilities. Also, it is not clear as to why "greater change in terms of control over development" by locals is bad. The main conclusion of the critics of alternative forms of tourism, however, is that conventional tourism should be maintained despite its problems. This view is succinctly put by Butler (1990: 44): In realistic terms we cannot and should not want to obliterate mass tourism. Alternative tourism could not replace it, in economic terms, in personal preference terms or simply in logistical terms. Notwithstanding the critics' scepticism about Alternative Tourism, they recognize its advantages. Cohen (1989), for example, remarks that the real value of alternative tourism lies in helping us to be more realistic in trying to ameliorate the problems of conventional tourism. Butler (1990: 44,45) reiterates this view by itemizing the useful roles alternative tourism could fulfil: 1) complementing mass tourism by increasing the spectrum of attractions and level of authenticity; 2) giving tourists the opportunity to enjoy the natural areas and culture of destination areas; 3) serving the needs and desires of specific categories of tourists, particularly special interest tourists; 4) supplementing incomes of marginal groups in the destination areas; and 5) allowing some tourism development in areas which cannot sustain major change because of environmental and/or social capacity limitations. Also, it must be emphasized that alternative tourism has added advantages of making local ownership and control more possible, retaining a larger percentage of the tourist dollar within the country of destination, and alleviating cultural stereotyping (Campbell, 1990: 74; Weiler and Hall, 1992: 202). 197 In this respect, alternative forms of tourism allay the genuine fears of the Cautionary Platform that conventional tourism is an imperialistic mechanism of the advanced capitalist countries for the exploitation of Third World countries. Alternative forms of tourism if vigorously pursued by Ghana, would avert the problem of foreign control of its tourist industry, a process which has started in a small way in Accra with the establishment of Labadi Beach Hotel, Novotel and Golden Tulip. As Place (1991:189) observes, alternative forms of tourism, like any other industry, unless prudently developed could have serious adverse impacts on social life, cultures and ecosystems of the destination communities. However, compared to conventional tourism, as the cases of Bali, Senegal and Costa Rica show (Saglio, 1979; McKean, 1989; Chant, 1992), alternative forms of tourism seem to: 1) have less negative effects on culture and environment of tourism destination communities; 2) demand less state and foreign participation; and 3) limit the reproduction of prostitution and class, gender and ethnic/racial inequalities. So far there have not been any reports of significant increase in social problems such as drug peddling and prostitution related to the introduction of alternative forms of tourism in a local area. The Lower Casamance villages of Senegal and Bali are typical examples. In Bali for instance, the level of tourism-related prostitution is very low despite its booming alternative tourism industry. The "prostitution 'milieu' is, according to reliable sources, 90% non-Balinese", and the 10% Balinese natives involved in the sex trade are thought to be mainly males (Nielsen, 1984:12,13). The Balinese consider prostitution, especially female prostitution, as "an extremely disgusting affair", thus "the Balinese woman guards her reputation and she practically never involves herself in an affair with a foreigner" (Ibid.). Alternative forms of tourism help preserve traditional cultural values and practices, and thus control the growth of prostitution1. Hence the low prostitution level of Bali, which is in sharp contrast to other South-East Asian tourism destinations such as the Philippines and Thailand where "sex tourism" is the most dominant aspect of the tourist industry. In the area of culture, alternative forms of tourism in places like Bali has led to cultural regeneration 198 rather than cultural bastardization. The rather mild negative effects of alternative forms of tourism on social and cultural situations in destination communities may be due to the fact that these forms of tourism 1) encourage close interaction between hosts and guests, and thus prevent the seclusion of tourists which tends to promote illicit sex, 2) alternative tourists are more sensitive to the host culture and would not want to violate traditional sex and moral norms, 3) traditional culture is consciously protected and thus maintain the usually high traditional moral standards, especially among women. Ghana's adoption of alternative forms of tourism would, therefore, not only help strengthen its existing drive to protect its cultural heritage but also help curtail the emerging sex tourism in urban centres such as Accra, Tema, Takoradi and Kumasi. Like in the socio-cultural realm, the environmental cost of alternative forms of tourism seems very minimal. For example, by focusing on the promotion of eco-tourism, Costa Rica "seems to have avoided the more deleterious effects of international tourism that have arisen in other developing countries" (Chant, 1992:92). Much of this is because 1) Costa Rican tourism authorities attach great importance to the protection of the environment in their bid to develop the tourist industry, and 2) visitors-mostly American and Canadian scientists, educationalists, conservationists, and ornithologists-attracted by eco-tourism have a vested interest in preserving the landscape they visit (Ibid.). If alternative forms of tourism are adopted by Ghana as a development strategy they will help the country protect its flora and fauna from the encroachment of timber contractors, cocoa farmers, and poachers. An additional factor which will help ensure the success of such environmental protection is the employment of local personnel to manage and work in the national parks in their traditional territories. Employment created for them in this way will give them a material incentive to monitor the parks and deal with loggers, farmers and poachers who may attempt to exploit these natural resources. Since the territories containing the national parks are traditionally owned by the local ethnic entities, the local personnel employed to operate them are more likely to protect them as communal property because of their [the personnel] strong ethnic 199 loyalty. So far most of the forestry and game personnel are state employees many of who are not members of the ethnic groups which own the lands in which the national parks are located. Given Ghanaians general disloyalty to the modern state, the above employment practice of the Department of Game and Wildlife may be an explanation for the lack of effective monitoring of the national parks. An additional advantage of alternative forms of tourism is that they have great potential for avoiding the class, gender, and ethnic/racial inequalities usually prevalent in the conventional tourist industry in the Third World. According to the Workshop Agreements of the Ecumenical Coalition on Third World Tourism (Holden ed., 1984:15), Alternative Tourism is a process which promotes a just form of travel between members of different communities. It seeks to achieve mutual understanding, solidarity and equality amongst participants. As the case of Bali ("the losman system") shows, alternative forms of tourism rely on local forms of accommodation and other hospitality facilities. Locals can, therefore, afford to own and operate tourism facilities. This avoids the social inequality, in terms of ownership, management and control, endemic in the conventional tourist industry of the Third World. Mainly because of high construction and operating costs of conventional tourist facilities, and their emphasis on Western-style services, these facilities in Third World countries are mainly owned and controlled by rich expatriates and a few local business tycoons and professionals from rich ethnic communities who are usually men. Another important quality of alternative forms of tourism is that because of their emphasis on integrating the industry into the local society, especially in the areas of architecture, they tend to lessen the usual contrast between the quality of facilities for tourists and locals. Also, since the rates of alternative tourism facilities and services are relatively low, inequalities in their use would be minimal, for even the underprivileged groups such as peasants, workers, women, and members of poor ethnic groups (particularly among the nationals of destination countries) could afford the expense involved in touristic travel. When adopted as a development strategy, this characteristic of alternative forms of tourism 200 will enable all categories of Ghanaians, who are interested, to own, manage and use tourism facilities and services. As already noted, the main bases of the existing social inequality in Ghana's tourism are the emphasis on conventional tourism which is capital-intensive, and the unequal distribution of natural resources such as forest lands, timber and minerals which are the main sources of capital accumulation. These resources are located mainly in the southern half of the country (see Map on p. 251) and are owned mainly by men who are affluent professionals, business tycoons and farmers. Hence the domination of the industry by businessmen, male professionals and rich farmers from the southern ethnic groups. Unlike conventional tourism, alternative forms of tourism require only minimal capital and all regions of Ghana are endowed with various tourism resources. Using these attractions to develop alternative forms of tourism can therefore minimize the existing class, gender and ethnic inequalities in the industry. It is important, however, to recognize that all forms of tourism have benefits and costs. There is, therefore, the need to objectively and rationally evaluate the merits and problems of different forms of tourism within the contexts of destination areas, as Butler (1990: 45) suggests. For example, in the case of Ghana, conventional tourism, particularly beach/resort tourism, may be more lucrative (create more jobs and higher revenue) if well-managed. However, the problems of 1) lack of skilled tourism specific personnel and 2) lack of capital to create high quality tourism infrastructure, facilities and services make the pursuit of this path of tourism non-viable at the moment. Moreover, the foreign control and the social inequality this form of tourism engender make it undesirable. In the context of these problems, the available tourism resources of Ghana, and the success stories of Bali, Senegal and Costa Rica, alternative forms of tourism, particularly adventure tourism, cultural or ethnic tourism, "roots" tourism and eco-tourism, naturally suggest themselves. Ghana tourism policy seems to have begun to realize the country's potential in these forms of tourism, especially "roots tourism" and "eco-tourism" (see Medium Term National Tourism Development Plan for Ghana 1992-1994, 1991: 18). But the fact is that there is a continuing preference for the creation of capital-intensive tourism infrastructure and facilities, and this is 201 preventing the effective promotion of alternative forms of tourism. In other words, the emerging approach of Ghana's tourism policy emphasizes cultural tourism, roots tourism and eco-tourism within the framework of conventional tourism. This is contradictory and counter-productive. Alternative forms of tourism require minimal capital investment, rely on very basic infrastructure, and alternative tourists are attracted by remoteness, exotic cultures, and the "pristine" environment of the destination societies (Johnston, 1990:3). Ghana is not well-known in international tourism circles (Tourism Market Survey, 1987) and does not attract large numbers of tourists (see Table 1). It could, therefore, be aptly described as "remote" and "unspoiled" in Johnston's (1990:3) phraseology. There are roads linking most of the natural and cultural tourism resource areas (see Map on p. 248), though many of these roads are poor. Most of the tourist attraction areas do not have high standard, capital-intensive tourist accommodation and restaurant facilities. These infrastructural problems would, however, not be of a major hinderance to developing alternative forms of tourism. The success story of Bali gives substance to this optimism. Because of its "exotic" natural and cultural tourist attractions, particularly traditional culture, alternative forms of tourism continue to boom in Bali in spite of the lack of modern tourism infrastructure and hotel accommodation in many parts of the island (see Nielsen, 1984). Ghana possesses ecological resources and a multiplicity of diverse cultural ceremonies and artifacts which are different from those of the major tourist generating countries and which are suitable for the development of alternative forms of tourism. For example: 1) with its rich flora and fauna Ghana can follow the example of Costa Rica and Puerto Rico which have used their forest resources to develop a vibrant eco-tourist industry (Boo, 1990; Chant, 1992); 2) Since many alternative tourists visit a locale because the people and cultures are different and exotic (Johnston, 1990:3), Ghana could be the Bali of Africa, a strong attraction for cultural tourists; and 3) the forts and slave castles form a solid basis for the development of roots tourism which seems to be the most viable segment of the alternative tourism market for Ghana, since there seems to be a ready market for it among the growing African-American middle class (Perrault, 1990). In effect, Ghana 202 has most of the requisite conditions for developing alternative forms of tourism; what are lacking are effective marketing and relevant government policies (for example, financing small tourism ventures instead of large hotels). It is worth noting here that no matter how unique and pristine these natural, cultural and historical tourist attractions of Ghana are, alternative tourism ventures "will fail if there is no national effort to market them, and move tourists in" (Johnston, 1990: 5). The vast alternative tourism resources of Ghana are little known in the tourist generating countries because of the lack of aggressive promotion. For example, surveys of travel agents and tour operators in Canada (Vancouver), France, Italy, Sweden, and West Germany in 1986 and 1987 revealed that they are unaware of any unique product Ghana has as a tourist destination (Wyllie, 1986; Tourism Market Study, 1987). The lack of promotion of Ghana's tourism both internationally and domestically suggests that the existing alternative forms of tourism in the country fall into the "circumstantial" alternative tourism category (See Weaver, 1991; Oppermann and Sahr, 1992). Unlike "Deliberate" alternative tourism, the circumstantial type is unplanned and unorganized. Political and economic problems in Ghana have resulted in the emergence of a circumstantial alternative tourism in the country. In order to increase the number of alternative tourists travelling to and in Ghana, and maximize the economic and socio-cultural benefits to be derived from it, this form of tourism should be prudently organized and promoted. It is in these spheres that the state should play a more prominent role, since private entrepreneurs cannot be expected to have the financial and organizational resources to do that. Ghana's chequered political history makes aggressive promotion of the country's tourism resources even more necessary. Given the successes of Philippines under President Marcos, and Gambia in the early 1980s, Ghana can succeed in attracting tourists in spite of its history of coups d'etat. Despite the political turmoil in the country-urban violence, guerrilla warfare, martial law-the Marcos administration 203 proceeded to pursue an aggressive course of promoting tourism...Because the public relations were unusually lavish and adroit, and the actual unrest at the time rather minimal, over the period 1972 to 1980 Marcos managed to dramatically increase tourism from its pre-martial law levels (Richter, 1992: 37). Gambia chalked a similar success in the early 1980s. The government used "a special action promotion programme" to counteract the negative publicity the country was receiving following the coup attempt and civil disturbances in 1981 (Campbell, 1990:48). Largely due to the aggressive promotional drive, the number of bookings of tour operators in Europe dealing in Gambian tourism increased in the 1982 season (Ibid.). With a similar tourism promotional drive, but directed to alternative rather than conventional tourists, Ghana may attract quite a number of alternative tourists, especially adventure tourists, since actual violence and unrest are not rampant in the country despite coups d'etat. Moreover, by embarking upon such tourism promotion, the Ghanaian state would be compelled to ensure the safety of tourists and thus introduce measures that would minimize or ultimately prevent coups d'etat. In addition to aggressive tourism promotion, the Ghanaian state has to rethink its tourism policies to put more emphasis on financing the enterprises of small-scale tourism entrepreneurs through an effective loans scheme rather than being an entrepreneur itself. Given the low capital accumulation capacity of Ghanaian tourism entrepreneurs because of the collectivistic ethic (extended family and ethnic demands), the state should create a viable loans scheme for developing small-scale tourism enterprises. The monies that will be accrued from the divestiture of the state hotels and the existing 10% hotel and restaurant tax could be used to establish this loans programme. The Ghana Tourist Development Company should be divested of its direct investment function and instead be charged with the responsibility of organizing the loans scheme. The danger that should be avoided, however, is making the loans accessible to mainly business men, male professionals and male capitalist farmers from a few ethnic groups. This could be averted by abolishing the existing practices of 1) making collateral security a requirement and 2) selecting loan administrators from professional and business groups, males and a few ethnic entities. 204 The experiences of Bali and the Casamance villages of Senegal with alternative forms of tourism show that it is not always necessary for the state to be a tourism entrepreneur. This is because private individuals could finance and manage the facilities demanded by alternative forms of tourism since they require only minimal capital and management skills. These features of alternative forms of tourism make them more appropriate for Ghana considering the lack of Western-type tourism personnel to manage large state tourism enterprises and the general disloyalty of Ghanaians to the modern state. With the strong loyalty to the extended family and the ethnic entity at the expense of the multi-ethnic state, coupled with the lack of skilled tourism personnel, it is highly unlikely that state tourism enterprises will ever be viable. The poor performances of the State Hotels system and the Ghana Tourist Development Company are glaring testimonies2 The state, where necessary, should provide tourism infrastructure such as roads, portable water and electricity. This is essential because private tourism entrepreneurs cannot afford the expense involved, and even if they can, they are unwilling to do so since such investment do not usually produce immediate and direct profits. Other areas where active state participation will be beneficial are tourism policy and regulations. These are needed to provide right direction and focus for the industry, and to ensure quality control which is likely to be a problem with alternative tourism facilities. 6.3: CONCLUSIONS, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Why has Ghana, which has over 300 miles of sandy beaches, pristine landscape and natural environment teaming with wildlife, a hospitable, festival-loving population, and more than fifty coastal forts and slave castles, been unable to successfully use tourism as a development tool? As the analysis in the thesis has shown, the development problems of Ghana's tourist 205 industry are not caused by foreign control as the Cautionary Platform would argue. Neither are they caused by lack of state activism. The Adaptancy Platform overstates its case by attributing the problem to conventional tourism per se. The Advocacy Platform, misses the point by focusing on the lack of substantial investment capital and rational bureaucratic culture. The problems of Ghana's tourism are rather rooted in the contradiction between the conventional tourism orientation and the country's internal conditions, that is, its low capital base, its collectivistic culture, and its political instability. This contradiction has so far been neglected by studies on Ghana's tourism when identifying the problems of the industry. This contradiction in Ghana's tourism development can, however, be resolved if a policy focusing on alternative forms of tourism is adopted and implemented. This is because alternative forms of tourism can thrive on minimum infrastructure and facilities, and a lower standard of tourism services. In addition, alternative forms of tourism have a greater potential for a) retaining a larger percentage of total tourism earnings in the destination communities, b) increasing local control of the industry, c) involving local tourism officials and communities more in tourism development and promotion processes, d) protecting traditional culture and the natural environment, and e) minimizing social inequality in the industry. The contribution of this thesis lies in its focus on a neglected but critical dimension of tourism development. That is, the contradiction between conventional tourism and the indigenous economic, cultural and political conditions which tend to frustrate the development process of many Third World countries. The thesis makes the following pertinent points and recommendations: 1) The Advocacy Platform fails to be critical of Western tourism models as well as to be mindful of the local political economy and cultural dynamics, including kinship and ethnic ties. Hence its recommendation for the adoption of conventional tourism which works against local realities. Ghana should therefore change its existing conventional tourism orientation and adopt alternative forms of tourism which work with, instead of against, local realities. By doing so Ghana would move in the direction of creating greater equity as well as protecting its culture and the environment. 206 2) Although the Cautionary Platform's explanation of why tourism fails to generate development is not applicable to the Ghanaian situation, it shows the pitfalls of foreign-controlled tourism. Ghana's existing "open for business" tourism policy which allows virtually unrestricted foreign investment in the tourism sector and repatriation of profits should be revised. 3) Conventional tourism in and of itself is not anti-development as perceived by the Adaptancy Platform. It creates economic, social and cultural problems in many Third World countries mainly because of its incongruence with indigenous resources and conditions. Ghana should avoid this form of tourism because the country does not possess the required resources to successfully develop it. Since alternative forms of tourism are easily adaptable to conditions such as Ghana's and their developmental potential has been demonstrated, Ghana should mobilize its available resources to promote these forms of tourism. 4) It is not state activism per se, but the type of state and spheres of involvement which determine the success or otherwise of the tourist industry. In Ghana, direct state participation in the tourism industry is bound to be unsuccessful because of the lack of skilled tourism personnel as well as Ghanaians' disloyalty to the state. To facilitate the development of alternative forms of tourism in Ghana, therefore, state participation in the industry should be restricted to financing of private small-scale tourism entrepreneurs, creating tourism infrastructure, providing tourism policy and regulations, and embarking upon aggressive tourism promotion. In such state involvement, class, gender and ethnic representation of tourism organizations should be based on principles of equality and fairness to avoid biases against workers/peasants, women and disadvantaged ethnic groups. 5) Since the thesis' main objective is to account for Ghana's failure to develop its tourist industry in a manner that would generate development, it does not delve into the specifics of how alternative forms of tourism might be developed. Future research should focus on this area. All in all, this thesis has identified the core problem of Ghana's tourism industry and demonstrated the feasibility of transforming tourism into a development tool by using the strategy of alternative forms of tourism. These will give governments and tourism developers of Ghana, as 207 well as those of other Third World countries with similar conditions as Ghana's, a) a solid basis for formulating relevant and viable tourism policies and b) more confidence to pursue tourism as a path to development-minimizing absolute poverty and inequality, and protecting valuable cultural traditions and the natural environment. 6.4: LIMITATIONS OF THE THESIS: The contributions and conclusions of the thesis are, however, limited by lack of adequate data to fully substantiate the claims on a) the relationship between Ghana's collectivistic culture (and lack of commitment to the modern state) and the development of tourism, and b) aspects of social inequality as manifested in the tourist industry. Another limitation is the lack of adequate information to analyze the demand side of alternative forms of tourism. As was stated in chapter one, there is virtually no up-to-date comprehensive ethnographic studies on the collectivistic culture of the Ghanaian society. A national survey/study measuring the extent of Ghanaians' loyalty to the extended family, the ethnic group and the modern state is required to provide a fuller understanding of the effects of the collectivistic culture. This thesis could not embark upon such a survey/study due to time and financial constraints. These same constraints also limited the number of Ghana's hoteliers I was able to interview. An additional limitation of the thesis is its virtual neglect of the demand side of alternative forms of tourism. In the absence of a proper consideration of the demand side of tourism, the thesis may be over-stating the argument that the presence of tourism resources in themselves could create the demand. This neglect is partly a reflection of the fact that the literature on alternative forms of tourism does not usually analyze the demand for these forms of tourism. This thesis did not have the resources to collect primary data on tourist demand for alternative forms of tourism. This weakness, however, does not invalidate the conclusions of the thesis. The 208 successes achieved by Third World societies such as Bali, the Casamance villages of Senegal, and Costa Rica in developing flourishing tourist industries based on alternative types of tourists show that a market exists for these forms of tourism. Also, some recent works on tourism show that the trend of tourist demand is towards alternative forms of tourism. For example, according to Urry (1990: 14), the current demand for tourism seems to be influenced by "post-Fordist" or "post-modern" consumption characterized by new kinds of commodities which are more specialized and based on raw materials that imply non-mass forms of production. This view echoes the change identified by Poon (1989:94) as entailing a shift from "old tourism" which involved packaging and standardization to "new tourism" which is segmented, flexible and customised. Sofield (1993: 740) also notes that Increasingly, alternative tourism that provides an experiential and educational holiday based on authentic traditional lifestyles is, in global terms, capturing an ever-growing market. Such assertions cannot, however, replace extensive empirical research on demand characteristics of alternative forms of tourism to complement the existing supply side information. Comprehensive knowledge of both demand and supply sides of alternative tourism would provide a more solid foundation for the planning and implementation of a viable tourism strategy in a Third World country such as Ghana. 209 NOTES: 1. Prostitution is also related to poverty and lack of viable economic alternatives. Thus perhaps Bali experiences a low prostitution level not only because of its traditional culture but also because its population is relatively better-off economically than many other Third World countries with major tourist industries. 2. The state hotels in Ghana are notorious for their unprofitability, deteriorating facilities and services (see Tourism Market Study 1987: Appendix). According to some of the officials of the State Hotels Corporation I interviewed, the state hotels lack the necessary capital to renovate their facilities and improve their services. They attributed this sordid situation to rampant use of state hotels' facilities by politicians/government officials and their relatives and/or friends without due payment. Some officials of the State Hotels Corporation intimated that this practice has gone on to the extent that the government owns the Corporation to the tune of over 160 million cedis ($400,000) as of August 1992. This is in addition to the fact that they are underfunded by the government. The private hotels do not seem to have this problem of people using their facilities without payment. 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World Tourism Organization (WTO) 1988: Tourism Development Report, Madrid: World Tourism Organization. 1989: Statement on Responsible Tourism, Symposium, 26-30 November, Tamanhasset, Algeria. 1990: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, 1989, Vols I and II. 237 1991: International Travellers: Volume and Expenditure Patterns, World Tourism Organization Secretariat, Madrid. 1991b: Year Book of Tourism Statistics, 1990|sV>8W$$8i?a Source: Cartography Section, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Accra, Ghana 241 APPENDIX 4 ^f t f t *?^ DISTRIBUTION OF NATURAL RESOURCES IN GHANA N NavrongOj^ ". . . ' . V ' ' . C A T T L E ' - ] Bowku - J .CATTLE. .RICE' •' v ; . ; . ; . ; . ; ~ . ; : " . \ ; . ; . ; . ; . . \ ; . •eaigbtongo". joMAroks. ; -:' ' ' • " - - " - ' . " . ' . ' . " . " . ' . ' . ' . . . ' . ' . ' . ' . • . " . " . • . T O B A C C O A . - . . . • "v " . ' .GUINEA CORN " > . - . • . • . • . - . • . - . • . • . . . . . . . . . . • . " : l T " ' . . . . . . ^ : - . - . V - ^ V " . " . • . " . " . ' . " . " . • . • . " . ' . " . " . • . ' . " • . • • . • . * . ' . " . • " JGROUNONUTS".' I " . • . ' " M . I L L e . T i". wo t \. . . . - . - . - . . - . . . . . . . . - . • . - . - . . . . . . . . . . . . < -/ . . • . " . " . G R O U N D N U T S . - • . " . " . " . 1 . ' . " . " . ' . " . " . . . ' . • . "/" ' - . . . C A T T L E . . . . . . . . - . .« V . . . . - . - . - . . . . . . . . . • . • • . . • . . . . . . . . . A \ . c A T T L E . - . - . - . - . - . - . - . - . - . 0 - . - . - . . - . - . - R . , c . E . - . M , l - . 1 - e : T . - - -^ '*• - " - • • • - ' . • - • _ ' ' . " . " i?i'r"\ /""\ Cocoo Maximum " • V e n d l . •[•'• : « ' Production .YAMS . • . ' . ' . . • . ' . " . . v , ' u c » .•••*•• " " / I : Oil Pclm« " \ " . • - " . " . • . • -T08ACCO • . < ? . . - . - ) ) ^ . • . - . - ' . - . • . • .M . ILLET . " . . ' . \ " . f V . " Sheo-Bulter \" . " . " . " . " . ' . " . " . " . " . . " . " \ 6 ' . \ X - ' . ' . ' / • ' • ' . ' • ' • ' - ' • ' . ' • ' • ' • ' • ' • ' -j • Rtfllonol CopitoU C • Other Town* . ._ T"~ International Boundai • M I L L E T .1 • O . • . • .YAMS . • . • . • . • . ' . ' . . . . ' . . . . ' . ' . . ' . ' . ' . ' • ' . ' . ' • ' • ' k RICE - " - ' - • ' • • - • • - • • - • " - -GUINEA . CORN ' . " . " . ' . " . " .C* ". GROUNDNUTS. LEGEND •ft Gold £3 Iron Ore* & Olamond* • Bouxlte 0 Monganet* O r * * O Limestone a Morble O Sol; * • OH a Bitumen CP Fi«h CT Cltru* C F Coffee T M Timber CC Coconut* Source: Cartography Section: Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Accra, Ghana 242 APPENDIX 5 Source: Ghana Tourist Board 1986 243 W t> 10UK1S1 MAf Ut UttAiNA K I N A Z<£