Empowering women through ecotourism: A case study of women’s involvement in the Wachau hippo sanctuary project in Ghana
Abstract
Community-based ecotourism has been promoted globally as a sustainable development model that can improve the well-being of women through income-generating opportunities, by raising gender awareness and empowering women. This study aimed to assess the involvement and empowerment of women in ecotourism in the Wechiau Hippo Sanctuary Area. A concurrent mixed-method design was employed to gather data from 182 respondents comprising 162 women from individual households and 20 women’s group executives within four selected communities around the Wechiau Hippo Sanctuary, Ghana. A qualitative descriptive analysis method and the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) using frequencies and percentages were employed in the analysis of the data. The study found that women’s involvement in ecotourism development in the Wechiau Hippo Sanctuary area took two forms; the provision of support services for tourists/the sanctuary and the management of the sanctuary. The study revealed that women feel empowered psychologically, socially and economically but not politically. The study recommends that project stakeholders must undertake intentional efforts to create an inclusive and gender-responsive environment (such as allocating a percentage of the representation of the management meetings to women, recruiting and training women as tour guides within the sanctuary) ensuring that women have the opportunity to actively participate in decision-making processes (by training or employing the services of an interpreter during meetings to interpret the proceedings of the meetings to all to understand) to help women contribute to the overall success and sustainability of the Hippo Sanctuary.
Keywords
Sustainable Tourism, Women Empowerment, Women Involvement, Wechiau Hippo Sanctuary, Ghana, Ecotourism
Ethical Statement
The data for this research paper is drafted out of a defended Master’s Thesis submitted to the Graduate School, Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management of the University of Cape Coast, for the 2020/2021 academic year. The study was conducted with the laid down ethical protocols of the University and the laws of Ghana. The study obtained ethical guidance and approval from our academic supervisors concerning our data collection instrument and pre-testing based on the laid down protocols by the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management of the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. The instrument was used to gather data from transient respondents/temporary tourists, ensuring their responses remained completely anonymous and could not be traced to any one of them. Secondly, the study emphasized the importance of voluntary participation and acquired informed consent through transparent communication and official letters from the University of Cape Coast’s Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management. To further protect the anonymity of our participants, our supervisors ensured that we refrained from using a research instrument that gathers any personally identifiable information and implemented rigorous confidentiality measures. The collected data was solely utilised for research purposes and was not disclosed to external parties. We reassured our respondents about their voluntary involvement and their right to withdraw from the study at any point.
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