SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF DOMESTIC TOURISTS IN GHANA BY JOSHUA SEBU

INTRO Ghana is blessed with several tourist sites These include national parks, waterfalls, caves, hills, castles, botanical gardens, etc. Most of these sites are natural These natural tourist sites are still in their raw state yet to be developed to enhance its value as a tourist site.

INTRO Tourism contributes to the development of an economy through the provision foreign exchange Employment Income Development of tourism communities and facilities, etc. In 2005, US$ thousand dollars was received as foreign exchange increasing to US$1,875.0 million dollars in (Ohene-Ayeh, 2012) (Director of corporate affairs, GTA).

INTRO The fact remains that international tourist arrivals to tourist sites in Ghana far surpasses that of domestic tourists. According to GSS (2008), over 97% of Ghanaians hardly visit tourist sites. This rather reduces benefits that could be obtained from their visits.

INTRO According to Akyea (2009) among the excuses given by Ghanaians for not visiting tourist sites included Lack of funds No time to travel Among these excuses my students also added that There are no organisation of such tours Gate fees are expensive, among others

INTRO Fact sheet from GTA indicate rising trend in domestic tourism By the end of 2010, total arrivals to tourist sites by Ghanaians was 659,325 with an accompanying total revenue of GH¢1,407, According to Ohene-Ayeh (2012) this was a greater improvement in domestic tourism over the past five years.

Objective The study therefore seeks to explore the socio-demographic characteristics of domestic tourists in Ghana. Specifically the study will answers questions like Where domestic tourists are going? Where they are coming from? What was the main purpose of their visit?

Methodology The study uses data from the last round of the GLSS (GLSS 5) collected in The sample includes only domestic tourist site visitors totaling 328 individuals out of 37,128. The results are weighted to take care of the disproportionate sampling. Exploring the data through descriptive analysis to answer the above questions

Results Same day visitors were 214, overnight visitors were 127, whiles 13 were overlapping 57.3% males, 42.7% females Mean age was 28 years with a standard deviation of 14.9 About 95.46% have had some level of education Average real income of visitors was GHȼ whiles non visitors was GHȼ showing a 34% difference between the two. A T-test showed a significant difference (p=0.000)

Same day Overnight FreqWeighted percentFreqWeighted percent Funeral Marriage ceremony Birthday parties Open days Business/Professional Holidays/Vacation/Leisur e Visiting family/Friends Convention/Conference/ workshop Religious/Pilgrimage Government affair Studies Teaching Health Sports/Recreation Other Missing System Total

Same day tourist site visited FrequencyWeighted percent cape coast castle229.4 elmina castle104.5 kumasi zoo accra zoo168.7 shai hills reource reserve31.6 aburi botanical gardens94.2 kakum national park mole national park62.0 ankasa wildlife resource reserve10.4 kwame nkrumah mausoleum21.4 akosombo dam10.5 digyae national park10.3 wui water falls72.7 boti water falls amedzofe20.8 boabeng-fiema monkey sanctuary20.9 tongo hills10.5 paga crocodile pond10.2 bobiri forest and butterfly sanctuary,nobewam 10.6 kintampo waterfalls41.6 lake bosomtwe157.4 other (specify) Total214100

Over night tourist site visited FrequencyWeighted percent cape coast castle elmina castle118.8 kumasi zoo accra zoo128.7 aumatsa resource reserve11.0 aburi botanical gardens31.9 kakum national park mole national park11.0 kwame nkrumah mausoleum54.2 manhyia palace,kumasi10.9 kalakpa resource reserve10.7 kogyae strict nature reserve10.5 wui water falls20.6 boti water falls65.6 amedzofe53.2 paga crocodile pond21.2 kintampo waterfalls22.3 lake bosomtwe65.0 other (specify) Total

Same dayWesternCentralG. AccraVoltaEasternAshantiB. AhafoNorthernU. EastU. WestTotal Cape Coast Elmina castle Kumasi zoo Accra zoo Shai hills Aburi gardens Kakum park mole national park Ankasa wildlife Kwame Nkrumah m Akosombo dam Digyae park Wui water falls Boti water falls Amedzofe Boabeng- fiema monkey Tongo hills Paga crocodile Bobiri forest Kintampo waterfalls Lake bosomtwe Other Total

overnight WesternCentralG. AccraVoltaEasternAshantiB. AhafoNorthernU. EastU. WestTotal Cape Coast cast Elmina castle Kumasi zoo Accra zoo Aumatsa reserve Aburi gardens kakum national park mole park kwame nkrumah Manhyia palace Kalakpa reserve Kogyae nature reserve Wli water falls Boti water falls Amedzofe Paga pond Kintampo waterfalls Lake bosomtwe Other (specify) Total

Packaged trip Same day Overnight Frequency Weighted percent Frequency Weighted percent packaged tour self arranged other Total Missing System Total

Sponsored trip Same day Overnightovernight FrequencyWeighted PercentFrequencyWeighted percent self-sponsorship household member private organisation government international organisation other Total Missing System Total

Accommodation stayed in by overnight visitors FrequencyPercentWeighted percent Hotel (other lodging services) Guest house Health establishments Educational institutions Holiday resorts Tourist camp sites Friends'/relative's residence Private home Other (specify) Total Missing System Total

Conclusion Income of domestic sites visitors are greater than non-visitors Visits to these tourist sites were a secondary matter and not the main motive for travelling to areas endowed with these tourist sites. Places mostly visited included Kakum National park, Kumasi zoo and cape coast castle. Majority of domestic visitors were from the Ashanti region. Visits were mostly self-arranged and also self sponsored.

Recommendations Income levels of individuals when increased might encourage domestic tourism. GTA and other tourism agents should develop these tourist sites especially the least visited to encourage increased domestic visits. Intensified education and marketing should be carried out to encourage those who visit areas with tourist sites to visit these sites. Future research on regional disparities could be done to find out the factors influencing more visits by some regions than others.

THANK YOU