An Econometric Analysis of Internal Travel Patterns in Ghana and the Implications for Domestic Tourism

Abstract

This paper examines the general travel patterns of Ghanaians and, based on these, explores the implications for domestic tourism. Employing discrete choice models, data from the Ghana Statistical Service (specifically, the fifth round of the Ghana Living Standard Survey) are used for the analysis. In addition to providing a quantitative analysis of the determinants of travel propensity, which had not previously been examined for Ghana, the authors test two hypotheses. First, they assert a three-way (positive–negative–positive) relationship between age and travel propensity. Second, they argue that the mother's education is more likely to influence the decision to travel than the father's education. The travel patterns of Ghanaians were found to bear the inherent hallmarks of domestic tourism. The authors also observe that, although the degree of travel is low, the frequency of repeat visits is high. Social imperatives dominated the motives for travel, while key socio-demographic variables (especially the respondent's age) were found to influence travel propensities significantly.

Insurance uptake among small and medium-sized tourism and hospitality enterprises in a resource-scarce environment

“…We used the two-alternative multivariate binary models to ascertain the consistency of the signs and magnitudes of the coefficients of effects across the two analytical models (Boakye, Annim, & Dasmani, 2013). This not only guaranteed the validity of the results given that there is yet no consensus in the literature as to whether probit models are superior to logit models, but also the robustness of the results since different link functions were tested.…”

Valuing access to protected areas in Nepal: The case of Chitwan National Park

“…On the other hand, our finding on proportionately higher WTP of domestic visitors suggests that future PA-specific tourism studies in developing countries or similar context elsewhere should also look beyond the usual focus on international visitors. This is particularly relevant in the context of increasing domestic tourism in developing countries (Boakye, Annim, & Dasmani, 2013;Skanavis & Sakellari, 2011;Wen, 1997) and its potential contribution to economic development.…”

Visitor satisfaction with Ghana’s tourist attractions

“…Typically, the most satisfied respondents were young (aged between 19 and 35) local students. These persons are typically school or church-based groups who hardly ever travel for touristic purposes (Boakye, Annim and Dasmani, 2013;Sebu, 2012).…”

“…The international/inbound tourists, however, outline a more evenly-distributed temporal curve. Of the four it is the institutionalized domestic visitors who are the most dominant at attraction sites (Boakye, Annim and Dasmani, 2013).…”