Residents' attitudes and perceptions toward national parks and ecotourism development in Ghana: The case of Dome community in the Digya National Park

The mode of park establishment generally conflicts with the use of natural resources as traditionally demanded by resident communities. These conflicts become compounded as a result of the process of land acquisition. Consequently, the process leads to formation of varied attitudes and perceptions that residents have towards national parks. The impacts of this attitude formation spread to any developments in the parks. There are many studies on attitudes of park residents toward tourism development in parks, however, only a few have examined attitudes and perceptions in the pre-development stage of tourism. This research uses a case study approach to examine attitudes and perceptions of Dome residents toward Digya National Park and tourism development in Ghana. Using personal interviews and participant observation as the main sources of information, the paper explores the importance of the park to the residents and its impacts on attitudes formation. The research examines residents' coping strategies and alternative development options.; Tourism potential is assessed on the basis of the physical and cultural products in Dome, as well as residents' perceptions of tourists. Even though residents perceive some negative impacts of tourism, there is an overwhelming support for tourism development. Notwithstanding this support, tourism development in the park should first begin with education to avoid unattainable expectations from Dome residents.