The Impact of Pro-poor Tourism Strategies on the Poor: The Case of Mognori Community on the Fringe of the Mole National Park in Northern Ghana

Abstract

It has been established in academic literature that the multidimensional nature of poverty demands equally multidimensional approaches to counter it. Also, there is agreement that a successful poverty reduction approach is that which promotes the livelihood chances of the poor rather than work against them. So therefore, the development of Pro-Poor Tourism has reinforced the argument that tourism can only have a telling impact on poverty if the Pro-Poor Tourism strategies work to enhance the livelihood chances of the poor. In this research, I examined how Pro-Poor Tourism strategies impact the poor, using the Mognori community (on the fringe of the Mole National Park) as a case study. The researcher adopted the stratified sampling approach, which is a probability sampling technique in selecting a total of 15 respondents for the study. The stratified sampling technique was appropriate to ensure that various subgroups within the community were represented. The technique was also necessary to enable the sub-groups to freely express themselves and not feel intimidated by another group. The research revealed that a number of Pro-poor tourism strategies that have been implemented by the authority of the Mole National Park in collaboration with SNV. The study concluded that, tourism development in the local community has positively impacted their lives to a greater stretch. However, issues of management, power and equity in benefit sharing and other challenges still work against the utilisation of the full potentials of tourism development in the community. It was recommended that the authorities of the Mole National Park should make financial management and accountability a key training theme in the workshops organised for the community. These workshops should include the members of the tourism management team and all key stakeholders in the community such as the chief. This would ensure that the revenue realised from tourism in the community is well accounted for, and also ensure that there is trust in the financial accountability that is rendered to the community. It was also recommended that more women should be given the opportunity to participate fully in regulating tourism activities rather than merely taking part. By so doing, the women numbers should be increased on the tourism management team and they should be encouraged to actively participate. It was further recommended that the authorities of the Mole National Park should make financial management and accountability a key training theme in the workshops organised for the community. These workshops should include the members of the tourism management team and all key stakeholders in the community such as the chief.