Nature-based tourism in Mole National Park, Ghana

Abstract

Nature-based tourism (NBT) can provide significant inducement for conservation, as well as providing a setting for sustainable nature tourism that can benefit local communities. This study assesses strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities of NBT in Mole National Park, Ghana, compares domestic and foreign tourists, and makes recommendations for improvement using data from key informants, focus groups, and tourists survey (N = 350). International and domestic tourists agreed on a number of issues with seeing wildlife and being close to nature as equally top-ranked motivations. Tourists had high levels of satisfaction with the park environment and guided tour, with elephants as the flagship species.