Resilience Of the Tourism Industry Amid the Covid-19 Pandemic in the Upper East Region of Ghana

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about significant challenges across various sectors worldwide, with the tourism industry being particularly hard hit. The study aims to investigate the risks and resilience of the tourism industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the Upper East Region of Ghana. The study used an explanatory, sequential, mixed-methods approach based on pragmatic perspectives. Approximately 297 respondents were sampled from a population of 1140, based on Yamane’s (1967) mathematical formula. The objectives of the study were to assess the power and interest imbalances of tourism stakeholders in the implementation of resilience strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic, examine resilience strategies adopted by tourism stakeholders to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and evaluate the effectiveness of resilience strategies adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research findings suggest that the collaboration between stakeholders with high power and high interest (officials of the GTA) and those with high power but low interest (village susu boxes) in implementing resilience strategies is primarily driven by power rather than solely mutual interest. Internal stakeholders, such as site managers and employees at the Zenga tourism destination, had a greater impact on the execution of resilience strategies than external stakeholders (GTA). Gender disparities in the implementation of resilience strategies were noticeable at natural attractions like Zenga and Chief’s Crocodile Ponds. The government implemented resilience strategies such as government liquidity support and focused more on building attractions such as SWOPA than natural attractions like Tengzug Hills and Zenga Crocodile Pond. Concerning the effectiveness of the resilience strategies, the study indicates that the government's COVID-19 financial support scheme for tourism stakeholders aided in the digital branding of products like baskets, restaurant services, and accommodation services in SWOPA, compared to Zenga and Chief’s Crocodile Ponds. The cultural orientations and perceptions of stakeholders at natural attractions like Chief’s Crocodile Pond and Tengzug Hills affected the implementation of resilience strategies. The study recommends further investigation into the specific factors that contribute to the vulnerability of certain sectors of the tourism industry in the face of adversaries, such as the lack of maintenance of natural attractions, and how these issues can be addressed through more targeted interventions and investment.