Residents’ attitudes towards proposed utilization of heritage resources as tourism attractions in Northern Ghana

Controversy over the use of heritage resources as tourism attractions has received global attention, but little research has been conducted over the years, particularly in Africa. This study thus examines how socio-demographic factors and heritage significance affect local attitudes towards the proposed utilization of heritage resources for tourism in the Upper East Region of Ghana. The study used Social Exchange Theory as a framework to assess local residents’ preparedness to trade their heritage resources for tourism’s economic benefits. A mixed-methods approach based on pragmatic research underpinning was employed. To gather relevant data, purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used to select household members for participation in the study. 400 respondents were employed for the quantitative survey while focus group discussion schedules were used for the qualitative interview. Data analysis techniques included percentages while t-tests and one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to test significance. The study indicated that age, education, gender and religion had influence on attitudes. The youth and those with higher education had more support than the elderly and less educated were respectively. More males than females also supported the use of heritage resources. More of the Christians had positive attitudes compared to Muslims and Traditionalists, respectively. There was generally significant relationships between socio-demographic variables and heritage significance on one hand and attitudes on the other. The significance attached to heritage resources influenced local attitudes towards their use. This study implies that, policies would have to be fashioned based on each socio-demographic variable to ensure general acceptability for heritage tourism purposes and development, while people who highly perceive heritage as significant should be assured of tourism’s role in heritage conservation.