Stakeholder collaboration and the future of sustainable tourism management in Cape Coast, Ghana from an economic and social sustainability perspective

Abstract

Abstract Heritage tourism destinations in sub-Saharan Africa face a persistent tension between economic growth imperatives and social equity. This study examines how stakeholder collaboration shapes sustainable tourism outcomes in Cape Coast, Ghana, a UNESCO World Heritage destination where the governance of tourism remains critically underexamined in the academic literature. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was employed. Quantitative data were collected from 399 community residents and tourism businesses through structured questionnaires and analysed using one-sample t-tests and Cohen’s d effect size estimates. Qualitative depth was provided by 21 purposively sampled key informants. The study found that tourism generates statistically significant improvements in financial stability (mean = 4.02; Cohen’s d = 0.80, large effect) and employment in Cape Coast. Four governance deficits emerged from thematic analysis: policy invisibility, weak inter-institutional coordination, cultural commodification, and inequitable benefit distribution. The cross-sectional design limits causal inference, and the single-destination focus constrains generalisability.