Domestic tourists to Elmina Castle, Ghana: motivation, tourism impacts, place attachment, and satisfaction

Abstract

Current research on dark tourism lacks an in-depth investigation of the relationships between the various psychological factors that influence tourist satisfaction. Using the cognitive-affective-behavior system, this paper evaluates a theoretical model that postulates relationships between four constructs, namely: motivation, perceptions of tourism impacts, place attachment, and satisfaction. The study extends the tourism literature on cultural sustainability by showing the psychological connections of domestic tourists to a dark heritage site, and the implications for perceptions of tourism impacts on this heritage. Based on a sample of 414 domestic tourists at a dark heritage site in Elmina, Ghana, PLS-SEM confirmed several inter-relationships among the four constructs. Motivation had a positive relationship with perceptions of positive and negative tourism impacts, suggesting that the tourists who were more motivated to visit the site for cultural/learning experiences were also more inclined to perceive both positive and negative tourism impacts. Implications for dark tourism and how heritage site management can influence tourists’ perceptions of impacts are offered.

Keywords:

• Tourist motivation
• dark tourism
• place attachment
• tourism impacts
• tourist satisfaction
• heritage management

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Girish Prayag

Dr. Girish Prayag is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. He received his degree in Marketing from University of Cape Town (South Africa) and his Ph.D. in Tourism Management from the University of Waikato (New Zealand). His research interests are related to emotional experiences of tourists, tourism market segmentation, organizational resilience and destination marketing.

Wantanee Suntikul

Dr. Wantanee Suntikul received her PhD and Masters degree from University of Surrey, UK. Her core research interests and expertise deal with the impact of tourism on cultural heritage tourism destinations and the political and social aspects of tourism development. Particular focuses include local people’s perceptions and expectations of tourism development, the potential of tourism for poverty alleviation and the role of tourism development in political and economic transition.

Elizabeth Agyeiwaah

Elizabeth Agyeiwaah is a full-time PhD Student at the School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She received her Masters degree from the University of Cape Coast (Ghana). Her research interests include Sustainable tourism, Small scale tourism enterprises, and Volunteer tourism.