Insights into the safety and security expressions of visitors to the Kakum National Park: Implications for management

Abstract

Abstract While a great number of studies have explored issues of safety and security, the extant literature has tended to focus rather on the destination as an aggregate to the detriment of understanding safety and security issues at the micro-level of individual attractions. This paper sought to assess visitors perceptions of safety and security at the Kakum National Park, Ghana. A total of 387 visitors were chosen using the convenience sampling technique over a two- month period. It emerged that respondents’ views were mainly split between the two extremes of being safe-secure or unsafe/insecure but opinions tilted slightly toward the latter. Again, visitors’ constructions of safety and security were essentially need-driven and statistically associated with age and continent of origin. The study recommends provision of adequate safety and security measures and comprehensive safety and security guidelines carved out from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Destination Safety framework of 1996.