Residents' perceptions of Transatlantic Slave Trade attractions for heritage tourism in Danish-Osu, Ghana

Against the background of lingering controversy over the use of Transatlantic Slave Trade (TAST) relics for tourism ends, this paper sought to examine residents' perceptions towards proposed promotion of heritage tourism based on TAST relics in Danish-Osu, a former slave site in Accra, capital of Ghana. A combination of both qualitative and quantitative research methods were employed during the fieldwork towards the end of 2007. A questionnaire survey captured 200 household heads in six communities while interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with other key stakeholders in the Danish-Osu community. Frequencies and percentages were used to demonstrate residents' lay concepts of tourism, whereas the mean, t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to measure residents' attitude towards heritage tourism. A major finding of the study is that residents' perceive tourism from a cultural perspective because of the numerous TAST resources in the community. However, residents' support for heritage tourism is influenced by place of residence. This suggested that irrespective of the place of residence, residents of Danish-Osu were found to be supportive of heritage products and activities. Implications were discussed in the context of how residents' perceptions will affect preservation efforts at various stages of tourism planning.