AGYEIWAAH Elisabeth, AKYEAMPONG Oheneba (2013) A Study of Home-Stay: Description of International Tourists’ Profile in Kumasi, Ghana

Abstract

There is a dearth of research on the demographic profile of international tourists who use home-stay accommodation in Africa. An understanding of home-stay tourists’ demographic profile is crucial to make marketing activities more successful. The current study makes a significant contribution to this discussion by profiling the users of home-stay in the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana.

This paper highlights and critically examines the demographic features of users of home-stay accommodation and further defines the type of tourist based on the identified profile and travel characteristics using. In all, 151 international tourists responded to the survey. The analysis suggests that majority of tourists who stayed in homestay accommodation are volunteers and students who have taken a gapbreak to learn diverse cultures across the world. Group travel is the dominant travel pattern of home-stay tourists. Moreover, home-stay users relied on local intermediaries for home-stay arrangements.

Keywords

tourist accommodation, home-stay, international tourists, Kumasi Metropolis