Proceedings of the International Conference on Sustainable Business and Entrepreneurship (ICSBE 2025)

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Exploring Community Engagement and Tourism Carrying Capacity in Transitioning Markets: Review, Cases, and Future Directions.

Authors
Emmanuel Nii Ayi Solomon1, *, Stephen Mahama Braimah2, Gideon Awini3, Elikem Chosniel Ocloo1
1Department of Marketing, Accra Technical University, Accra, Ghana
2University of Ghana Business School, Accra, Ghana
3Tamale Technical University, Tamale, Ghana
*Corresponding author. Email: niisolomon@gmail.com
Corresponding Author
Emmanuel Nii Ayi Solomon
Available Online 26 December 2025.
DOI
10.2991/978-94-6463-930-8_15How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Sustainable tourism; community participation; carrying capacity; Ghana; Africa
Abstract

Tourism contributes significantly to the economic growth of transitioning economies but often generates sustainability challenges, including environmental degradation, cultural erosion, and limited community benefits. This paper examines how integrating community involvement and carrying capacity management can jointly advance sustainable tourism, with reference to Ghana and comparative African cases. Drawing on recent literature and illustrative case studies, the study highlights how community-driven initiatives such as the Sirigu Women’s Organisation for Pottery and Art (SWOPA) and the Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary promote cultural preservation and empowerment. Conversely, sites like Kakum National Park demonstrate the risks of overtourism when visitor numbers exceed ecological thresholds. Comparative examples from Kenya, Lesotho, and Uganda reinforce these patterns across the region. The paper argues that sustainable tourism requires the synergy of carrying capacity frameworks, which regulate visitor flows, and community participation, which ensures social legitimacy and local ownership. The study contributes a practical framework for balancing economic aspirations with ecological stewardship and social equity in transitioning economies.

Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the International Conference on Sustainable Business and Entrepreneurship (ICSBE 2025)
Series
Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research
Publication Date
26 December 2025
ISBN
978-94-6463-930-8
ISSN
2352-5428
DOI
10.2991/978-94-6463-930-8_15How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - CONF
AU  - Emmanuel Nii Ayi Solomon
AU  - Stephen Mahama Braimah
AU  - Gideon Awini
AU  - Elikem Chosniel Ocloo
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/26
TI  - Exploring Community Engagement and Tourism Carrying Capacity in Transitioning Markets: Review, Cases, and Future Directions.
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Sustainable Business and Entrepreneurship (ICSBE 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 201
EP  - 214
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-930-8_15
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-930-8_15
ID  - Solomon2025
ER  -