Capacity Building through Socially Responsible Tourism Development

Abstract

Tourism was introduced in Elmina and Cape Coast, Ghana, Africa, in the late 1980s in part to assist in the reduction of poverty. However, more than 15 years later, the sector has not developed to the extent needed to significantly reduce poverty. A participatory approach to research indicated that the cause was a lack of capacity building. Existing definitions of capacity building are complex and elusive and so far it has not been used as a development objective but as a measurement to realize short-term results. A new clearer definition of capacity building is proposed that is based on the concept of four types of capital: social, human, physical, and financial. It is contended that this definitional clarification allows capacity building to be measured and assessed and therefore legitimately used as a development objective