Will their absence make a difference? The role of local volunteer NGOs in home-stay intermediation in Ghana’s Garden City

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in home-stay arrangements in Ghana’s cultural city, Kumasi, and further assess NGO intermediation of home-stay from home-stay operators’ and international volunteer tourists’ perspectives.

Design/methodology/approach

A mixture of quantitative and qualitative approaches is used to target three main stakeholders of volunteer tourism including international volunteer tourists, home-stay operators, and local NGOs.

Findings

There are seven major roles played by volunteer NGOs in the home-stay arrangement. However, from operators’ perspective, NGOs may hinder the economic viability of home-stay through inadequate/low payment.

Originality/value

The study highlights the unexplored brokerage role of NGOs in volunteer tourism in home-stay intermediation and its implications for sustainable tourism.

Citation

Mensah, E.A., Agyeiwaah, E. and Dimache, A.O. (2017), "Will their absence make a difference? The role of local volunteer NGOs in home-stay intermediation in Ghana’s Garden City", International Journal of Tourism Cities, Vol. 3 No. 1, pp. 69-86. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJTC-08-2016-0018