A Case Study:An Analysis Of Policy Making And Investments In The Tourism Industry And Its Impact On The Socio-economic Development Of Ghana And Rwanda

The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between policy making and investments in the tourism sector and its impact on the socio-economic development in developing countries(Ghana and Rwanda).The study examines the causal relationship between policy making and socio-economic development using an interpretive case research test in a mix mode method.Tourism is commonly considered to be a facilitator of socio economic development,especially in less-developed countries.Based on the quantitative and qualitative assessment methodology supported by the regulatory impact assessment,the study examines how deliberate investments by the government and efficient policies in the tourism industry impacts the socio-economic development of the Sub Saharan region of Africa.The study was proposed and tested in Ghana and Rwanda to give a comparison of policy making and investments in two very similar developing countries.As a result,with the right investments and policy formulation the tourism industry can be used to achieve socio-economic development in a region.Moreover,when governments set policies to develop tourism in diverse ways,it turns to impact the socio-economic development of the country.Accordingly,the socio-economic efficiency was estimated by the integral indicators calculated by statistical data and the forecast for investments and policy making in the tourism industry.The study proposed a conceptual framework,which indicates that in developing a country's tourism activities,effective policies must be carefully considered.It was seen from this study that effective tourism policies does not only positively correlate with socio-economic impacts but it is actually one of the strongest predictors of socio-economic impact of tourism on the society.This was backed by the regulatory impact assessment procedures to enforce the policies.The main aim of this study was to investigate the level of effectiveness of the current tourism policies among the two countries using 12-items that touches on the key thematic areas of tourism policy.In Rwanda,their policies tend to focus on eco-tourism and the sustainability of the environment and the budget for investing into marketing their tourist sites is below the budget.On the contrary Ghana has a strict and enforced tourism policy plan and has foreign direct investment in the tourism sector.The findings shows that,with the RIA the ideal tourist model entails foreign direct investment,focus on the local inhabitants,and investing in the development and renovating of tourist sites.According to forecasts,tourism will have a tremendous growth trend which calls for a case study.Unlike previous studies,the study promotes a new understanding of the importance of policy making and investments in the tourism industry,which ultimately impacts the socio-economic development in the region(Ghana and Rwanda).