Recreational experience among beach users in Ghana: Insights for beach management

Recreational experience is an outcome of leisure activities that are intrinsically rewarding and pleasurable (Oh et al., 2007; Cohen, 1979). Such experiences can be assessed in any or all of the following five phases: planning, travel to the site, on-site experience, travel back home, and recollection (Oh et al., 2007; Driver & Tocher, 1970). Cohen (1979) conceptualized on-site recreational experience as incorporating a sense of relaxation, time-and-outing involvements, and useful and restorative activities. Du Plessis et al. (2011) further hypothesized recreational experience (amusement, excitement, escape) as an outcome of the use of destination environments for physical and active activities. In context, primary sources of recreational experiences are the activities and outcomes that users receive by engaging with destination sites, including the practical escapes, sight, fun and appeals that an increasing number of travellers enjoy at destinations (du Plessis et al., 2011). Invariably, recreational experience outcomes and preferences largely depend on the state, features, and attributes of the physical resources (Lucrezi et al., 2016). Recreational experience thus has different outcomes in natural settings as it involves a combination of the environment, its quality, visual appeal amidst related physical elements, and the ability to support desired user activities (Raitz & Dakhil, 1988). Recreational experiences are shaped by environmental qualities at nature-based destinations. Hence, beaches with poor environmental conditions have become a common global issue threatening the quality of coastal recreation.

Beach users approach coastal areas in a variety of ways, and their perceptions of beach environments are majorly influenced by elements of cleanliness which involve tidiness, orderliness, attractiveness, safety and comfortability (Williams et al., 2016). Thus, how much solid, liquid, and other types of trash or effluence are present at the beaches directly influences tourists' perceptions (Rayon-Vinaa et al., 2018). Events that compromise the ecological, physical aesthetic, and diverse features of a beach's cleanliness have a detrimental impact on people's perceptions, including the subjective and monetary value that tourists place on such beaches (Tudor & Williams, 2003). Users at beaches become highly alarmed about pollution when they experience an odd smell or see undesirable sand and water colour changes, lubricants, plastics, surface foam/scum and other liquid waste items (Rangel-Buitrago et al., 2022; Wyles et al., 2016). Besides, beach users developing gastrointestinal symptoms after bathing in beach water have been linked to user perceptions of beach pollution (Devine, 2014; Morgan, 1999). Unfavourable environmental factors also cause tourists to have mental and emotional responses to beach litter (Rodella & Corbau, 2020). Sewage, plastics, and trash have a detrimental impact on visitors' enjoyment, enthusiasm and use of beaches (Schuhmann et al., 2016; Balance et al., 2000). Beach user experiences in nature are influenced by a range of sensory information, with users blaming poor ecological elements for their unpleasant beach experiences (Wyles et al., 2014). Accordingly, Williams et al. (2016) observed that visitor experiences at beaches are impacted by perceived negative environmental attributes.

Many tourists who go to the beach do so to get away from stressful urban areas, which are full of busy people, trash and noise. They want to unwind, relax and feel relieved (Lucrezi et al., 2016), escape, and reenergize their mental and emotional states (Roca et al., 2009). However, when they encounter unclean beaches that are no different from the urban environs they sought to escape, vacationers experience frustration, sadness, negativity, anger and regret instead of delight, affection, admiration, pleasant surprise and relaxation (Hosany & Gilbert, 2019). Poorly maintained beaches from physical, ecological, human aspects/facility, and image standpoints influence the attitudes, comfort and experiences of beachgoers (Jurowski, 2009; du Plessis et al., 2006). Wyles et al. (2014) emphasized that numerous factors determine how negatively tourists perceive these impacts. With beach environmental conditions, four elements usually are observed to impact beach users' recreational experience: (a) user exposure to what they believe to be a dirty beach area; (b) health concerns and sensation of unpleasantness; (c) decline in activity opportunities and aaesthetic appreciation at beaches; and (d) characteristics of the users (Lucrezi & van der Walt, 2015; Wyles et al., 2014). It is, therefore imperative to explore the impact of beach environmental quality on user perceptions as well as experiences.

In this regard, Vaz et al. (2016) emphasize the critical role of enhancing beach scenery and the surrounding landscapes to meet tourism demand. This is because a visually appealing and well-maintained beach setting is pivotal in attracting and retaining tourists, contributing to the economic prosperity and sustainability of destinations (Rangel-Buitrago et al., 2022). Valuing and preserving the quality of beaches and adjoining areas is therefore crucial as they continue recognizing their multifaceted contributions to our touristic lifestyles and the health of coastal ecosystems (Micallef & Williams, 2009). The extensive presence of litter in coastal and marine environments, including beaches continues to rise (Vaz et al., 2016). This pervasive litter pollution poses a significant and global threat to coastal tourism and recreation as it continues to adversely impact beach quality, aaesthetics, use and the overall experience of tourists, highlighting the urgent need for comprehensive measures to address this issue and protect the ecological and economic value of coastal destinations (Rangel-Buitrago et al., 2022).

A critical survey of the literature reveals links between nature-based experiences and issues such as age, gender, marital status, education and nationality, as well as the purpose of travel, motivation, travel habits, recreational preferences and experiences (Lucrezi et al., 2016). Lucrezi and van der Walt (2015) observed that many educated singles, youngsters and women visit beaches in search of relief and pleasure. Demographic variables, including geographical differences (Roca et al., 2009), are significant contributors to users' experiences at nature-based destinations (du Plessis et al., 2011).

The Accra Metropolis is the capital and commercial and administrative centre of Ghana. It houses the seat of government, the Christianborg Castle, James Fort, Ussher Fort, white sand beaches and movie and shopping centres. It also has the best hotel facilities in Ghana, catering to the needs of most tourists/visitors who travel through and to Ghana. This makes the Accra Metropolis favourable for film, industrial, heritage, leisure and beach tourism. The city of Accra received over a million international visitors (1,130,307) in 2019 and only about 335,108 international visitors in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a number of them patronising beach facilities in the metropolis for rest, entertainment and recreation (Ghana Tourism Authority, 2021). Notwithstanding, the Accra Metropolis, with a population of 2,557,000, is noted to have poor sanitation in the coastal areas (Ghana Statistical Service, 2021; World Bank Group, 2016; Adam et al., 2020). These unsanitary conditions present recreational limitations, health threats and setbacks towards beach recreation and tourism in the Metropolis, hence the need for this study to ascertain beach patrons' perceptions and experiences which can provide important data for management actions at the beaches in Ghana. Besides, studies of recreational experience in coastal settings in Ghana barely exist, making this study principal.

The study setting is the two tourist beaches (Guinea Mensah Beach and Korle Gonno Beach) in the Accra Metropolis of Ghana. The Guinea Mensah Beach is a tourist beach situated at the coastal end of Accra. It is a sandy beach with a gentle slope and a rock cliff behind it. The beach is about 220 meters long and is in a popular tourist area, near the Centre for National Culture, Christiansburg Castle, and James Fort, at these coordinates: N 05°32.594′ W 000°11.823′, N 05°32.599′ W 000°11.825′, N 05°32.609′ W 000°11.771′ and N 05°32.615′ W 000°11.773′. It is a popular spot for tourists from diverse socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds.

The Korle Gonno beach is located in the Korle Gonno neighbourhood, about 2 kilometres west of Accra. It's a 200-meter stretch of beach that's mostly visited by local tourists, as well as some foreign visitors on weekends and holidays. This beach has a mix of sandy and rocky areas, and you can find facilities for enjoying the ocean view and leisure activities along most of the shoreline where tourists like to hang out. The Korle Gonno beach stretch is found in the densely populated Korle Gonno neigh-bourhood, located 2 kilometres to the west of Accra, and it can be pinpointed at these coordinates: N 05°31.733′ W 000°13.537′, N 05°31.738′ W 000°13.538′, N 05°31.744′ W 000°13.480′, and N 05°31.752′ W 000°13.481′.

The target population was international and domestic tourists/visitors to the beaches of 18 years or older. By Ghanaian law, this group is mature and able to make sound and personal decisions. The sample size for the study was determined using the International Fund for Agricultural Development (2009) formula, using a 5% error margin and a 75% target population similarity rate (0.75) due to the unknown target population size. The sample size determined for the study was 317. An initial sample of 288 was calculated and 10% (29) of it was estimated and added to cater for non-responses. This is done to ensure that a minimum of 288 beachgoers participate in the study (International Fund for Agricultural Development, 2009). N=t2*p(1−p)m2=0.952*0.75(1−0.75)0.052=288 {\rm{N}} = {{{{\rm t}}^{{2} }}*{{\rm{p}}(1 - {\rm{p}})} \over {{{\rm{m}}^2}}} = {{{0.95} ^{2}}*{0.75(1 - 0.75)} \over {{{0.05}^2}}} = 288

Where: N =expected sample size; t =confidence level at 95% (standard value =1.96); p =proportion of target population similarity set at 75% (0.75); m =error margin at 5% (standard value =0.05).

The study used a survey questionnaire consisting of three parts as the data collection method. Part one contained 17 items that measure visitors' perceptions of pollution at the beaches (Rayon-Vinaa et al., 2018; World Bank Group, 2016; Schuhmann, 2012; Tudor & Williams, 2003). Part two had 22 items that measured the recreational experiences of visitors, with some variables from Balance et al., (2000), Lucrezi and van der Walt (2015), and du Plessis et al. (2011). Parts one and two were measured on a 5-point Scale (5=strongly agree; 1 =strongly disagree) to collect responses. The third section looked at user characteristics including gender, age, marital status, education, nationality continent of origin, and the purpose of the visit. The questionnaire was self-administered. The use of questionnaires is predicated on Creswell & Creswell's (2017) argument that it best suits the gathering of quantitative data while providing convenience, anonymity and confidentiality. The questionnaire was pretested using twenty (22) sampled beach users at La Pleasure Beach located 7.5km away from the Accra Metropolis. This helped to contextualize the variables and validity of the study's content in Ghana.

The study adopted the survey method. Data were collected between November 2020 and February 2021 at the premises of visitor facilities (beachfront and beach bars) with approval from managers. Data were collected from beach users who have been at the beach for at least two (2) hours and are actively using the beach or the beach bar. Due to the nonexistence of a sampling frame, convenience sampling based on accessibility was used to recruit respondents. To ensure representation and avoid skewed data and results, only one respondent was selected to answer the questionnaire in a group of two or three, and two (2) respondents were selected in the case of groups of four or more persons when encountered (Leiner, 2014). A paper-based questionnaire was distributed to respondents face-to-face for their responses. In case any part of the questionnaire was unclear or raised questions, respondents asked for clarification or explanations from the researchers who were on standby to explain and guide respondents throughout the process and ensure accurate and complete responses. A total of 309 responses were completed and collected for the study.

The data were analysed with the assistance of SPSS 25.0. To gauge users' beach recreational experiences, the Factor Analytic Model through the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) with the orthogonal varimax rotation was used. The data was evaluated to see if it met the requirements for factor analysis. As a result, the scale was put through a reliability test. The total Cronbach alpha value was 0.898 for the recreational experiences. This was above the limits of 0.70 of internal consistency that must be achieved by the variables (Pallant, 2007). Using the recommendation by Pallant (2007), variables that achieved 0.50 or higher factor loadings were taken into account. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) was 0.901 with Barlett's test of sphericity of 3951.712 at p=0.000 for recreational experiences. The KMO was greater than the prescribed threshold of 0.6 set by Kaiser (1974). To test for differences in respondents' recreational experiences across socio-demographic characteristics, the T-test and ANOVA were used.

Participation in the study was voluntary. The survey was undertaken only after careful and thorough informed consent was reached through the provision of adequate information about the study to enable the respondents to decide whether to take part in it. Letters of introduction from the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management of the University of Cape Coast and Ghana Tourism Authority were used to seek consent from beach facility operators and respondents. Anonymity was ensured and guaranteed as the study did not collect any personal data such as names, addresses, etc. that could link a respondent to a particular response. The study observed confidentiality. These were the fundamental requirements made to protect respondents' rights and were achieved as the data was used for study only, not shared with any third party. Lastly, respondents were assured that partaking in the study was voluntary and could withdraw at any given time.

The results show that females constitute 58.5% of the respondents in the study, while 41.5% were males. The majority (76.3%) were below the age of 35, constituted majorly by those of the age range of 26–34 (40.1%) and those of ≤ 25 (36.2%) in Table 1, reflecting the general youthfulness of beach users in Accra Metropolis as is the case in other studies (e.g., Lucrezi and van der Walt, 2015). About 79% of them were single (reflecting Ghana's youthful population with the majority unmarried) (Ghana Statistical Service, 2021), and about 84.5% of respondents had tertiary-level education. It should be noted that data were collected when international borders were not fully opened due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This explains why the majority of the respondents (72.2%) were domestic beach users. International visitors to the beaches were from eight (8) different countries including Germany (6.4%), Nigeria (4.7%), the USA (3.9%) and the UK (2.1%). This trend replicates the major tourist-generating market for Ghana (Ghana Tourism Authority, 2021). With regards to the continent of origin of beach users, 14.6% of the respondents were from Europe, 6.5% were from the Americas and 2.3% were Australasians.

The purpose of visits to the beaches in Accra Metropolis varied (Figure 4). Nearly a third (26.3%) visited the beach for relaxation from stress, with 20.2% at the beaches to escape from home/city. Also, about 19.4% were at the beach for recreation, with only 6.1% holidaying and the rest visiting for personal reasons. Generally, the results in Figure 4 show that most of the beachgoers to Accra Metro beaches went there for fun, to escape from home and to break away from boredom and stress which parallels the study of Wyles et al. (2016).

Figure 1:

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Figure 3:

Figure 4:

As shown in Table 2, the tourist beaches in Accra were considered to be very polluted (mean =3.71) among the majority (65.4%) of the beach users (Table 2). However, most of these can be attributed to poor waste handling and beach management (mean =4.07). The highest and most common form of pollution present at these beaches was plastic litter (mean =4.35), confirming that plastic pollution remains the most prevalent form of pollution within the coastal environment of Ghana (Adam et al., 2020). This is followed by the incidence of smell and odour that comes from the beach areas (mean =4.21) and the presence of beach/marine litter and trash cans around the beach (mean =4.10). The other forms of pollution that beachgoers perceived at the beaches included murky/dirty scenery (mean =3.94), beach water colour change (mean =3.92), rubble and moving debris in the beach water (mean =3.78), beach sand colour change (mean =3.68), liquid waste materials (mean =3.52) and dead fish/animals (mean =3.43). Generally, there are unhygienic conditions at the beaches (mean =4.00) as shown in Table 2 and Figures 5 and 6.

Figure 5:

Figure 6:

The result in Table 3 indicates that on the whole, beach users had a very limited feel of relaxation at the beaches (mean=3.62). However, users were uncertain about their affection towards the beach (mean=3.28) as a whole, the majority of the respondents did not admire the state of the beach outlooks (mean=2.90) nor were they excited (mean=2.91) when they visited the beaches.

To determine the actual recreational experiences of visitors based on the twenty-two (22) variables in Table 4, a PCA was conducted. This PCA specified three recreational experience factors with eigenvalues higher than one (Eigenvalues ≥1). Table 4 shows that eighteen (18) variables extracted achieved high factor loadings, from the range of 0.596 to 0.933. Cumulatively, these dimensional factors explained 67.96% of the variance in the users' recreational experiences at the beaches.

The first factor (Practical/escapism experience) accounts for the highest percentage (47.3%) of variance in visitors' recreational experiences at the beaches, underscoring the importance of beaches in achieving comfort, emotional and mental refreshment and real-time inspiration for users away from home and work stress. The second factor (Exciting) underpins the users' excitement to encounter and use the beach for various activities. This contributes 13.98% of the variance in users' recreational experiences at the beaches. The third factor (Aesthetic) deals with the feeling of pleasure and delight at the level of serenity and scenic attractiveness of the beaches. This dimension accounts for the smallest percentage (6.67%) of the variance within the data.

To examine the variations in recreational experiences across beach users' socio-demographics, the study used the T-test and one-way ANOVA. To do this, the five-point Likert scale used to collect data on recreational activities was collapsed into three (agree, neutral, disagree). This was done to make analysing and explaining the findings easier (Table 5). The results show significance across five background characteristics: sex, nationality, marital status, age and continent of origin (Table 5).

The results show that significant differences occurred between men and women concerning exciting experiences at the beaches (t=2.74, df=2, p=0.006). The findings suggest that while males had exciting experiences (mean =2.60) at the beaches, females were not enthusiastic (mean =2.43). The difference was also observed between domestic and international beachgoers regarding practical experiences at the beaches (t =−0.73, df =2, p =0.002). The result also shows that more international beachgoers were uncertain (mean =2.21) than domestic counterparts (mean =1.97) about having practical experience at the beaches. Again, significant differences occurred across users' marital status concerning practical experience (t =4.52, df =2, p =0.000). Most beachgoers who are single had practical experience (mean =2.55), whereas most of those who were ever married did not have practical beach experience at the beaches (mean =1.84).

For age, the ANOVA test indicates a statistically significant difference in exciting experiences (F =4.30, df=3, p=0.014). A review of the means scores indicates that most beachgoers between the ages 26–35 (mean=2.59) and 36 above (mean=2.53) agree that they had exciting experiences at the beaches, while those aged 25 and below were indifferent (mean=2.39). The results further suggest that practical experience at the beach differs by beach users' continent of origin (F=3.72, df=3, p=0.012). While beach users from Australasia agreed (mean=2.54) and those from the Americas disagree (mean=1.74) that they had practical experience, those from Africa and Europe were indifferent.