Pros and Cons of Hosting International Tourists: Is It Rational?

Abstract

Homestay hosting is increasingly becoming popular in tourists destinations in different parts of the world. And it is, presently, being used as a tool for sustainable community development. Despite its seeming virtue and it often being positioned as an attractive alternative tourism product/accommodation; academic work has not yet critiqued homestay tourism in the same manner. An empirical knowledge of the good and bad side of hosting is relevant to help devise measures to minimise or if possible eliminate such hosting problems. This article, thus, provides a critical and timely review of homestay tourism, using in-depth interviews with 12 host families in the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana. The study found that homestay hosting is beneficial to host families as it offers social interaction and preservation of local culture, a sense of local pride, income and employment, and educational opportunities for operators' children. Notwithstanding the benefits, challenges exist including culture shock, seasonality of homestay business, insecurity and delayed payments by some intermediaries. In the end, the implications of understanding both the positive and negative aspects of hosting international tourists are discussed.