Safety and security concerns at the beach: Views of migrant visitors in Ghana

Tourism-migration, safety and security experience are constructs that have drawn the attention of researchers. The literature has acknowledged the importance of safety and security as the foundations for building wealthy tourism. Utilizing the theory of optimism-pessimism, this research sampled 347 migrant visitors of three selected beaches in Ghana's capital, Accra. The analysis of the chi square test of independence shows a significant association among socio-demographic characteristics (marital status, age categories, education and nationality) and safety and security concerns. However, there is no significant association between gender and safety and security concerns. In all, the findings showed that migrant visitors were optimistic about Ghana's beach destinations. The results of the study validate the contribution of migrant visitors' viewpoint on safety and security which is relevant to Ghana's tourism development. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.