Degree
PhD, Recreation and Leisure Studies
Thesis title
Toward Decolonial Tourism Education in Ghana: A Critical Ethnography
Year of defence
2026
Abstract
Tourism education, especially in institutions of higher learning has grown to become an important area in tourism literature since the 1980s (Fidgeon, 2010; Liburd, Hjalager, & Christensen, 2011; Sheldon, Fesenmaier, & Tribe, 2013). This development, especially in the Global South, has been largely due to the growth in the tourism industry, and the consequent need to develop a philosophical and pedagogical understanding into tourism. In Ghana, tourism education has remained deeply embedded in colonial frameworks, consequently influencing both pedagogical approaches and knowledge production. In this critical ethnographic study, I examine the relationship between tourism education and colonization in the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management (DHTM) at the University of Cape Coast (UCC). Through this methodological approach, I unpacked how tourism education either reinforces and / or resists colonial knowledge structures while exploring decolonial alternatives that centre Ghanaian and African epistemologies. I drew on epistemic decolonization theories (Chambers & Buzinde, 2015; Grosfoguel, 2007) to challenge dominant Western and Eurocentric paradigms and to offer alternative possibilities of tourism educational practices that unsettle colonialist thought, organization, and infrastructure of current tourism education, trends, policies, and practices that have existed in the DHTM, UCC. Through in-depth interviews with faculty, students, and staff, as well as participant observations, I found that while some faculty members actively resist colonial dominance by incorporating Ghanaian and African perspectives into their teaching, structural barriers hinder the full decolonization of tourism education in the department. The study therefore highlights the importance of participatory curriculum development, storytelling, and oral histories as legitimate knowledge transmission methods, aligning with broader calls for decolonial pedagogical practices (Mbembe, 2016). Additionally, the study critiques the Eurocentric organization of knowledge in academic libraries and the marginalization of African-authored works. It advocates for a restructured classification system that prioritizes Ghanaian and African scholarship to foster epistemic decolonization. The research suggests that decolonizing tourism education requires more than superficial curriculum changes. Instead, structural transformation of knowledge production, educational infrastructure, and pedagogical approaches are required for any effective decolonial transformation to happen. This dissertation contributes to ongoing discussions on Africanization and decolonization in higher education, urging educators and policymakers to reimagine tourism education in a way that is responsive to local histories, cultures, and aspirations.
Biography
Victor Mawutor Agbo was a PhD candidate in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at the University of Waterloo. He holds a Master of Environmental Studies (MES) in Geography from the Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, and a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Tourism Management from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. In partial fulfilment of his MES degree, Mawutor explored the potential of community-based ecotourism as an ecologically based approach to Atewa Forest governance in Ghana. Much of his work has focused on ecotourism development, community advocacy, forest conservation and broadly, sustainability in tourism contexts.
Research highlights
Find Mawutor: ORCiD, Google Scholar
Publication highlight: Decolonisation, tourism, and progressing the SDGs