Vol. 4, Issue 12, Part C (2018)

Abstract
Ecotourism is a form of tourism that involves visiting natural areas in the remote wilderness or urban environments. The purpose of the study is to find out the extent to which local people of Wli Traditional area participate in ecotourism. The study examined the extent to which locals of Wli Traditional area are empowered by relevant authorities to participate in ecotourism and also to identify the factors that hinder effective participation in the ecotourism business by the local people of Wli Traditional area. The study showed that, most of the people expressed support for the eco-tourism business, and its related activities, but majority of the interviewees including the paramount chief of the area expressed grave displeasure in the conditions that make participation by the locals difficult. The study again maintain that, the Hohoe Municipal Assembly has not done much in empowering or building the capacity of the locals to enable many people to effectively participate but are quick in demanding for the Assembly’s share of the proceeds. The chief even further blamed the Assembly for not ensuring that, the road from Hohoe to the Wli community is tarred or put in a better shape than it has been for all the years. It is therefore recommended and suggested a research on economic impact assessment needs to be conducted by other researchers of ecotourism management in identifying the relationship between the local people’s perception of economic benefits and cost, and the actual reflection of the impact on their standard of living.