From Fragmented Assets to a Coordinated Destination: A Governance and Gap Analysis of Tourism Development in Cape Coast, Ghana

Cape Coast, Ghana, has substantial heritage, coastal, cultural, and educational assets, yet visitor activity remains concentrated at Cape Coast Castle, where recorded visits rose from 101,134 in 2023 to 141,523 in 2025. This study examines how these assets are governed and where the links between them break down. A qualitative, multi-source design combined policy documents, in-depth interviews with 26 tourists, a tourism resource assessment, and an exploratory review of the city’s sister cities (Bonn, Little Rock and New Orleans). Arnstein’s ladder of participation served as the diagnostic framework, supported by an analysis of the sources of stakeholder influence. Interviews were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, and draft findings were discussed with 32 stakeholders at a consultative workshop. Empirical findings comprised eight recurring gaps, including weak institutional coordination, limited visitor services and information, narrow product diversification, and limited community participation. From the lens of Arnstein’s ladder of participation, residents and small businesses appear mainly as consultees rather than shared decision-makers, a pattern interpreted here as policy invisibility, a descriptive concept rather than a new theory. The findings are perceptual and non-generalizable, and the sister-city material offers ideas rather than transferable models. Separately from these findings, the paper recommends a phased, indicative framework aligned with the Eight-Year Development Plan (2026–2033), pending baseline measurement. The paper argues that Cape Coast’s central task is coordination across institutions and districts rather than adding attractions. The contribution is empirical and applied: a diagnostic account of destination governance in a secondary West African heritage city that adds to earlier Cape Coast studies of heritage, dark tourism, local food, stakeholder collaboration, and beach development, without claiming a new theory.