Eco-wellness Tourism as a Pathway Toward Sustainability and Sustainable Development: The Ghanaian Perspective

Health is wealth as an adage is embracing a renewed significance in the current post-COVID-19 era, which underscores the pertinence toward the prioritization of health and well-being. Eco-wellness tourism has entered a radical phase conspicuous based on the increasing quest for innovative services, and a universal movement centered on holistic well-being. To this end, this study examined eco-wellness tourism as a pathway toward sustainability and sustainable development from the Ghanaian perspective. The study’s objective centered on interrogating the influence of environmental responsibility on ecological conservation and the relationship between eco-friendly accommodations and community well-being. The study was anchored on the socio-technical systems (STS) theory. A total of 150 tourists were selected from 5 tourist destinations in Ghana using the purposive and convenience sampling techniques. Findings revealed that environmental responsibility influences ecological conservation with (R2 = 0.945, p-value <0.05) and eco-friendly accommodations and community well-being with (r = 0.735, p-value <0.05). The study concluded that eco-wellness tourism is pertinent for sustainable development as it provides nature-based wellness experiences which merge personal health with environmental responsibility and offers immersive, nature-based wellness experiences capable of minimizing ecological impact and promoting community development. It was recommended that there is need for both governmental and institutional support for eco-wellness tourism to drive sustainable development.