Positioning Indigenous Cuisines and their influence on Gastronomic Identity in 3–5-Star Hotels in Greater Accra, Ghana

Abstract

Indigenous cuisines are emerging as a significant force driving the development of tourism and establishing a cultural identity for destinations; however, they have been given limited consideration within upscale hotel environments, especially in Ghana. This paper explores how indigenous cuisines are presented within the context of 3–5-star hotels located in the Greater Accra Region. Using Service-Dominant Logic as a guiding framework, a mixed-methods design was used in which hotels, hotel guests, and officials from Ghana Tourism Authority constituted the target population for the study. Twenty hotels were included in the population; a census approach was used for managers in these 20 hotels; a purposive sampling approach for 10 officials of Ghana Tourism Authority and finally a stratified random sample of 384 hotel guests was taken for the study. Data were obtained using structured questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, and analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, chi-square test, regression analysis and thematic analysis. It was found that indigenous cuisines are present in the menus in hotels, there are high rating regarding diversity and authenticity of the presentation of the indigenous cuisines in hotel menus; and that there is a lack of effective strategy for promoting indigenous cuisines. A chi-square test result revealed no statistically significant association between the classification of a hotel in terms of stars and a respondent's view of whether indigenous cuisines have been included in a hotel (= 3.207, p = 0.524); however, the results of the regression show that authenticity, uniqueness, and sustainability positively influence the gastronomic identity of a hotel and exotic appeal negatively influences it. The study concludes that strategic positioning rather than a hotel's classification is what determine gastronomic identity of the country, therefore; branding of indigenous cuisines is paramount for up-scale hotels.