The recent Report by Centre for Responsible Tourism in Goa, unearthing the ground reality that 31.3 % women working in state tourism sector are feeling unsafe at workplace, once again has reiterated the need for understanding the relationship between tourism and development from gender perspective. The first ever such effort at international level was made in the year 2007 by UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organisation) when it declared the theme for World Tourism Day as ‘Tourism opens the doors for women’. In March 2008 UNWTO Forum in Berlin further explored strategies for achieving this goal, and emphasised on greater research, Case Studies, data base, sharing of knowledge and e-network globally in this area. Since then there has been much work undertaken to understand the impact of tourism on women, and it reflects both positive as well negative implications.
The worst negative impact has been the sexual exploitation of women and children which goes under the grab of ‘sex tourism’. There is marketing of tourism portraying women as though they are commodities. Research carried out by ILO (International Labour Organization) shows that women in impoverished rural areas are the most vulnerable targets for recruitment into the sex industry. There are also gross gender inequalities in tourism due to segregation of work as men’s work and women’s work where women may lend up only in being employed on low paying and less skilled jobs, occupying lower levels of occupational structures thereby further reinforcing the existing stereotypes. Though time and again we come across negative impact of tourism on women, tourism has potentials to contribute to gender equality and women empowerment. It offers possibility for gender roles and relationships to be re-negotiated. Besides providing accessible employment, tourism has changed options for women’s role by giving them an opportunity to take part in business activities largely similar to those traditionally performed by them at home. For example women from Kullu Valley in India have made their traditional handicrafts as a source of income from tourism. Studies reflect that economic empowerment of women in tourism has translated into improvement in social conditions at home as well as in society, though it might not have brought in revolutionary redressal in power relations. Also evident in the host community is the demonstration effect, wherein the behaviour, attitudes and lifestyles have lead to flow of progressive ideas from tourists to local communities. As more and more women come in contact with outsiders, especially women from other countries, they are exposed to new ideas about the advancement of women, and have questioned and challenged the existing gender roles.
Back in Goa, tourism has become the biggest industry in the state and is a mixed bag of profits and pain. The state has benefited from tourism. Tourism has created large scale job opportunities and has increased revenue to the state as well as foreign exchange. It has created positive vibes for this tiny state, and people all over the world aspire to visit this state. However tourism is not properly controlled and managed which has begun to adversely affect the state. The image of women in Goa is adversely affected due to wrong projection of the state as destination for ‘sun, sand and sex’. The exposure of sex rackets and flesh trade every then and now, the increasing crimes against women, proliferating drug trade, the commoditisation of women in tourism related advertisements and the increasing emphasis on casino culture has adversely affected women in Goa. Actually, tourism is neutral and sex need not be an intrinsic feature of it. Many a times sex tourism is the result of the failure of the state to make stringent provisions to avoid it. Tourism has had also positive impact on women in Goa. It is observed that family run small and micro enterprises have been beneficial for women in Goa. It has offered them both extra incomes as well as status within and outside the household. We come across women running shacks, small kiosks, eateries, and are in family run hotels and restaurants in Goa. Some of them run rent-a-bike business, others have restored their traditional houses and have converted them into lodging and stay homes, and some of them have tea/souvenir outlets. Promotion of eco tourism in the state has also created job opportunities for women in the state.
But much more could be done not only to get rid of stereotypes but also to empower women in Goa socially and economically. One way out is small scale tourism enterprises that promote entrepreneurship among women. This ensures economic independence and also increases self-efficacy in women. Another way is by promoting community based tourism initiative particularly for local women’s groups which can be an accessible and suitable entry point for women in tourism. Such projects are tried and have proved successful. In Nepal there was community based Mountain Tourism Project and today the local women are the force behind trekking tourism in Nepal. In Mozambique, World Bank promoted the Transfrontier Conservation Areas and Tourism Development project, wherein women participation was promoted in tourism, natural resource management and small enterprise. In Ethiopia, tea and souvenir outlets are managed by women.
Today more and more countries are envisaging sustainable tourism which can be defined as tourism which addresses the needs of different stakeholders in the industry, the environment and host communities. Women are major stakeholders and therefore the state has to rework on its tourism policy to make it more gender friendly. We should envisage that kind of tourism which will assist the women from host region to progress socially and will have increased employment opportunities. More than anything else, women in Goa should enjoy the dignity, respect and safety for which the state and the society should be committed to at any cost.
(The author is Associate Professor of Political Science, Government College of Arts, Science & Commerce, Khandola – Marcela)
