An Ecofeminist Review of Alternative Tourism Research in the Global South

Abstract

Alternative tourism emerged as a solution to the negative environmental and social impacts of mass tourism. Authors have scrutinized this practice to ensure it fulfils its promises of conservation and respects host cultures; however, we lack data on how alternative tourism affects women in the Global South and specifically we are lacking critical qualitative research on this topic. To better understand the state of knowledge on this topic, we reviewed 15 studies on alternative tourism in the Global South using an ecofeminist framework. Our research illustrates the following themes in the published literature: 1) tourism can reinforce gendered (and racial) stereotypes and roles, 2) there is an uneven gendered division of labour in tourism, 3) women have less access to education as compared with men and this precludes women occupying leadership positions in tourism, 4) even when women work in tourism, they lack protection regarding personal security, 5) women carry a time burden (due in part to a disproportionate responsibility for natural resources management) that limits their ability to be involved in tourism, 6) tourism can reinforce negative colonial relationships that affect people differently. We found some studies that illustrated how alternative tourism supports the renegotiation of gendered norms to support women’s participation in tourism and that women’s groups were important to support women’s participation in tourism.

Keywords

• feminism, gender, ecotourism, community-based tourism