Despite the challenges that women in tourism still face, the World Travel & Tourism Council has revealed data that underscores the pivotal role of women in the global travel and tourism sector. South Africa’s National Department of Tourism (NDT) has also highlighted to Tourism Update the progress that has been made in representation of women in the local tourism industry.

According to WTTC data, women in tourism comprised a significant portion of the sector's workforce in 2019, accounting for nearly 40% of the total employment.

This marked a substantial increase from 2010, highlighting a 24% surge in direct female employment within the sector, increasing from 38.6 million to 47.8 million.

Key findings reveal that hospitality stood out as the leading employer of women within the travel and tourism sector, with over half (52%) of all female employment in 2019 attributed to this segment.

Julia Simpson, WTTC President and CEO, emphasised the positive impact of women in the sector today: “Women in travel and tourism play a vital role. We are proud that our sector is one of the largest employers of women in the world.

“As our sector continues to grow, women have a key role to play; we have the opportunity to make travel and tourism more resilient and inclusive. Putting women at the heart of travel and tourism will be critical to securing a sustainable future for the sector.”

The global body’s data also reveals women in travel and tourism surpass the average workforce participation in other sectors globally. In regions such the Americas, women make up a larger share of employment in the sector compared with the economy-wide workforce.

“This data underscores the significant contribution of women to the travel and tourism sector, portraying it as a catalyst for gender inclusivity and empowerment on a global scale. WTTC remains committed to provide high-wage jobs, gender equality, and fostering entrepreneurship through SMEs, as well as generating more high-level opportunities for women within large corporations,” the WTTC said in a press release.

Local progress made

The NDT launched its Women in Tourism (WiT) Programme in 2013 as a platform to drive initiatives that support the development and empowerment of women in the tourism sector.

The platform recognised the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs who are often found at the bottom end of the tourism economic value chain, and identified interventions that would assist in realising the WiT agenda. Its focus areas included personal development, supporting women to develop a competitive advantage in their businesses, and provision of capacity-building initiatives.

“The Department, through its WiT Programmes, aims for inclusion of women engagement within the tourism sector by addressing the skill gap through development programmes,” said NDT Spokesperson Tasneem Carrim.

The following are some of the WiT programmes with the progress that has been made thus far:

• Business Management and Mentorship Programme: This programme trained about 131 women nationwide for a period of 18 months within the tourism sector in 2023. The training covered areas such as business planning and financial management; marketing strategy and sales; human resources, operations and risk management; and crisis management. Out of the 131 trained, the top 45 were chosen to participate in a six-month Mentorship Programme.
• Community Based Incubator: The incubator aims to ensure that seven community projects benefit as participants in the tourism economy. These projects are women-owned and on the Ribola Art and Rixile Kruger Routes in the Mopani and Vhembe districts in Limpopo. They include Twananani Textiles, Nahakwe Lodge, Baleni Salt Harvesters, Mashishimale Village Homestays, Hi Hlurile Pot of Beads and Mukondeni Pottery Village. The objective of the project is to promote inclusive economic development for women entrepreneurs.
• The Department implemented an Executive Development Programme (EDP) for WiT from the 2016/2017 to 2020/2021 financial year, training a total of 120 black women. The main objective of the programme was to train black female managers, through a recognised South African business school, to prepare them for the executive or board positions in the tourism sector. The programme aimed to place females from all nine provinces on the EDP to equip them with the requisite management skills and qualification relevant to the tourism sector. During the implementation period of this programme, it saw success stories where 16 women were promoted into senior positions. In the 2022/23 financial year, the programme went through a review process, a report was developed with the recommendations to continue implementing the programme as the gender imbalance still persists in the tourism sector. The Department will commence with processes to plan for the new phase of implementation which is scheduled to take place in the 2024/25 financial year.

“Research has demonstrated that when women are educated and employed, the whole community benefits. The tourism sector is no different. In addition, UN Tourism states: ‘For the tourism sector, the impact of greater gender equality and women’s empowerment would be highly beneficial, because diverse and gender equitable organisations perform better’,” Carrim concluded.