Women in Tourism – how far have we come?

06 Jul 2023 - by Adele Mackenzie

Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille.

While there are many established and successful women in the tourism industry, many are still facing barriers or do not have access to the same resources as more established female business owners or high-level managers.

It is important for those who have successfully climbed the ranks to nurture more top leaders, entrepreneurs and industrialists in the sector.

This was highlighted recently by Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille, at a Women in Tourism (WIT) breakfast, noting that the Department of Tourism initiated the WIT programme to drive the inclusion of female entrepreneurs in the industry.

To enhance the development and empowerment of women in the tourism sector, initiatives under the programme include training on personal development, supporting women to develop a competitive advantage in their businesses and provision of capacity-building initiatives.

“As women, we have rights but they are only words on paper unless we claim those rights and act on it. However, we must remember that transformation, claiming our rights and eradicating inequality is no one else’s job but ours. We know best what and must stand up and make that happen,” said De Lille.

Provincial representations

The Minister said she was pleased to see WIT had established chapters in all nine provinces to mobilise women in the industry along with various relevant government departments at national, provincial and local levels, to address identified challenges and gaps in the tourism value chain.

“I understand that each chapter also has to present its Programme of Action to the Department and provide their annual report to their members. I am very interested in seeing and engaging you on this because this will tell us how sisters are doing it for themselves by connecting various women tourism businesses with the government to conquer mountains and succeed as we know we can.”