EMPOWERING WOMEN THROUGH COMMUNITY-BASED TOURISM IN THE WESTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA

Abstract

Tourism has received considerable attention in recent years with regards to the impacts of tourism and its ability to contribute toward sustainability. This article focuses on the positive impact communitybased tourism can have on the empowerment of women. Four domains of empowerment have been identified in literature, and the objective of this research specifically reviews the social and economic empowerment domains, which community-based tourism has had on the lives of women involved in tourism. Primary data in the form of life histories were collected through semistructured interviews by the researchers, and data analyzed according to an empowerment framework. The results yielded a number of women considered to be empowered on both economic and social levels. However, despite the considered empowerment of women, aspects of disempowerment were noted. The study fundamentally reveals that Sustainable Development Goal 5, pertaining to women empowerment, can be achieved through the economic empowerment of women who in turn socially empower the communities in which they reside.