Gender empowerment in tourism development : female bungalow hosts in Vanuatu

Tourism development's potential to contribute to the empowerment of women in Vanuatu is the central theme of this chapter, which examines the pivotal role that female empowerment plays in sustainable tourism development. The female bungalow entrepreneur in the province of Shefa in Vanuatu is the focus of this qualitative-based enquiry. For women in Vanuatu, considerable barriers predominate and hinder progress towards empowerment and the ability to exercise agency over their lives. Tourism micro-enterprise development in the form of bungalow accommodation holds enormous potential, but without cultural and institutional change, hurdles to female empowerment prevail. Lenses and theories of empowerment are utilized to uncover the impacts that entrepreneurship has had on the bungalow hosts' psyche and on their social and familial relationships, financial stability and political standing within the village. The chapter identifies the implications for future research and strategic policy development.