Tourism and women empowerment in Monduli District, Arusha-Tanzania

This study looks at the role of tourism on women empowerment and was carried out in Monduli District, Arusha- Tanzania. Survey data was collected using a household questionnaire survey, focus group discussion, semi-structured interviews, and also by means of physical visits. It also combined secondary data through literature review of previous studies and aimed at provide an overview of the potential of tourism in contributing to women’s empowerment, tensions and complexities in the environment facing women and also offered tentative recommendations for better benefits for women. Moreover the study revealed that the relationship between tourism and development has been carefully explored in the discipline of tourism studies and also in the community development environment. However, very little research has been carried out into the women empowerment dimensions of this relationship and less attention has been paid to the unequal ways in which the benefits of tourism are distributed between men and women, particularly in the area of Monduli. Tourism presents both opportunities and challenges for gender equality and women’s empowerment. This paper attempts to unpack some of the issues involved in such an undertaking, and it provides an overview of some of the key empirical areas that need to be taken into account for better women empowerment through tourism. It also suggests an agenda for future research to meet the Millennium Development Goal – gender equality and women’s empowerment.