A qualitative comparative analysis of tourism and gender equality in emerging economies

Abstract

The impact of tourism on gender equality at the national level remains unclear. This study conducts a comparative analysis of tourism and gender equality in emerging economies, using a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis approach. The results demonstrate that tourism is neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for gender equality. On the contrary, the combination of tourism and the economy, education and employment significantly affects gender equality. This study also summarizes four driving modes of gender equality: education-driven mode, economy-driven mode, tourism-employment-driven mode, and economy-employment-driven mode. Moreover, there is no significant temporal change in the four modes. We suggest recognizing the role of tourism in gender equality beyond tourism and focusing more on female education in tourism and the broader economy. This study considerably contributes to the body of knowledge in the field of tourism and gender equality from the perspective of method and content.