Women Participation in Tourism Entrepreneurial Opportunities in Minjingu Village, Manyara Region

Abstract

Women's participation in the tourism industry contributes to the initiation of self-development projects. This study aimed at identifying tourism opportunities found in Minjingu Village by examining factors which affect women's participation in tourism business opportunities and strategise ways for improvement. To this effect, the study employed grounded theory, resource- based theory and financial capital theory were reviewed. Primary data was collected using questionnaires, interview, and observation. Secondary data was collected from various published studies like books and journals. The sample of 327 was picked for the study population of which 317 were women entrepreneurs and 10 were women leaders, village executive officer, hotel operators and tour operators. Data was analyzed using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS version 16.0). The findings revealed that, the presence of tourism activities and services such as accommodation, game drive, cultural attraction sites; they provided various tourism entrepreneurial opportunities to women. They included selling items ranging from beads, woven baskets, curio and other cultural articles to tourists. Further, findings showed that, lack of financial capital and business skills, unstable market due to COVID-19 pandemic; and business competition significantly affected women participation in tourism business. The study concluded that women required to be empowered financially and in capacity building in various aspects to enable them to participate fully in tourism entrepreneurial activities for income generation. It recommended tourism stakeholders should establish centres for business skills training and provide financial support to improve women active participation in tourism business.