Policy cycle in tourism
Define
In this phase, it is recommended that information is gathered on the situation of women and men in a particular area. This means looking for sex-disaggregated data and gender statistics, as well as checking for the existence of studies, programme or project reports, and/or evaluations from previous periods.
Examples of gender and tourism statistics
Gender in tourism has only recently arisen on academic agenda. Data on gender aspects in the tourism sector are, thus, missing or are not systematically collected ([UNWTO , 2009], [Equality in tourism, why gender matters]). For instance, at EU level only 4 indicators (number of trips, number of nights spent in a destination, expenditure and employment by type of contract) ([2]) are collected by sex, while sex-disaggregated data is missing, for instance, on aspects such as training, education, wages, working hours, self-employed people, leadership positions and businesses in the tourism sector. Furthermore, where statistics are collected they mainly refer to the hotel and restaurant business. Other activity fields particularly important for tourism (e.g. transport) are not considered by tourism statistics.
However, the following are examples of gender and tourism statistics.
Eurostat
Eurostat provides harmonised data collected by the Member States in concerning European statistics on tourism. Available statistics include data on residents’ (for the population aged 15 years and over) tourism demand: participation, trips, nights and expenditure. The database on tourism includes sex-disaggregated data on employment in the tourism sector (employed in accommodation and food service activities) and tourism performance (nights spent). All tourism nights are those spent by residents, aged 15 or over, outside their usual environment for personal or professional/business purposes. A tourism night (or overnight stay) is each night that a guest actually spends (sleeps or stays) or is registered (his/her physical presence there being unnecessary) in a collective accommodation establishment or in private tourism accommodation.
Examples of studies, research and reports
Baum T., Cheung, C., 2015 - Women in tourism and hospitality: unlocking the potential in the talent pool
This white paper was produced by the Hospitality Industry Pipeline (HIP) Coalition, which brings together leading members of the industry and non-government organisations (NGOs) to identify, share and promote best practice in recruitment, employment, diversity and inclusion, to address shortages in the talent pipeline. The White Paper analyses the barriers to gender diversity in tourism and hospitality and develops recommendations to unlock the potential that women offer within the sector’s talent pool. The Paper also examines the 2 primary propositions for gender equality within the tourism and hospitality sector (the moral imperative and the business case) and aims to demonstrate the financial gains associated with providing more opportunities for women in leadership positions in this sector.
Munar et al., 2015 - The gender gap in the tourism academy: statistics and indicators of gender equality
This study is part of an ongoing research project entitled While Waiting for the Dawn, which explores the role that gender plays in the lives of women scholars and students in the tourism academy. This report maps gender equality in the tourism academy through a series of key indicators that reflect leadership in the field.
Nordisk Union Hotel, Restauration, Catering og Turisme, 2015 - Not on the menu! Sexism and sexual harassment in the Nordic tourism industry
The aim of the report is to provide information and strategies on how to raise awareness and combat sexism and sexual harassment at the workplace.
World Travel & Tourism Council, Oxford Economics, 2014 - Gender equality and youth employment: travel and tourism as a key employer of women and young people
In order to better understand the role that women and youth play in the travel and tourism industry, WTTC and Oxford Economics conducted an analysis of employment in this sector relative to the overall economy on the bases of gender and age. Considering that unemployment is usually most pronounced among women and young people, a close examination of the travel and tourism’s employment composition can illustrate how the industry meets key employment needs in various global markets. The research focused on 5 countries: Australia, France, Germany, South Africa, and Turkey as they cover a wide geographic range, represent both mature and emerging tourism markets and for each there is also sufficient data availability to allow accurate and comparable analysis.
European Commission, 2014 - Economic impact and travel patterns of accessible tourism in Europe
The main aim of the study is to better understand demand for accessible tourism in order to guide policy-making in this field. For this purpose, 5 main research objectives were identified: to examine the current and future demand for accessible tourism in Europe and beyond; to investigate the travel patterns and behaviours of, and information provision for people with access needs; to evaluate the tourist experience across different tourism sectors from demand and supply-side perspectives; to estimate the current and future economic contribution of accessible tourism and its impact on employment; to propose recommendations and success factors to improve the supply of accessible tourism offers. The report includes a specific section on gender.
Baum, T., 2013 - International perspectives on women and work in hotels, catering and tourism
International perspectives on women and work in hotels, catering and tourism, International Labour Office. Bureau for Gender Equality Sectoral Activities Department, working paper 1/2013.
This working paper highlights the structural and cultural issues that determine the roles that women play within the HCT workforce and the strategies which can make a difference to their status and opportunities within the industry. Some of these issues relate to occupational sex segregation, wage parity, career opportunities, the role of women within micro-enterprises and the informal hotel/catering/tourism economy.
Equality in tourism, 2013 - Sun, sand and ceilings: women in the boardroom in the tourism industry
The report addresses 4 key questions: What is the problem? Why does this matter for the tourism industry? Why does this problem exist? What is being done to tackle the problem? The report closes with a series of recommendations on how gender balance in the boardrooms of tourism companies can be improved.
European Commission, 2013 - Flash eurobarometer: attitudes of Europeans towards tourism
The survey was designed to explore a range of aspects surrounding holidays in 2012 and 2013, in particular: respondents’ motivation for going on holiday in 2012; information sources and tools used to research and organise holidays; respondents’ travel profile, preferred destinations and holiday types; satisfaction with various aspects of holidays in 2012; plans for holidays in 2013, including the potential impact of the current economic crisis on those plans. The study offers a brief picture of gender differences in tourism patterns.
Khan S., 2011 - Gendered leisure: are women more constrained in travel for leisure?
This paper focuses on examining how factors like family responsibilities, dominance of spouse and/or family and employment status, are perceived by males and females as constraints in making decisions related to travel for leisure. The main research question addressed in this research is whether gender affects decision-making related to leisure travel.
Ferguson L., 2011 - Promoting gender equality and empowering women? Tourism and the third millennium development goal (MDG3)
The article analyses the claim that tourism can contribute to MDG3 by reviewing the research on the impact of tourism employment on gender relations and the tensions and complexities this presents. The paper presents a critical overview of global gender and tourism policies, focusing on the World Tourism Organisation and the World Bank. It concludes by arguing that while tourism development may, in theory, contribute to gender equality and women’s empowerment, a substantive reframing of policies is required in order to be able to maximise this potential.
Peeters W. J. L., 2009 - Baseline research agenda. UNWTO taskforce women empowerment in tourism
The report analyses the main issues and gaps in gender equality in the tourism sector. The report also includes a database of professional and academic literature on gender equality in the tourism sector.
Ferguson L., 2009 - Analysing the gender dimensions of tourism as a development strategy.
Combining literature reviews, analysis of policy documents and primary research, the article aims to provide an overview of the potential of tourism to gender equality and women’s empowerment, and of the tensions and complexities this presents. It concludes by offering some tentative policy recommendations and an agenda for future research. Using the third millennium development goal – gender equality and women’s empowerment – as its focus, the paper explores this theme from a critical perspective informed by feminist approaches to development.
Global report on women in tourism, 2010
The UNWTO global report on women in tourism presents a set of indicators that can be used to monitor tourism policies from a gender perspective. The overarching vision for the global report on women in tourism is to promote women’s empowerment and protect women’s rights through better tourism work. This report attempts to address the gap in knowledge by taking the first steps towards the development of indicators and a monitoring framework that can be used to assess the degree to which tourism is advancing the needs of women in the developing world.
Examples of gender analysis
Canadian International Development Agency - Gender and development checklist for tourism
The checklist provides indications on how to analyse gender aspects in the tourism field.
Philippine commission on women, protected areas and wildlife bureau, 2013 - Gender-responsive toolkit on ecotourism planning and management
Philippine commission on women, protected areas and wildlife bureau, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, 2013 - Gender-responsive toolkit on ecotourism planning and management.
The toolkit provides a checklist for gender analysis in the ecotourism field with a particular focus on entrepreneurship policies in this sector.
Example of a gender impact assessment
Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) of the UK Government, 2008 - Equality impact assessment, Winning: a tourism strategy for 2012 and beyond
This equality impact assessment (EIA) covers the 6 strands of diversity (race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion and belief, and age) and reviews DCMS’ tourism functions and interventions. The EIA focuses primarily on DCMS’ direct interventions and annual spend in 2008 of some £55 million. However, it takes account of the work of other government departments with responsibilities for policies and legislation impacting on the industry. Partners in the public and private sector are also subject to equality legislation, as both employers and providers of good services and facilities.
Examples of stakeholders that can be consulted
World Tourism Organisation
UN body in charge of implementing the UN programme on women empowerment in tourism.
Gender responsible tourism
Network of experts on gender and tourism.
For a more detailed description of how gender can be mainstreamed in this phase of the policy cycle, visit the EIGE's Gender Mainstreaming Platform.
Plan
In this phase, it’s appropriate to analyse budgets from a gender perspective. Gender budgeting is used to identify how budget allocations contribute to promoting gender equality. Gender budgeting brings visibility to how much public money is spent for women and men respectively. Thus, gender budgeting ensures that public funds are fairly distributed between women and men. It also contributes to accountability and transparency about how public funds are being spent.
Example of gender budgeting in tourism
Council of Europe, Gender budgeting: practical implementation, 2009
The focus of this publication is to act as a guide to the practice of gender budgeting. This handbook assumes an understanding of gender, the objectives of a gender equality strategy, the ways in which gender inequality is manifest, the need for structural change in order to tackle unintentional gender bias and the basics of gender mainstreaming as a strategy to address gender equality. Even though not referring only to tourism, this sector is one of the fields used as an example for applying gender budgeting.
Council of Europe, Gender budgeting, 2005
The report includes a detailed analysis of the gender budgeting methodology as well as examples of public authorities implementing a gender budgeting process. Among the public authorities considered, some focus on tourism (e.g. Sport division in Culture Tourism and Sport within the Scottish Executive or the industry, trade and tourism department within the Basque Executive).
Examples of indicators for monitoring gender and tourism
Percentage of employed people in tourism sector by sex
Women’s participation in the overall tourism workforce in the EU-28 is relevant. The figure may be derived from the percentage of women employed in accommodation and food services activities, based on Eurostat data. According to recent data (2014), tourism activities in the accommodation and food services sector accounted for almost 10 million jobs, or 4.5% of total EU employment. Women involved in the accommodation and food services activities in the EU-28 represented 54% of the total. In addition, around 400,000 women are involved in travel agency, tour operator reservation services and related activities, around 63% of the total employed.
Data are available on the Eurostat database (Eurostat database on Tourism, table Employed persons and employees by sex and full-time/part-time activity (NACE Rev. 2), and Eurostat, LFS, table Employment by sex, age and detailed economic activity (from 2008 onwards, NACE Rev. 2, 2-digit level) .
Number of nights spent by sex
The figures refer to the nights spent by residents, aged 15 or over, outside their usual environment for personal or professional/business purposes. A tourism night (or overnight stay) is each night that a guest actually spends (sleeps or stays) or is registered (his/her physical presence there being unnecessary) in a collective accommodation establishment or in private tourism accommodation. It provides a measure of the performance of tourism activity.
In 2013 in the EU-28, women spent around 3.2 million nights for travel, representing 51% of the total nights spent for travel. 96% are spent for personal reasons (for men the figure is 88.5%), while only 4% are spent for professional reasons (11.5% for men). Data are available on the Eurostat database on Tourism (Eurostat, table Number of nights spent by sex).
Example of procurement
European Commission, 2010 - Buying social: a guide to taking account of social considerations in public procurement.
The purpose of this guide is (a) to raise contracting authorities’ awareness of the potential benefits of Social Responsible Public Procurement (SRPP) and to explain in a practical way the opportunities offered by the existing EU legal framework for public authorities to take into account social considerations in their public procurement, thus paying attention not only to price but also to the best value for money. SRPP means procurement operations that take into account one or more of the following social considerations: employment opportunities, decent work, compliance with social and labour rights, social inclusion (including people with disabilities), equal opportunities, accessibility design for all, taking account of sustainability criteria, including ethical trade issues and wider voluntary compliance with corporate social responsibility (CSR). Even though not specifically designed for tourism, it can be also used in the tourism sector.
For a more detailed description of how gender can be mainstreamed in this phase of the policy cycle, visit the EIGE's Gender Mainstreaming Platform.
Act
In the implementation phase of a policy or programme, ensure that all who are involved are sufficiently aware about the relevant gender objectives and plans. If this is not the case, set up briefings and capacity-building initiatives according to staff needs. Think about researchers, proposal evaluators, monitoring and evaluation experts, scientific officers, programme committee members, etc.
Examples of capacity-building initiatives about gender in tourism
Malta Tourism Authority (2013) - Diversity management practices: training handbook.
This handbook is part of the strategic response to develop the skills and build the needed competencies within the tourism industry to deal with diversity. Even though the guide does not focus purely on gender, gender is considered to be one of the diversity factors. Therefore, the guide includes different indications on how to ensure gender equality within the tourism industry.
Malta Tourism Authority (2013) - Managing diversity. A manual for the tourism sector.
The manual aims to support the development of diversity management training across the whole spectrum of tourism establishments. The manual considers gender as one of the primary dimensions of diversity in the tourism sector and, thus, pays particular attention to how to consider it in management policies and practices in this sector.
Women Entrepreneurs in Rural Tourism training handbook, 2012
The guide was produced within the project Women Entrepreneurs in Rural Tourism (WERT) involving partners from Cyprus, Greece, the UK and Norway. The WERT training programme was specifically developed in order to enhance the business and managerial skills of women entrepreneurs in rural tourism. The handbook includes the following training units: how to develop your business through marketing; how to use financial information to manage your business; how to develop a sustainable business; ideas from Europe.
The guide is available through subscription to the WERT community.
ILO, 2011 - Toolkit on poverty reduction through tourism
The aim of this toolkit is to highlight how tourism can be a driver of poverty reduction. The toolkit outlines the background to poverty reduction approaches and summarises recent developments in tourism and provides a vision for a more inclusive, pro-poor tourism industry. The toolkit includes a specific section on women in the tourism sector and how tourism can empower women.
UNWTO, 2011 - Sustainable tourism for development. Guidebook
The guidelines provide indications on how to enhance capacities for sustainable tourism for development, in developing countries. Even though not referring exclusively to gender, gender issues are considered to be an essential component of sustainable tourism.
World Tourism Organisation, 2001 - Protection of children from sexual exploitation in tourism. Tourism training module
The purpose of this tourism training module is to assist educators in integrating the subject of sexual exploitation of children in tourism into existing curricula of higher tourism education and training institutions. Both modules are designed to be adaptable to local needs, not only where language is concerned; they are above all meant to be flexible in content and implementation. The training module also tackles gender issues.
Examples of gender language in tourism
GenTour: awareness-raising campaign on gender differences in tourism
Within the project GenTour, directed by the University of Aveiro (PT) and involving different EU (e.g. Portugal, Spain, UK) and non-EU countries (e.g. Brazil), an awareness-raising campaign was produced. This campaign, disseminated across several media in the project countries, was aimed at raising awareness not only of the tourism sector but also of society at large about gender equality issues.
Malta Tourism Authority (2013) - Diversity management within the Maltese tourism industry – work–life measures
The video aims to raise awareness on work–life balance in the tourism industry in Malta. Since women constitute the largest share of employees in the tourism sector in Malta and considering their role in family care and domestic work, the video is particularly relevant for promoting gender in the tourism sector.
For a more detailed description of how gender can be mainstreamed in this phase of the policy cycle, visit the EIGE's Gender Mainstreaming Platform.
Check
A policy cycle or programme should be checked both during – monitoring, and at the end – evaluation, of its implementation.
Monitoring the ongoing work allows for the follow-up of progress and remedying unforeseen difficulties. This process should take into account the indicators delineated in the planning phase and realign data collection based on those indicators.
At the end of a policy cycle or programme, a gender-sensitive evaluation should take place. Make your evaluation publicly accessible and strategically disseminate its results to promote its learning potential.
Example of monitoring and evaluation on gender in tourism
UN Women, UNWTO, 2011 - Global Report on Women in Tourism 2010
The global report on women in tourism 2010 is a first attempt to develop a quantitative framework for monitoring the status of women working in tourism across the globe. Its focus is on tourism in developing regions. The objectives of the report were to: i) establish a set of indicators and an indicator framework that could be used to monitor the performance of tourism as a tool for women’s empowerment; and ii) to use the indicators to assess the extent to which tourism is advancing the needs of women in the developing world.
The manual aims to support the development of diversity management training across the whole spectrum of tourism establishments. The manual considers gender as one of the primary dimensions of diversity in the tourism sector and, thus, pays particular attention to how to consider it in management policies and practices in this sector.