A CASE STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF RURAL TOURISM ON WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT IN WEST BENGAL'S HIMALAYAN REGION

Abstract

Rural tourism has emerged as an essential driver of socio-economic growth in the Himalayan region of West Bengal, India. This study aims to analyse the impacts of rural tourism on the empowerment of local women in this region. Empowerment is how women gain greater control over resources and decisions that affect their lives. The study utilises a mixed-methods approach, combining surveys, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions with women from ten rural tourism villages across three districts of the region. The findings reveal that engagement with rural tourism has contributed to women's economic, socio-cultural, familial, and psychological empowerment, but some challenges remain. Economically, tourism provides new income generation and livelihood opportunities for women. Socio-culturally, it leads to greater mobility, wider social networks, and changes in gender role perceptions for women. Within households, women gain greater bargaining power and involvement in decision-making. Psychologically, women demonstrate higher self-confidence, self-efficacy and willingness to take risks due to tourism. However, several factors continue to constrain women's empowerment like lack of access to resources, traditional gender norms, limited participation in tourism management, and seasonality of tourism. The study recommends policy actions and tourism development approaches to enhance women's empowerment through regional rural tourism. It contributes empirical insights on how tourism transforms gender relations in rural mountain contexts.

Keywords: rural tourism; women's empowerment; gender; livelihoods; Himalayan region; West Bengal