Rural tourism, an effective way to empower women
RUTAS, which emerges from the alliance between Fundación Codespa and CAF, transforms the conditions of the tourism market into development opportunities for the rural communities of Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador
While seeking to consolidate a quality tourism offer with a clear orientation toward the sustainability of community tourism entrepreneurships, the project, framed within the PASOS program for inclusion, has become an efficient instrument for the generation of income, productive inclusion, and economic empowerment of rural women.
According to the results of 5 years of the program, women lead 55 percent of tourism enterprises. This activity facilitates their incorporation to the local work market, as entrepreneurs, creating and managing their own businesses, or working for third parties. The program also increases the financial autonomy and improves the valuation of the work of women, contributing to empower women within the family and increase their self-esteem. In addition, the increase in purchasing power has a positive impact on the schooling of children, their nutrition and, therefore, their future development.
In this respect, the objective of RUTAS is to include women in the productive processes and the generation of value added, providing additional incomes for their wellbeing and that of their families, essential elements for economic development.
Tourism is an economic activity with high potential in the region, as it represents 3.5 percent of GDP, generates more than 8 percent of employment, and in the past 15 years has made a significant contribution to the reduction of poverty, especially in the Caribbean. In this respect, the potential of rural community tourism represents an opportunity and a tool for long-term sustainable development.
CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, promotes these initiatives in favor of social inclusion and development in the region, taking into consideration all the actors of society so as to ensure equal competencies and opportunities between men and women. Tweet
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