Framework to Assess Gender Inclusiveness in Tourism A Case Of Hyderabad

Abstract

As one of the world s largest economic sectors, Tourism creates jobs, drives exports, and generates prosperity across the world. Tourism, in India has emerged as a booming industry and has witnessed a tremendous growth in the last few years contributing 6.23% to the national GDP and 8.78% of the total employment. Apart from the manifold benefits that accrue from tourism, its unique facet is its capacity to create large scale employment of diverse kind as it provides opportunities for the marginalized groups including the low skilled workers, ethnic minority groups and migrants, unemployed youth, long-term unemployed, as well as women. Tourism acts as an important source of employment for women particularly in developing countries, but with profound limitations focusing on low-paid and precarious jobs with a glass-ceiling effect and sticky floor effects. Gender inclusion in India is still at its nascent stage and therefore, despite significant growth of tourism, the literature studies suggest a widening gap and noticeable disparities in tourism planning from gender s perspective. Globally and nationally, all policies recognize and emphasize a concerted need for an inclusive urban society. In order to reduce gender inequality, it becomes imperative to mainstream gender in the development of an economy and particularly in tourism policy framework, programmes/schemes at both Central and State level. Hence, there is a pressing need for a robust institutional mechanism to ensure effective implementation of the Gender Responsive Planning and Budgeting and strategizing ways to integrate a gender inclusive perspective across planning, budgeting, implementation, monitoring and auditing continuum which provides the opportunity for purposive gender responsive planning within the tourism sector and subsectors in Hyderabad. The current research therefore seeks to assess the degree to which gender deliberations are integrated into tourism planning policies and practices through qualitative and quantitative analysis. Further, the study accentuates the ...