Download The Impact of Rural Tourism Development on Ethnic Women`s

Research Proposal
The Impact of Rural Tourism Development on Ethnic Women’s
Economic and Social Status in Yunnan
By
Ms. Zhong Jie, Yunnan of China
1. BACKGROUND
Rural Tourism (RL) has become an active and dominant agent of change and
control in the countryside and associated rural communities (Richard W. Butler
,2009). For example, the expansion of Rural Tourism is an also trend that is common
to most countries in Europe (Gemma C anoves, Montserrat Villarino, 2004).On one
hand, rural tourism has long been considered as a kind of non-farm activities to
achieve economic, social development and regeneration. More specifically, it has
been widely promoted as an effective source of income and employment, particularly
in peripheral rural areas where traditional agrarian industries have declined (Richard
Sharpley, 2001). However, recently, a number of established tourism destinations
have also turned to rural tourism in order to diversify their tourism products and
markets and to spread the benefits of tourism away from the coastal resorts into the
hinterland.
On the other hand, Tourism is the world’s largest industry and employer
(Apostolopoulos and Sonmez, 2001). The World Travel and Tourism Council
estimate that it employs up to one in six workers in the Caribbean (Pattullo 1996:53).
However, such work is often noted for its negative aspects, particularly for women
(de Kadt 1984; Faulkenberry, Coggeshall, Backman and Backman 2000; Levy and
Lerch 1991; McLaren 1998; Momsen 1994; Pattullo 1996; Smith 1989). While
women have only recently become a topic of tourism research, Swain (1990) notes
that generally men and women are unequally impacted by it. Bolles (1997) explains
that women’s importance in the industry is often minimized or referenced primarily in
terms of sex work. Researchers have been urged to focus on the variety of women’s
experiences in the industry rather than assuming homogeneity (Kinnaird and Hall,
1994), with Bolles arguing that ‘‘tourism becomes a vehicle for exploring the
differences and commonalities among women’’ (1997:84) .
As rural tourism has been on the rise in the GMS countries recently, it will
inevitably impact on women in many aspects in rural tourism industry. In Yunnan
Province, women of ethnic groups have also begun seeking opportunities for tourism
employment. They broke through traditional bands, and took an active part in the
rural tourism industry. Actually, the Rural Tourism as a kind of non-farm activity
becomes an important factor to impact on ethnic women within many aspects in
Yunnan, especially in their income and Social Status. With these points in mind,
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taking Yunnan Province as a research site, this study attempts to evaluate the impact
of Rural Tourism development on ethnic women’s Economic and Social Status.
2. REVIEWED LITERATURE
2.1 RURAL TOURISM
Undoubtedly tourism has great positive impacts on economy, society, culture and
environment. Recently, the rural tourism has become a subject of worldwide concern,
being highly concerned by foreign scholars. As Voase (1995, 160) puts it:“Staying in
a farmhouse bed-and-breakfast and enjoying family-style hospitality is a form of
tourist game which is psychologically the opposite of the city break”. On the same
issue, Pearce (1990) considers that the “universal appeal of rural tourism rests on the
ordinary and everyday happenings of a rural community”.
Then the expansion of Rural Tourism (RT) is a trend that is common to most
countries in Europe. Tourism is considered to be a potentially complementary activity
for local communities and especially for farming families. The benefits are generally
summed up as a three way yield for the host community (the economical and social
dimension of RT), for the land itself (environmental maintenance), and for the tourist
(leisure and tourism in the countryside), which implies a sequence of inter-related
benefits. All these elements place this type of tourism within a framework of
long-lasting development. Enlarging on this, several studies (Gannon, 1994; OECD,
1994; Sharpley and Sharpley, 1997, pp. 40–41; Roberts and Hall, 2001, pp. 3–5)
have pointed out different kinds of benefits related to rural development.
Nevertheless various studies also draw attention to the disadvantages (Sharpley
and Sharpley, 1997; Roberts and Hall, 2001). At the outset, it must be accepted that
all forms of tourism generate some form of negative impact upon the physical and
socio-cultural environment in destination areas. Whilst the scale of these impacts
varies according to a number of factors, such as the volume of tourists, their activities,
the robustness of the local environment and the strength of local cultures and
traditions, some or all of the following costs may be associated with the development
of tourism in the countryside. Tourism undoubtedly contributes to income and
employment opportunities, but jobs are part-time or seasonal, and in some cases
tourism-related business are run by outsiders.
2.2 RURAL TOURISM AND GENDER ISSUE
The impact on women by rural tourism has been highly concerned by foreign
scholars recently. Gender study has been a hotspot issue in the social science field
internationally and gender issues in tourism research started in the 1970s．From
simple research focusing only on female to recent comprehensive comparison of male
and female, the research has got to focus on various contents and has formed the
elementary theoretical system and accumulated quantities of research cases(TANG
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Xueqiong, 2007), which can be seen as follows:
In rural areas worldwide, tourism growth represents a potential solution to the
decline of traditional extractive industries. From fishing communities in Norway
(Puijk 2001), to agricultural villages in Morocco (Petrzelka and Bell 2000), to
ranching communities in the Western United States (Power 1996), attempts are being
made to establish tourism as an alternative economic development strategy.
Numerous studies have examined how rural residents perceive such attempts in
their communities (Boissevain 1996; Harvey, Hunt and Harris 1995; Mason and
Cheyne 2000; Puijk 2001; Van Broeck 2001). However, these research findings are
often contradictory (Gursoy, Jurowski and Uysal 2002; Pearce, Moscardo and Ross
1996). While several explanations have been provided for these contradictions, the
two of most interest in this current study are a tendency to view residents in the
communities under study as a single group, rather than examining variation among
local subgroups, and the tendency to ignore or trivialize possible differences in men’s
and women’s orientations (Mason and Cheyne 2000).
As Liepins (2000) and others (such as Young 2000) have argued, community is a
troublesome concept if it is treated as homogenous rather than recognizing and
acknowledging the inherent diversity within communities. More precisely, as stated
by Ap, “a collective may not be homogenous and it may be necessary to identify the
relevant subgroups within the collective” (1992:673). A related issue, as noted in a
special edition on Gender in Tourism published in Annals of Tourism Research, is the
“construction of an essentialist universal female experience as a converse to the
universal male” leading to“limited use beyond generalized description”(Swain
1995:253–254). Essentializing of gender can result in marginalization of certain
voices within the discourse-most often women’s voices (Marshall 2001; Rao 1997).
As identifying gender differences may be “significant in informing the tourism
planning and management process” (Mason and Cheyne 2000:407), it is imperative
that these voices be accounted for in this process. Drawing upon survey data collected
in the Intermountain Western United States, this article explores ways gender
differentiation is related to tourism attitudes while simultaneously examining how
these relationships are linked to other facets of the community. This form of analysis
is essential for a clearer understanding of residents’ attitudes, for as Urry argues,
residents’ perceptions “cannot be separated off from the social relations within which
they are embedded” (1990:23). In addition, this analysis of subgroups may assist in
identifying where points of commonality and consensus of attitudes exist and
facilitate movement forward on issues of concern that are shared by all (Pearce et al
1996).
Valene Smith (1977) studied the Cuna women and ethnic tourism, and argued the
tourism is a way for women to change their social status and income. De Kadt
Emanuel (1979) observed the social and cultural effects of tourism in development
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countries. Valene Smith (1979) holds that women are the taste-makers in tourism.
Especially, Janice Monk Charles (1986) analyzed the relationship between gender,
employment, and migration on Margarita Island. At time, a gender analysis (Vivian
Kinnaird, 1994) approach was widely used in the tourism research, such as the study
of a gender analysis y Derek Hall (1994), Gender in tourism by Margaret Byme
Swain (1995), Farm tourism, gender and the environment in Spain by M Dolors
Garcia (1995), Gender and tourism in an Indonesian village by Paul F Wilkinson
(1995), etc.
In China, most gender tourism research focus on the west place of China,
especially on Yunnan of GMS. Scholars mainly study female tourism market, female
tourists’ behavior, tourism and minority female development etc. and most of them
are simple description and analysis based on annual statistic analysis and literature
review．Fan Xiang Li (2007) analyzed that the feminization of surplus labor and
tourism employment in these poor areas, and women’ superiority in service industry
and management make women contribute a lot socially and economically in poverty
alleviation.
Yunnan women of ethnic Minorities break through traditional bands, and actively
join in the new enterprise of tourism with deferent managers. Mutually promoting
developments of tourism and women of ethnic minorities are of positive importance
for economy, society and culture. The developments re of profound and realistic
importance for own development of women of ethnic groups, sustainable
development of tourism and inheritance of fine traditional culture (Zhong Jie, 2010).
Meanwhile, the rural tourism development brings some negative effects to
women employees in tourism industries, such as female commercialization double
workday, the female culture assimilation and differentiation and so on.
3. RATIONALE
Poverty is prominent along the rural areas in the GMS countries, and the rural
tourism industry has become a way for people, especially ethnic women to add their
income and reduce their family poverty. In the current era of globalization, women
are found to grab employment opportunities to ease poverty (ESCAP, 2005).
As rural tourism has been on the rise in recent years, it will inevitably impact on
rural laborers, especially female laborers in many aspects. In Yunnan Province, for
example, women of ethnic groups have also begun seeking opportunities for
employment of tourism industry. They broke through traditional bands, and took an
active part in the tourism industry. Actually, the Rural Tourism becomes an important
factor to impact on ethnic women of Yunnan in many aspects, such as in their
economic, social status, etc.
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In these contexts, the research problem is to document the positive or negative
impact of rural tourism development on women’s economic and social status in terms
of their income, education, occupation, wealth and privilege.
4. RESEARCH PROBLEM STATEMENT
This study aims to investigate the impact of Rural Tourism development on
ethnic women’s economic and social status in Yunnan
5. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
With those points in mind, this study attempts to identify the positive or negative
impact of rural tourism development on ethnic women’s economic and social status,
in terms of their income, education, occupation, wealth and empowerment.
The specific research objectives include:
•
•
•
Measuring the change of ethnic women’s income, education,
occupation and social status by employment in rural tourism industry
in Yunnan;
Assess employment in rural tourism industry an non-farm option for
rural women to increase their income and reduce poverty;
Generating national and international policy dialogue on the benefits of
Rural Tourism development with a gender perspective on rural
development.
6. SCOPE OF RESEARCH AND STUDY
AREA
This study is concerned with the impact
of Rural Tourism development on ethnic
women’s economic and social status in
Yunnan. For the limitations of fund and time,
the scope of research is only focused on the
impact of rural tourism. And the research site
only includes Yunnan Province (Figure 1).
Figure1 Study Area and Field Sites
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