Enhancing women?s participation in mountain tourism, prospects and challenges

Women's participation in mountain tourism in Nepal started during the 1920s and 1930s with portering. It has now reached a stage, though in small numbers, where female trek leaders are leading solo women tourist trekkers; working as team leaders in mountain expeditions; and operating hotels, lodges, restaurants, trekking and travel agencies in top management positions. However, most of their involvement is at lower level jobs in various organized sub-sectors of tourism. Will balanced development of the tourism sector be possible without enhancing the equitable share of women workers in the access to and control over the benefits from mountain tourism in a context where more than fifty percent of total numbers engaged in the industry are women? This brief paper attempts to answer this question. There is a great need for a pro-women (focusing on protecting and safeguarding of women) tourism policy, action plan and programs to increase the number of mountain women improve their status in mountain tourism.