Women’s Empowerment through Community-based Tourism in Bethlehem Governorate, Palestine: An Exploratory Study

Chapter 3 aims to explore the factors for women’s low participation in community-based tourism in Bethlehem, identify the challenges for women’s participation, and highlight some initiatives that could be taken to enhance women’s participation and lead to women empowerment through tourism. The study undertaken is exploratory in nature applying qualitative methodology through in depth-interviews. Thirty semi-structured interviews were conducted with females and males involved in the tourism sector. The study involved participants from the private sector, the government, NGOs, and Palestinian women from local communities in the southern part of the West Bank (Bethlehem Governorate). The findings reveal that tourism projects do not take gender integration seriously. Culture and traditions, women’s social status, and Israeli occupation were factors that had a large impact on the limited participation of Palestinian women in community-based tourism projects.