Exploring exploitation : women in Southern African heritage and cultural tourism

Abstract

This thesis is primarily concerned with the position of women in the Heritage and Cultural Tourism (HCT) industry in southern Africa. It unpacks the extent of exploitation that prevails by focussing on seven southern African countries (South Africa; Namibia; Botswana; Eswatini; Zimbabwe; Lesotho and Mozambique) considering two groups of women employed as service providers in the formal and informal domain. It establishes the key role women play in the sector and considers the nature of HCT endeavours that women are involved in. It also investigates the opportunities and challenges these women encounter as well as the importance of their jobs for their livelihoods. It appraises the tangible policies and regulations as well as organisations and associations available to women in the HCT industry along with the intangible obstacles. Through exploratory research using purposive snowballing it investigates to what extent female labour utilisation in the HCT domain in these seven selected countries is carried out in an exploitative manner. The analysis makes use of an intersectional methodology to consider the complex and nuanced nature of the situation. Key findings yield significant insights into the working conditions within HCT and the industry's impact on women, underscoring the concerning reality that, even in the 21st century, Kafkaesque situations continue to afflict this vulnerable population. Keywords: Women in tourism; Heritage and Cultural tourism; Southern Africa; Labour exploitation; Tourism legislation.