The impact of tourism on the women employment in South American and Caribbean countries

PurposeThis study aims to explore the relationship between tourism and women's employment in 32 South American and Caribbean countries from 1996 to 2020. Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, both static (fixed effects and random effects) and dynamic panel data models (system and differenced generalized method of moments) are used. In addition to gross domestic product, trade, education and urban population are also considered in this study. FindingsAccording to the findings, a boost in tourism led to an increase in women's engagement in the economy and service sectors. This paper also explores the efficiency of alternate methods to deal with various models of women labor force (WLF) involvement in various sectors. Women's employment opportunities in the service sector expand as a result of tourism, but in the agricultural and industrial sectors, that employment opportunity is reduced. Research limitations/implicationsThis study investigated the impact of tourism on WLF participation and found that it had a significant impact. This study, on the other hand, specifically contributed to the tourism sector in some specific study areas, such as tourism and agriculture, service and industry sectors. This study also displays that female participation in South America and the Caribbean countries is increasing and women are shifting away from traditional economic sectors. Originality/valueThis is the pioneering study to discover tourism and female participation in employment in South American and Caribbean countries. The findings of this study have important implications for future studies and policy debates examining the consequence of the tourism industry on WLF.