By Lebone Rodah Mosima

Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Mmapaseka Steve Letsike used a tourism dialogue marking International Women’s Day to call for stronger policies, investment and structural support to expand women’s economic opportunities in South Africa’s tourism sector.

Speaking at the Women in Tourism Dialogue on Saturday, ahead of International Women’s Day on Sunday, Letsike said the conversation should not focus only on celebrating progress, but also on widening women’s participation and ownership in the economy.

The event was held under the banner of women in tourism.

Letsike said women make up more than half of the global tourism workforce, citing research by UN Tourism and UN Women. UN Tourism says women account for 54% of tourism employment worldwide, a higher share than in the broader economy, but are still concentrated in lower-skilled, lower-paid and often informal work.

However, Letsike said women’s participation in tourism often remains at the lower levels of the value chain, including service roles, informal work and small-scale enterprises that struggle to grow.

“This tells us something profound,” Letsike said.

“The tourism sector already contains the seeds of gender-inclusive economic transformation, but these seeds require deliberate policies, investments, and structural support to flourish.”

Letsike highlighted persistent barriers facing women entrepreneurs in tourism, including limited access to finance, difficulties navigating regulatory environments, and unequal opportunities in supply chains and procurement.

The Tourism Transformation Fund, she said, was established to support black-owned enterprises, including many women-led businesses, with capital and market access. The Tourism Incentive Programme, meanwhile, offers support in areas including market access, energy efficiency and product development.

“The National Tourism Sector Strategy emphasises transformation and inclusive participation, recognising that the long-term sustainability of tourism depends on ensuring that historically marginalised communities become owners and leaders within the sector,” Letsike explained.

“But we must also acknowledge that transformation cannot be achieved by government alone, as the tourism economy is an ecosystem involving society as a whole.”

She said that ecosystem included private sector partners shaping supply chains and investment flows, financial institutions determining access to capital, municipalities managing local infrastructure and spatial planning, and communities providing the cultural and social foundation on which tourism depends.

Letsike added that women entrepreneurs often reinvest a larger share of their income into households and communities, with research from various countries showing increased control over income as well as stronger investment in education, health and community wellbeing.

“In other words, empowering women in tourism has a multiplier effect across society,” she said.

“It strengthens families. It improves community wellbeing. It stimulates local economies.”

While stressing the importance of inclusivity in tourism transformation, Letsike said some groups remained the most excluded, particularly young women, persons with disabilities and people living in rural areas.

She reaffirmed that her department viewed economic inclusion as a constitutional imperative, not charity, but a strategy. Official government records identify her office as the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities.

“If we are to unlock the full economic potential of tourism, we must recognise women not just as participants but as leaders, innovators, and owners of the tourism economy,” she added.

“When women stand at the centre of that economy—as entrepreneurs, leaders, and innovators—tourism becomes not only a source of national pride but also a driver of inclusive growth.”

INSIDE EDUCATION