Beyond Economic Earnings: The Holistic Meaning of Success for Women in Agritourism

M. Farzana Halim, Carla Barbieri, Duarte B. Morais, Susan Jakes and Erin Seekamp
Additional contact information
M. Farzana Halim: Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
Carla Barbieri: Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
Duarte B. Morais: Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
Susan Jakes: NC State Extension, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
Erin Seekamp: Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 12, 1-16

Abstract: Women’s predominant role in agritourism expands their also significant involvement in agriculture and rural development. Yet, when measured in economic terms, women in agritourism appear to be less successful than men. We argue that economic earnings are a limited measure of success, as women value their accomplishments in a comprehensive and distinctive sense. To better understand women’s success in agritourism, we conducted a study addressing limitations in methodologies and scope of the existing scholarship. Framed within feminist and emic approaches, we used a combination of qualitative methods of inquiry (open-ended interviews, mini focus groups, nominal group exercises) to generate data from 20 female agritourism entrepreneurs in North Carolina (USA). Findings show women in agritourism define success through nine distinct themes, four of which are newly emerging (ensuring customer satisfaction, being constantly on the move, pursuing happiness, perpetuating the family farm). Participants also identified seven opportunities that they perceive contribute to their self-defined success. Our study adds to the scholarship and practice of gender in agritourism by expanding the economic definition of entrepreneurial success. In doing so, we provide managerial and policy intelligence that can be used to stimulate rural development.

Keywords: agritourism; business opportunities; entrepreneur; farm tourism; farming; gender; rural development; subjective success (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/12/4907/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/12/4907/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:12:p:4907-:d:372234

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().