Gender, Employment and Training in Rural Tourist Attractions: The Case of Herefordshire, England

Abstract

This paper discusses the rėsults of a quantitative survey of a rural country's tourist attractions and the types of employment, levels of training and expertise within them. Reform of the European Common Agricultural Policy has led to the need to restructure the economies of some rural areas. The county of Herefordshire, England, has been awarded European Community Objective 5b funding to aid restructuring. One of the main areas targeted is tourism and the development of tourist attractions. Rural women experience opportunity deprivation so it is hoped developing tourism employment will provide them with additional employment opportunities. The results of the survey suggested that the rate of establishment of attractions is increasing, attractions share similar themes of rurality and heritage, and over 50% had received some form of financial assistance. Breakdown of employment figures showed women tended to work in unskilled, seasonal and part-time work while men were more likely to be annual, full-time and managerial. Employees were well skilled and qualified while employers provided training both on and off site. There was concern that existing training provision overlooks the specific needs of tourist attractions particularly in the area of marketing. Two types of attraction were identified: those which operated for non-financial reasons and those which operated to gain income. Planners and funders need to work to optimise employment opportunities in attractions by trying to prevent an overly competitive environment, tying funds to employment targets, providing training specific to the needs of the attractions industry and taking measures to remedy women's under-representation in better quality tourism work.