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While increasingly more economic and social exchanges are taking place in the digital environment globally, women entrepreneurs' access to, and adoption of, digital platforms cannot be assumed to happen naturally due to gender and social inequalities that are being replicated in the online environment. This study investigates the opportunities and challenges of entrepreneurial digital competencies for women tourism entrepreneurs (WTEs) in Latin America from a gendered perspective. A total of 33 interviews were conducted with women tourism entrepreneurs in Mexico and Ecuador. The findings reveal that women tourism entrepreneurs can and have been empowered through utilising digital technologies and digital platforms, but they face significant challenges and barriers, including the lack of digital competencies; lack of access to digital devices, infrastructure, and training; reliance on supporting staff and family members; and concerns around safety, security and work-life balance. This study contributes to existing entrepreneurship literature by identifying the social and structural inequalities that impede growth in women's tourism business. The findings also highlight how women are disadvantaged in gaining digital competencies because of the macro gender digital divide and micro-level factors. Implications for women's entrepreneurship policy development in relation to digital competencies are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Los vendedores ambulantes constituyen uno de los rasgos más característicos y posiblemente son los prestadores de servicios turísticos más numerosos en ciertas playas del Ecuador, sin embargo éstos han sido ignorados en las políticas y planes de manejo costero. A través del análisis cualitativo de entrevistas semi-estructuradas a ocho vendedores ambulantes, se identifica las condiciones sociales estructurales que afectan la práctica diaria del trabajo ambulante en cuatro playas turísticas de la costa Ecuatoriana. El análisis revela cómo la relación entre los vendedores y las entidades de gobierno facilitan procesos de asociación, auto organización y acción con los cuales los vendedores hacen frente a la incertidumbre e inestabilidad ocasionada por la falta de propuestas claras para el manejo de zonas de playa. El estudio además identifica tres aspectos clave que distinguen al ambulantaje en playas turísticas, del ambulantaje en otros espacios: la estacionalidad del trabajo, el conflicto que el turismo ha traído por la privatización del recurso playa, y las distinciones borrosas entre visitantes y residentes cuando los turistas se convierten en vendedores ambulantes para financiarse. Esta investigación aporta a la comprensión del ambulantaje en un contexto del manejo de playas turísticas y proporciona directrices para la política pública

The understanding of the different conditions that shape the recreational use of sandy beaches is key for their management. This article explores visitors' and residents' recreational use of four sandy beaches in Ecuador in relation to the physical and socioeconomic context in which this use takes place, including beach morphodynamics, level of urban development, as well as the type and quality of tourism services available. Results show that visitors and residents use the beach for the same recreational activities (i.e., walking and swimming) on beaches with different morphologies and socioeconomic conditions. However, respondents also indicated that physical characteristics (e.g., beach size and swell) are important aspects for choosing a beach. Visitors to rural beaches are more likely to consume informal catering services located within the beach area than formal ones located outside. This particular emerging theme should be taken into consideration for further research on management initiatives in the context of developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines the situation of women in the academic field of tourism in four higher education institutions in Guayaquil and its surrounding area by looking into open and subtle gender inequalities. The study uses quantitative indicators to identify the percentages of men and women who hold teaching, research and leadership positions in the field of tourism. These results are complemented by qualitative analysis of oral testimony from nine female lecturers from across the four participating institutions, which discuss in greater depth the themes of access to academic jobs, discrimination in the workplace, work-life balance, gender stereotypes, and career progression. Results indicate that while there is a higher number of female than male academics in teaching (53%) and research (67%), female academics are underrepresented in relation to the percentage of female tourism students (75%). While the participants did not perceive any discrimination in terms of access to jobs or career progression, the managing of different roles for those who are also mothers is influenced by gender stereotypes and leads them to making career sacrifices in search of harmony between their personal and professional lives. Finally, it emerged that there is a societal perception that tourism is a female profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]