Flourishing Women through Sustainable Tourism Entrepreneurship

Abstract

As a small island in the Mediterranean Sea, Cyprus must develop a sustainable tourism model. Although the ongoing political problems in Cyprus provide additional challenges, the number and activities of women ecotourism entrepreneurs demonstrated an inspiring growth over the last decade in the northern part of Cyprus. The well-being and flourishing of these women entrepreneurs influence their participation and further involvement in the sector. Psychological empowerment plays a significant role in achieving a flourishing society, and our results reveal that ecotourism can be used to create positive change in women’s lives. We study how the mindsets and flourishing levels of these ecotourism entrepreneurs are related and how empowerment can change the direction of this relationship. Our research model was developed based on the self-Determination theory. Surveys were distributed to 200 women ecotourism entrepreneurs in rural areas of Northern Cyprus. We demonstrate that women who have growth mindsets, i.e., those that believe people’s characteristics such as abilities are not fixed, experience lower levels of flourishing, perhaps contrary to what some might expect. This result may be due to the presence of gender inequality and may be an outcome of living in a region where a frozen conflict places additional external constraints on women entrepreneurs. However, as we predict, psychological empowerment changes the direction of this relationship. When psychological empowerment is high, women with a higher level of growth mindset experience a greater level of flourishing, even in an unfavorable context. This is the first study which analyzes women ecotourism entrepreneurs in Northern Cyprus. Moreover, this is the first study that focuses on the relationship between growth mindset, flourishing and psychological empowerment. The results can be used by governmental and non-governmental organizations as a source in their decision-making processes while managing and coordinating microfinance opportunities for rural development to support women’s empowerment and well-being.

Entrepreneurship and Intrapreneurship in Social, Sustainable, and Economic Development: Opportunities and Challenges for Future Research

“…The fact that these elements of a business plan have not been considered might reduce the social goals of these enterprises, especially in areas that are highly dependent on the tourism sector. This is something Ertac and Tanova [58] confirm in their article. They shed some light on the importance of empowering women through entrepreneurship to increase their entrepreneurial mindset, which is useful for personal development and business growth.…”

“…Entrepreneurship/Intrapreneurship and development Social change (Gender) Ertac and Tanova [58] When psychological empowerment is high, women ecotourism entrepreneurs in Northern Cyprus with a higher level of growth mindset experience a greater level of flourishing, even in an unfavorable context.…”

The Moderating Role of Support Facilities in the Relationships between Entrepreneurial Traits and Identification of Opportunities in Tourism Sector in Khulna City, Bangladesh

“…The rapid growth of tourism in developing countries has created an immediate demand for the facilities and the personnel required to serve tourists (Echtner, 1995;Ateljevic & J. Page, 2009;Aquino, Lück, & Schänzel, 2018;Ertac & Tanova, 2020). This situation leads to the creation of further tourism opportunities in developing countries that can be explored.…”

“…The sources of entrepreneurial opportunity have been assorted by researchers in many different ways: by discipline, e.g. economics, management, sociology, and psychology; by the institutional landscape; by government policy as well as by demand and supply factors (Fuduric, 2014;Ertac & Tanova, 2020;Alhammad, 2020).…”

Sustainable tourism and the role of stakeholders in North Cyprus: a literature review

“…Given the global acceptance of sustainable tourism policies, concerns regarding the disadvantages of mass tourism and the issue of sustainable development have arisen in recent years. As a result, the tendency has shifted to supporting smaller-scale and sustainable tourism, which involves local stakeholders rather than an approach based on attracting large-scale investment (Ertac and Tanova, 2020).…”