International Journal of Tourism Cities

Gender Perspectives in Urban Tourism and Hospitality

Theme

Urban tourism and hospitality are dynamic sectors that intersect with everyday urban life, serving as gateways for domestic and international travel while influencing economic, social, and cultural landscapes. As key tourism destinations, cities are spaces where gender dynamics play a pivotal role in shaping experiences, opportunities and challenges. Gender perspectives in urban tourism and hospitality encompass not only the roles of women and men but also non-binary and LGBTIQA+ individuals, intersecting with factors such as race, ethnicity, class and disability. Despite tourism’s potential to foster gender equality through employment, entrepreneurship and empowerment, persistent inequalities such as occupational segregation, wage gaps and gender-based violence remain entrenched, often exacerbated in urban environments characterized by high mobility, diverse populations and competitive labour markets.

Recent global trends highlight the urgency of addressing gender in urban tourism and hospitality. The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected women in tourism and hospitality, amplifying vulnerabilities in low-paid, precarious jobs (UNWTO, 2021; UN Women, 2020). Post-pandemic recovery efforts, including the UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 (Gender Equality), emphasize inclusive tourism as a pathway to resilience. In urban contexts, gender influences tourist experiences, resident impacts and industry practices. Bibliometric analyses reveal a growing body of research on gender in tourism, yet urban-specific studies lag, with only limited exploration of intersectionality and masculinities (Figueroa-Domecq et al., 2022; Eger, 2023). Emerging themes include women's empowerment in community-based urban tourism, gender-based violence in tourism and hospitality workplaces and the role of digital technologies in promoting gender-inclusive marketing. For instance, research has investigated factors affecting solo travel intentions among marginalized groups, highlighting barrier like perceived risk (Sujood et al., 2023). Similarly, systematic reviews have unpacked work-life balance and career motivation challenges for women, revealing systemic inequalities (Ali et al., 2024). Studies also explore how perceived islamophobia and religiosity influence women's intentions to work in the sector, underscoring the need for inclusive policies (Siddiqui et al., 2024). Furthermore, challenges in women's entrepreneurship within tourism and hospitality have been examined, proposing agendas for future research to address gender gaps in urban settings (Kareem et al., 2025).

This special issue seeks to bridge these gaps by inviting contributions that apply gender lenses to urban tourism and hospitality. It aims to advance theoretical and practical understandings, fostering interdisciplinary dialogue and best practices for equitable urban tourism and hospitality development.

Aims and scope

This special issue aligns closely with the International Journal of Tourism Cities (IJTC)'s mission to encourage greater research and scholarship on tourism and hospitality (T&H) in urban settings, stimulate interdisciplinary integration of T&H with urban studies and generate studies on T&H at urban-rural edges. Gender perspectives are inherently multidisciplinary, intersecting with IJTC's key disciplines and themes.

Primary aims of this special issue

1. To explore how gender shapes and is shaped by urban tourism and hospitality, emphasizing empowerment, inequality, and intersectionality.
2. To integrate gender theories with urban studies principles for a holistic understanding.
3. To examine gender at the urban-rural interface, where tourism and hospitality converges with peri-urban communities.

Contributions should be original, theoretically informed and relevant to academics and practitioners. We encourage empirical studies, conceptual papers, literature reviews and expert discussions (e.g. viewpoints) that address contemporary issues like smart cities, sustainable development, stakeholder involvement and policy standards adopting a gender-based perspective. We highly encourage mixed-methods research as well.

Topics

We invite submissions on - but not limited to - the following subthemes, ensuring alignment with urban contexts:

• Gendered Urban Tourism and Hospitality Experiences: How gender influences mobility, safety, and satisfaction in cities (e.g., women's navigation of urban public spaces, LGBTIQA+ tourism and hospitality in inclusive cities).
• Women's Empowerment and Entrepreneurship: Barriers and opportunities for women in urban tourism and hospitality startups, leadership roles, and micro-enterprises (e.g., gender gaps in urban hotel management).
• Gender-Based Violence and Safety: Addressing harassment, violence, and discrimination in urban tourism and hospitality workplaces and destinations (e.g., gendered vulnerability in nightlife districts).
• Intersectionality in Urban Tourism: How gender intersects with race, class, ethnicity, disability and sexuality in urban tourism and hospitality (e.g., experiences of migrant women in city tourism labour markets).
• Masculinities and Non-Binary Perspectives: Understudied roles of men and non-binary individuals in urban tourism and hospitality (e.g., hegemonic masculinities in adventure tourism or gender-fluid marketing in cities).
• Gender in Urban Tourism and hospitality Governance and Policy: Inclusive policies for gender equality in city destination management (e.g., gender-responsive urban planning for tourism and hospitality).
• Sustainable and Resilient Urban Tourism and hospitality: Gender’s role in post-pandemic recovery and climate adaptation (e.g., women's contributions to sustainable urban events).
• Work-Life Balance and Career Dynamics: Gendered challenges in urban tourism and hospitality careers (e.g., balancing family and shift work in city hotels).
• Digital and Smart Urban Tourism and hospitality: Gender biases in technology-driven tourism (e.g., AI in urban apps and gendered data privacy).
• Urban-Rural Interfaces: Gender dynamics in peri-urban tourism zones (e.g., women's roles in agritourism near cities).

We particularly welcome contributions from underrepresented regions, interdisciplinary approaches and mixed-methods research that advance theory and practice.