Why We Believe in Women Empowerment Through Tourism

As tourism began to grow in Ha Giang, we saw how it created new ways for local people to earn a living. Men became motorbike drivers and tour guides. Families opened homestays and welcomed travellers into their homes. For many, tourism brought a more stable income and new possibilities for their families..

But we noticed that many local women, especially women from ethnic minority communities such as the Hmong, Dao and Lo Lo, were rarely part of these opportunities in the same way. Some found work in kitchens, cleaning rooms or washing dishes, while many others continued to spend most of their time farming, caring for children and looking after their households.

We remember the women we met, the work they did every day, and the warmth with which they welcomed us. Some carried their babies on their backs while weaving traditional fabrics. Others spent long days working on rocky hillsides before returning home to cook over wood fired stoves.
Women were already an essential part of local life and culture, yet their opportunities to work directly with travellers, share their knowledge or take on more visible roles in tourism remained limited. Language barriers were part of the reason, but so were long held expectations about what women should do and where they belonged.
We knew we could not change deeply rooted attitudes overnight. But we also believed that change had to start somewhere. If tourism could open new doors for so many people in Ha Giang, why shouldn’t local women have the chance to walk through them, too? .

For us, women empowerment through tourism begins with making those opportunities possible, one step at a time.

We can still picture those first visits so clearly

We remember the women we met, the work they did every day, and the warmth with which they welcomed us. Some carried their babies on their backs while weaving traditional fabrics. Others spent long days working on rocky hillsides before returning home to cook over wood fired stoves.

At first, our conversations were brief. We did not always have the words to understand one another, but we kept returning. Over time, greetings turned into longer conversations. We became more familiar with one another, and trust grew through the small moments we shared..

Those early visits helped shape what Hergo would become. We began to see women empowerment through tourism not as a big promise, but as a practical place to start: creating opportunities for women to take part in tourism, use their existing skills and knowledge, meet travellers, and be recognised for what they bring.

We know that one company cannot change an entire community’s expectations in a short time. That is not our promise. We simply want to do our part to make space for local women to take on new roles, explore new possibilities and have a greater say in how they participate in tourism.

We believe small beginnings matter. And if we want to see change, we have to be willing to begin.

Each journeys we came back, something changed, almost too slowly to notice. The conversations became a little longer. The smiles came more easily. Little by little, both sides began to understand each other, and trust grew naturally over time.

Looking back, those small moments mean more to us than any number could.

Perhaps this is what meaningful tourism can do. Not change people, but create the space where local’s confidence can grow naturally.

Women empowerment through tourism: local women harvesting rice in Ha Giang