Marine tourism as an option for sustainable local development based on female empowerment

Marine tourism has become a tourist reference with more than two decades of international expansion and continuous growth. In this context, the present work aims to study marine tourism as an option for sustainable local development through female empowerment. The study has been based on semi-structured interviews with women who lead marine tourism projects in Galicia and on a content analysis of the news on the treatment that the press gives them. The results show that most of the projects are innovative, diversified, participatory and responsible. It is found that, despite the evident progress, it is necessary to further promote female entrepreneurship in the field of marine tourism, in addition to promoting their presence and social projection through the media.