Local Strategies for Economic Survival in Touristically Volatile Times: An Indonesian Case Study of Microvendors, Gendered Cultural Practices, and Resilience

What is it about?

How tourism micro-entrepreneurs draw on their own local knowledge to develop small businesses and micro-businesses that have proven resilient during challenging times when tourism has plummeted. Their knowledge of local dynamics has enabled them to survive the economic challenges of the pandemic.

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Photo by Afdan Rojabi on Unsplash

Photo by Afdan Rojabi on Unsplash

Why is it important?

My findings show that local small-scale entrepreneurs have valuable knowledge that can be applied to enable economic survival and resilience in challenging times. This often-gendered knowledge has previously been under-recognized in tourism research, which has historically tended to favor the knowledge of outside tourism professionals. In the Indonesian case study offered here, during the pandemic, it was courageous local, small-scale entrepreneurs who were better able to pivot to focus on local travel and migrant markets and survive the disappearance of foreign tourists. This bears relevance for other locals.