Women’s business activities in Greece : The case of agro-tourism

Abstract

The aim of agro-tourism is to contribute to a reversal of the climate of abandonment pervading the countryside and to create favorable conditions for the development of new financial activities. For the most countries, the mainstream of business owners are male, while in Greece, the percentage of women entrepreneurs is only 15%, and in the rural area, even smaller. Government poli-cies and the European Union is supporting women entrepreneurship, since women in the labor sector are important factors of development and society’s progress. This paper presents the findings of a research regarding women’s’ firms functioning in the agrotourism sector. Field research was undertaken in almost all the women’s agrotourism companies or cooperatives all over Greece. In this matter the sample consisted of 203 women’s enterprises functioning in Greece, representing an almost 100% sample of the target research population. Statistical analysis employed frequencies, percentages, means as well as chi-square tests. Results revealed that the type of the agro-tourism firm affect the type of activity chosen from the women’s agrotourism firm, while the wo-men’s agrotourism firms’ manager’s age as well as area of operation of the firm does not. This paper is based on research carried out within the framework of the project co-funded by the European Social Fund and National Resources - EPEAEK II - ARCHIMIDIS.