Women's work and caregiving in rural tourism in Andalusia (Spain): “You can’t see it, but it’s just as important”

Abstract This article examines the invisible labour women perform in a small rural tourism business in Andalusia. Drawing on situated ethnography—including participant observation, in-depth interviews, informal conversations, and extended fieldwork—the study analyses how caregiving practices, emotional labour, and domestic and productive management sustain the daily running of the business and enable its continuity. Although central to rural tourism, these forms of labour remain largely absent from institutional discourses and conventional economic analyses. The findings show how women mobilizse situated capacities to connect family life, community relationships, and the demands of the tourism market. The study demonstrates that the sustainability of rural tourism relies on affective, material, and relational work that is essential yet systematically rendered invisible. It also reveals the tensions younger generations experience: while tourism strengthens the family economy, it intensifies workloads and limits the possibility of integrating the business into their own life projects. Beyond its empirical contribution, the research offers practical insights for rural development and tourism policy. It highlights the need to recognise the unequal role of care in sustaining rural tourism, to support family businesses through training and work–life balance measures, and to design generational renewal strategies that incorporate the aspirations of young women. The study contributes to anthropological and feminist debates on work, value, and social reproduction in contemporary rural settings.