Table 1 Main category, subcategory and concepts extracted from the interviews

Obstacles to ecotourism entrepreneurship

Challenges in government agencies

Multiple responsibilities

The existing bureaucracy, giving priority to the projects presented by men

Mother, wife, work force

Ecotourism entrepreneurial behavior

Individual components

Emergence of creativity and innovation, acquisition of knowledge and entrepreneurial insight, leadership in business, being up-to-date, seeking independence, gaining wealth, adventure, interest and motivation

Social components

Empowerment of women, rural social property, preservation of native culture, belonging to rural culture, group entrepreneurship, offering culture to others, paying attention to local community cohesion, sustainable development, customer-orientation, respecting customs, multi-functional approach, service and hospitality

Economic components

Identification of existing opportunities, identification of existing needs

Ecotourism entrepreneurial strategies

Empowerment in rural tourism and agriculture

Increasing self-confidence of rural and tribal women, creating value for ecotourism in the rural community, education and promotion of ecotourism

Setting up exhibitions and festivals

Informing people of other regions, developing tourism social networks, facilitating the attraction of foreign tourists, identifying the relative advantage of the region

Supporting ecotourism entrepreneur women

Legal support for impaired businesses, business planning, spatial support, providing low-cost facilities and low-interest loans, ease of access to financial and credit resources, providing subsidies and eliminating taxes, creating women's organizations with the aim of ecotourism entrepreneurship

Intervening conditions of ecotourism entrepreneurship

Cultural acceptance

Literacy level, possessing entrepreneurial knowledge, rural culture, family, village attractions, cultural life of the region, ecotourism culture, the interactions and exchange between the village and outside, people's acceptance of ecotourism places, the relative freedom of women in Fars

Social capital

The availability of qualified personnel, participation of the rural community, companionship of the rural community with women

The multi-functional approach of ecotourism

Successful experiences of rural women's empowerment, the existence of necessary infrastructure

Ecotourism entrepreneurship platform

The existence of acceptable security for tourists

Mental security, family security, social security, control of the Covid-19

Macro-policies to support ecotourism businesses

Political factors, the priority of financial support for ecotourism, the prosperity of the rural agriculture, the openness of borders and the attraction of foreign tourists, rules and regulations to facilitate the issuance of permits, the priority of ecotourism in the development strategies of the province, the stability of economic policies related to tourism

Causal conditions

Internal factors

External factors

Family support, personal empowerment, individual psychological characteristics

Environmental conditions, institutional support

Consequences

Negative consequences

Positive consequences

Social problems, environmental problems

Individual consequences, cultural consequences, economic consequences, social consequences