Accessing tourism markets has been a challenge for both developed and developing countries. However, there may be prevailing differences between men and women in production and consumption of tourism. This study aims at finding out the way these differences play a role in the motivation for women to start a tourism business, and if they are running such a business,the challenges that they face in accessing the tourist markets. The study applies the comparative approach, using case studies of women who are engaged in tourism as entrepreneurs from Tanzania and Sweden in order to examine their situations in terms of their background and context. From an interpretivist perspective and a post-modernist constructivism approach, the case study methodology was applied and their experiences were captured by using in-depth interviews. The results show that women are motivated to work in the industry by their need to achieve their different goals in lives. Women from both contexts are influenced by the tourism market stakeholders’ perception of women’s position in the industry. The main differences are that, Swedish women show that dealing with the challenges is determined mostly by the levels of their capabilities and confidence. On the contrary, women in Tanzania show that their ability to deal with challenges is mainly influenced by the interactions and perceptions of other stakeholders and societyDANIDA