The role of local government in developing small tourism enterprises in regional destinations

Abstract

Small tourism enterprises are at the heart of the tourism industry in many regional destinations. The growth of regional destinations is often linked much more strongly with the success of these enterprises than might be the case in metropolitan destinations, yet there are many impediments to their development. The focus of this paper is on barriers to the growth of small tourism enterprises from the perspective of small tourism operators and government respondents. The paper also assesses ways in which local government agencies in regional destinations can assist in the development process. The results indicate that both tourism operators and government respondents perceive human resources to be a core barrier to growth. However, this core barrier has different dimensions for each group. This research adds to the theory, knowledge and understanding of the development of small enterprises in tourism and offers practical implications to assist government agencies in supporting the growth of small enterprises.