Abstract
The tourism industry is distinguished from many other economic activities by the dominance of small-scale enterprises and micro-firms. Small tourism firms are critical change agents for destinations, local economic development and poverty reduction most especially in peripheral regions. This paper is situated within a growing international literature on tourism entrepreneurship and specifically the characteristics and motivations of small tourism entrepreneurs and their business operations. The research is conducted in Eastern Cape province of South Africa which is a resource-scarce or resource-constrained environment. Results are presented from a survey of 79 Black-owned small accommodation businesses and 19 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders. It is shown that women own and operate the majority of these small accommodation businesses. These are mainly bed and breakfast establishments or small guest houses for which the clientele is mostly business tourists and government employees in particular. Issues under scrutiny are business motivations, start-up and operational issues. Networking emerges as an important business strategy for these peripheral entrepreneurs to address the challenges of business development. Overall, this study provides original findings and fresh insight into a segment of peripheral entrepreneurs operating in a resource-scarce context.