Small Tourism Business Growth Through Eco-tourism in Mahikeng, South Africa

Small business enterprises are renowned worldwide as vehicles for economic growth and development. The small business sector in South Africa has encountered numerous obstacles and government agencies responsible for their development have come across challenges, and as a result, they have not been able to adequately develop a large number of small businesses. Product diversification is one of the growth strategies that can be developed by small tourism businesses to break into new markets and off-set the challenges associated with one sub-sector of tourism. The primary objective is to determine the business support required by small tourism businesses to enter and participate in the eco-tourism sector. A non-probability judgemental sampling method was used to identify participants. In-depth face-to-face interviews were utilised to collect data from small tourism businesses located in Mahikeng, South Africa. There are many limitations that hinder the sustainable development and growth of small tourism businesses in Mahikeng, and for government to implement a series of growth reforms they firstly need to gather information on those factors that impede small tourism business’ sustainable development. The findings of the study can be utilised to inform policy-making processes, and its recommendations can contribute towards strategy development that provides assistance intended for small tourism businesses to enter and participate in the eco-tourism market.