Business incubation for tourism SMME development: International and South African experience

In terms of SMME development support programmes there is an increasing international focus on business incubation. Although its definition is contested the essence of business incubation is enhancing the survival of growth-oriented early-stage enterprises. Traditionally, the sectoral focus of business incubation has been upon ICT enterprises, high-tech, manufacturing and even agribusinesses. Service-sector enterprises have emerged in some countries as a new focus for business incubation. It is observed that alongside cultural and creative industries that business incubation is extended into the tourism sector. Business incubation is therefore an additional tool for tourism SMME support. Currently, most tourism business incubators are found in USA and Europe. In South Africa, however, there has occurred the launch of dedicated business incubators to support tourism entrepreneurs. These initiatives for tourism SMME support merit further scholarly attention.