Analysing entrepreneurial and marketing development skills for small tourism enterprises in the Vaal Triangle region / Natasha de Klerk

Increasing unemployment and low economic growth are of growing concern in the world economy and a recognised intervention to combat these challenges is entrepreneurship. Tourism has been acknowledged as an underexploited sector with considerable potential for addressing these challenges. In order to...

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Main Author: De Klerk, Natasha
Published: North-West University 2010
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10394/3100
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spelling ndltd-netd.ac.za-oai-union.ndltd.org-nwu-oai-dspace.nwu.ac.za-10394-31002014-04-17T03:55:07ZAnalysing entrepreneurial and marketing development skills for small tourism enterprises in the Vaal Triangle region / Natasha de KlerkDe Klerk, NatashaEntrepreneurial development skillsMarketing development skillsTourism managementServices marketingHigher educationIncreasing unemployment and low economic growth are of growing concern in the world economy and a recognised intervention to combat these challenges is entrepreneurship. Tourism has been acknowledged as an underexploited sector with considerable potential for addressing these challenges. In order to advance entrepreneurial activity, it is essential for students to possess the necessary entrepreneurial skills. However, the absence of consensus on the content of training courses and curricula is currently a concern in the field of entrepreneurship. South African higher education institutions need to redefine their roles and academics should take heed, and ensure that the curricula that they provide correspond with the requirements of practitioners. Through analysing the development skills of successful entrepreneurs, the focus of training courses and curricula can be established. This study constitutes exploratory research into an important issue facing many higher education institutions today and is supported by a detailed literature review and an empirical study. Higher education institutions have to remain competitive due to the turbulent and changeable environment within which they operate. The literature review, in accordance with the scope and limitations of the study, concentrated on the principles of tourism management, together with the entrepreneurial and marketing development skills essential to tourism entrepreneurs. For the empirical part of the study, a self-administered questionnaire was sent to a sample of tourism enterprise owners, tourism management academics and tourism management students. The objective was to develop a set of guidelines for the content of the entrepreneurship and marketing subjects for tourism management students. The research findings provide a balanced view in that they incorporate the perceptions of tourism enterprise owners, tourism management academics and tourism management students. The skills analysed within this study, together with the suggested implementation method, can be used to guide the structured integration of the development of these skills into tourism management programmes. The intention of the study was to cover a wide range of entrepreneurial and marketing development skills essential for the tourism entrepreneur, so that a clear set of skills could be formulated for the recommended inclusion into the content of tourism entrepreneurship and marketing curricula.Thesis (Ph.D. (Business Management))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2009.North-West University2010-05-27T10:31:16Z2010-05-27T10:31:16Z2009Thesishttp://hdl.handle.net/10394/3100
collection NDLTD
sources NDLTD
topic Entrepreneurial development skills
Marketing development skills
Tourism management
Services marketing
Higher education
spellingShingle Entrepreneurial development skills
Marketing development skills
Tourism management
Services marketing
Higher education
De Klerk, Natasha
Analysing entrepreneurial and marketing development skills for small tourism enterprises in the Vaal Triangle region / Natasha de Klerk
description Increasing unemployment and low economic growth are of growing concern in the world economy and a recognised intervention to combat these challenges is entrepreneurship. Tourism has been acknowledged as an underexploited sector with considerable potential for addressing these challenges. In order to advance entrepreneurial activity, it is essential for students to possess the necessary entrepreneurial skills. However, the absence of consensus on the content of training courses and curricula is currently a concern in the field of entrepreneurship. South African higher education institutions need to redefine their roles and academics should take heed, and ensure that the curricula that they provide correspond with the requirements of practitioners. Through analysing the development skills of successful entrepreneurs, the focus of training courses and curricula can be established. This study constitutes exploratory research into an important issue facing many higher education institutions today and is supported by a detailed literature review and an empirical study. Higher education institutions have to remain competitive due to the turbulent and changeable environment within which they operate. The literature review, in accordance with the scope and limitations of the study, concentrated on the principles of tourism management, together with the entrepreneurial and marketing development skills essential to tourism entrepreneurs. For the empirical part of the study, a self-administered questionnaire was sent to a sample of tourism enterprise owners, tourism management academics and tourism management students. The objective was to develop a set of guidelines for the content of the entrepreneurship and marketing subjects for tourism management students. The research findings provide a balanced view in that they incorporate the perceptions of tourism enterprise owners, tourism management academics and tourism management students. The skills analysed within this study, together with the suggested implementation method, can be used to guide the structured integration of the development of these skills into tourism management programmes. The intention of the study was to cover a wide range of entrepreneurial and marketing development skills essential for the tourism entrepreneur, so that a clear set of skills could be formulated for the recommended inclusion into the content of tourism entrepreneurship and marketing curricula. === Thesis (Ph.D. (Business Management))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2009.
author De Klerk, Natasha
author_facet De Klerk, Natasha
author_sort De Klerk, Natasha
title Analysing entrepreneurial and marketing development skills for small tourism enterprises in the Vaal Triangle region / Natasha de Klerk
title_short Analysing entrepreneurial and marketing development skills for small tourism enterprises in the Vaal Triangle region / Natasha de Klerk
title_full Analysing entrepreneurial and marketing development skills for small tourism enterprises in the Vaal Triangle region / Natasha de Klerk
title_fullStr Analysing entrepreneurial and marketing development skills for small tourism enterprises in the Vaal Triangle region / Natasha de Klerk
title_full_unstemmed Analysing entrepreneurial and marketing development skills for small tourism enterprises in the Vaal Triangle region / Natasha de Klerk
title_sort analysing entrepreneurial and marketing development skills for small tourism enterprises in the vaal triangle region / natasha de klerk
publisher North-West University
publishDate 2010
url http://hdl.handle.net/10394/3100
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