Entrepreneurial Performance and Challenges for Aboriginal Small Tourism Businesses: A Canadian Case

Abstract

Across Canada, national and regional support for nurturing the development of Aboriginal tourism enterprises is growing in response to increased awareness of potential market opportunities as well as a desire to improve economic and socio-cultural opportunities for native communities. Several past research initiatives emphasize the need to assist Aboriginal entrepreneurs in developing the skills, products and services required to deliver internationally competitive tourism experiences in a professional manner. However, most of these investigations are market-led and are not contextualized within the ‘supply-side’ business realities and entrepreneurial challenges that shape such operations. A substantial gap in empirical knowledge exists concerning the operating characteristics and development challenges of these Aboriginal tourism enterprises. This paper contextualizes these realities by describing existing Aboriginal tourism businesses in British Columbia, Canada, based on a survey of the operators of these enterprises. It examines the overriding operating traits and unique challenges confronting Aboriginal tourism enterprises in British Columbia and suggests actions that can be taken to enhance the competitiveness of these operations. The paper concludes that Aboriginal tourism entrepreneurs exhibit many of the same behavioural traits and management challenges experienced by other small and medium-sized business operators. However, their responses to these challenges are often shaped by the unique institutional and cultural realities in which they operate.

Keywords:

• Aboriginal tourism
• small business entrepreneurs
• tourism product development
• British Columbia