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ABSTRACT
Niche industries such as handcrafts production and rural tourism services, particularly those which may be defined as ‘quality’, are being assigned increased importance in national and EU rural development policies. Yet relatively little attention has been devoted to quality enterprises in the research literature to date. This paper reviews recent evidence relating to the formation and growth of 99 small and medium-size quality tourism and handcrafts enterprises in two regions in Western Ireland. The characteristics of the entrepreneurs, features of the businesses and the role of support agencies are discussed in the context of the production and marketing of quality products and services. Businesses are clustered on the basis of key actions and outcomes and similarities and contrasts between regions and industrial sectors are discussed.