Empowering Rural Women through Tourism Entrepreneurship: The Case of the Annual Berlin November Horse Racing in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to look into how the annual Berlin November horse racing event strategically contribute to women empowerment through entrepreneurship and socio economic growth in the Eastern Cape Province. The study's major goal was to explore and describe the use of SMMEs as a strategic tool for women's empowerment by government, as well as to identify factors influencing the usage and assess how they affect the use of SMMEs as a strategic tool for women's empowerment. Fifteen individuals working as SMME’s were identified using purposive sampling. Participants who answered the semi-structured interview questions knew a lot about the tourism sector. The study's findings demonstrate that rural women SMMEs are mostly influenced by external variables, but that a lack of sufficient training and entrepreneurial education has an impact on their day to day operations of their enterprises. The study's findings point to the relevance of rural development, hospitality management, and SMME development in sustaining rural people's livelihoods. The study suggests that the South African government and other stakeholders provide financial assistance to rural residents so that they can develop to feed their families.