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• the inadequacy or absence of tourism training,
education and awareness;
• inadequate protection of the environment
through environmental management;
• generally poor levels of service standards within
the industry;
• lack of infrastructure in rural areas;
• lack of appropriate institutional structures; and
• prevalence of violence, crime and inadequate
security as they affect tourists and tourism
(Republic of South Africa, 1996)
Given the constraints facing the tourism and
hospitality sector nationally, the focus of this study
is the EC, economically, the poorest province in SA.
The EC is largely a tourism destination and is the
third most popular destination for domestic tour-
ists in SA (Tourism Enterprise Partnership (TEP),
2010). It is characterized by high levels of unem-
ployment, poverty and crime, which impact nega-
tively on the economy and are problematic to the
sustainability of SMTEs (Vallabh & Radder, 2010).
Tourism and hospitality enterprises are therefore
important to the economic development of the EC
because of the positive contribution it can make to
job creation, poverty alleviation and growth.
2.1
Research objectives
The primary objective if this study is to provide
a better understanding to education and training
as a challenge facing small, medium tourism enter-
prises (SMTEs) of the Eastern Cape (EC) province
of South Africa (SA). In order to achieve this pri-
mary objective, the following secondary objectives
have been set:
•
To identify the barriers to education and train-
ing in medium tourism enterprises (SMTEs) of
the Eastern Cape (EC) province
•
To investigate the level of education and training
on small, medium tourism enterprises (SMTEs)
performances of the Eastern Cape (EC).
3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Quantitative research was deemed appropriate
for this study. Systematic random sampling was
employed to select a sample of 332 respondent
organizations from the 2012 database of the East-
ern Cape Parks and Tourism Board consisting of
formally registered small to medium tourism enter-
prises. A total of 310 usable questionnaires were
finally obtained in September 2012. Descriptive
statistics was used in the study.
This study focuses on two major challenges,
namely, education; and training, skills and mana-
gerial competence.
2 PROBLEM STATEMENT
A study conducted by Baumeister (2002) estimates
that 91 percent of the formal business entities in
South Africa are SMEs of which they contribute
between 52 to 57 percent to GDP and account for
approximately 61 percent of employment. How-
ever, the failure rate for SMEs in South Africa is
considered to be higher than the average failure
rate for other businesses. Brink and Berndt (2009)
estimated that 30 percent of SMEs fail during the
first year of operation, although claims are made
that it is closer to 90 percent. Cameron and Miller
(2008) noted that SA has one of the lowest SMEs
survival rates in the world. Cameron and Miller
(2008) identify the lack of education and training
in SMEs as one of the main reasons for their fail-
ure. Chiliya and Roberts-Lombard (2012) found
that in developing countries education is a major
drawback for the success of small firms.
Given the myriad of challenges facing small
businesses, a study to determine education and
training as a challenge facing small, medium tour-
ism enterprises (SMTEs) of the Eastern Cape (EC)
province of South Africa (SA) was conducted. The
results of the study could have significant implica-
tions towards job creation and generate sustainable
and equitable growth in the Eastern Cape Province
of South Africa. SMEs are a panacea for improv-
ing the standards of living in a society and the sta-
bility of a country.
4
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results of the current study provided some
interesting information regarding the most senior
managers' educational qualifications as reflected
in Table 1. The largest proportion of managers
(37.4%) had obtained a National Diploma as their
highest education qualification and 10.2 percent
held a postgraduate qualification.
The largest proportion of managers were
trained and experienced in General Management.
Less than 30 percent had training or experience in
Human Resources Management, Strategic Man-
agement and Project Management (Table 2).
Herrington, Kew and Kew (2008) noted that
“South Africa's inadequately educated workforce
is cited as the most problematic factor for doing
business in the country”. Education is important to
the growth and development of SMTE owners as
it plays a major role in helping them cope with the
problems which may beset them and can assist to
correct shortcomings in business training. The abil-
ity to communicate with customers and deal with
people is essential in any entrepreneurial business.
SMTEs are not utilizing information technology in
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