An evaluation study of the implementation of the tourism mentorship programme for small tourism businesses in the Western Cape

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Mentorship is a relatively new way of developing business owners to acquaint themselves with thevarious disciplines of business to be able to run a successful business. The Tourism MentorshipProgramme (TMP), an initiative by the Western Cape Department of Economic Development andTourism (DEDAT) and the South African Tourism Services Association (SATSA) was piloted in 2003and entailed a six months' mentoring programme between established and leading tourism businessesand their Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMME) counterparts. The programme sought toaccelerate the transformation process within the Tourism industry by creating personal andprofessional relationships between businesses, resulting in skills transfer and the general upliftment ofthe standard of business practiced by SMME's. The marked success of the TMP prompted a secondlaunch in 2004. The programme has been implemented annually since then and for the period 2010 to2014 in partnership with the Tourism Enterprise Partnership (TEP). The study focuses on theachievements, successes and challenges in implementing the Tourism Mentorship Programme (TMP)in the Western Cape. In the light of the literature, it can be concluded that although the different writers are in agreement onthe benefits of mentorship for SMME's, there is a lack of research on the effects of mentoring onSMME's. Policies and programmes have shown National and Provincial governments' commitment tostimulate and grow the economy, create jobs and develop SMME's. However, the literature alsoindicated that there is a need for tourism development initiatives in South Africa and that mentorshipcould be a valuable tool to achieve this as training alone does not always lead to the required results.Furthermore the research provided insight into the development of a mentorship programme forSMME's with specific reference to the implementation of the TMP in the Western Cape. A programme evaluation study with both implementation (process) and outcome evaluation was usedto conduct the research. The data sources included semi-structured interviews, survey questionnairesfor the mentors and mentees that were part of the TMP as well as a review of DEDAT internaldocumentation. The aim was to understand the overall implementation of the TMP in order to determinewhether the programme has contributed to the transformation, growth and sustainability of the tourismbusinesses that benefited from the programme. The findings of the study provided insight into the challenges of managing a mentorship programmefor tourism SMME's. The major problem with the partnership between DEDAT and TEP was the timingof the programme. A mentorship programme for tourism SMME's should not run in the high tourismseason as this could negatively impact on the success of the programme. It was also found that atender process for matching of mentors and mentees is not the most effective method. The findingsfurther showed that the major benefit of a mentorship programme is not job creation as this was notthe intended benefit when the programme was initiated. However, with all the other benefits associatedwith mentorship, job creation could follow should the SMME be able to grow the business.It was recommended that the Tourism Mentorship Programme continues to be implemented annually.However a number of recommendations are provided to improve the implementation of the programmeand to contribute towards the growth of tourism SMME's in South Africa and specifically in the WesternCape.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University