Development of Angola as a post-war tourism destination : the role of small and medium enterprises in tourism in Luanda Province

Abstract

Post-war countries face a challenge in the process of re-entering the tourism market for several reasons. The damage and deaths caused by the violent war environment create the challenges of restoring their image, their economy and of asserting security. As a result, post-war countries have limited monetary resources for development. For this reason, they turn to tourism to help in their development and utilise Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the process to establish the foundations for tourism development. SMEs play an important role in the development process because they provide products and services and create jobs. This study explores the factors related to developing tourism in a post-war tourism destination, along with the importance of SMEs in the developing country context. Angola is used as case study of such a post-war tourism destination; despite the country’s great potential, it is unable to compete effectively as a desirable tourism destination. Multi-method qualitative research was conducted to collect data from eight government officials as well as 11 local business owners in Luanda Province. It was found that government officials and business owners have the same perspectives on the importance of SMEs and peace for the development of Angola. The study presents a framework for the successful support of SMEs in post-war tourism destinations. The most important aspects include: the importance of peace for development; the importance of SMEs for tourism and development; the business environment infrastructures; and the encouragement of government for the establishment of tourism SMEs.