MIGRANT

ENTREPRENEURS OR
BUSINESS TOURISTS?
Christian M. Rogerson
School of Tourism and Hospitality,
University of Johannesburg

AIMS
Aims are threefold
First, is to begin a conversation about the nexus of
writings and research around migrant entrepreneurs
and business tourists in sub-Saharan Africa.
Second, is to illustrate from research on
Johannesburg and more especially from Maseru on
the nature of these migrant entrepreneurs as
business tourists.
Three, is to draw attention to the disconnect in
current policy space in South Africa which is
increasingly negative towards migrant
entrepreneurs and of policy towards business
tourism.

ORGANIZATION
Four uneven sections
1. Rethinking business tourism in the global South
and especially Africa.
2. Conceptualising migrant entrepreneurs and
linkages to business travel.
3. Empirical material from Maseru and
Johannesburg.
4. Conclusion - reflect on current policy space
towards migrant entrepreneurs

BUSINESS TOURISM
Business tourism is an important segment of the international tourism economy.
Davidson (1994) defines business tourism as concerned with people
travelling for purposes which are related to their work and considers
that it represents one of the oldest forms of tourism.
Northern scholarship on business tourism centres on travel for work
purposes which is viewed as including the categories of general business
travel, meetings, exhibitions and incentive travel (MICE tourism).
These practices of business tourism are considered a vital and expanding
element of tourism in Western economies with many countries and cities
competing aggressively to attract MICE tourism through providing
convention and exhibition facilities as well encouraging a network of
modern accommodation facilities which is geared to the needs of the
business travellers.
The sector is defined conventionally as including independent business trips and travelling
for purposes of meeting, incentives, conferences and exhibitions MICE tourism.

INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP ON
BUSINESS TOURISM
Despite the fact that over the past quarter-century strong growth was recorded in flows
of business tourism, both domestically and internationally, such that it accounts for
one-quarter of all tourism in some destinations, business tourism is under-represented
in tourism scholarship (Celuch and Davidson 2009).
Some growth is evident in past decade with notable international works on several
themes
Conference and exhibitions (Law 2000; Weber and Chon 2002; Weber and Ladkin)
(2003), marketing of destinations for MICE tourism (Davidson and Rogers 2006) and
venue selection and service quality issues (Ladkin 2006).
Important contributions to advance agendas in business tourism from organisations
such as ATLAS which inaugurated a Business Tourism Special Interest Group in 2004
(Celuch and Davidson 2009).

INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP ON
BUSINESS TOURISM (2)
Overall, Ladkin (2006) stresses the dynamic nature of international business tourism
and of business tourism research highlighting issues of increased demand, changes in
the business environment with new technologies, increased competition between
locations, service quality issues and increasing relevance of considerations of safety
and security of business travel in the context of international terrorism.
In the developing world tourism scholarship on business tourism is minimal with most
growth on rise of China as a MICE destination.
Most neglected is business tourism in Africa.

BUSINESS TOURISM IN AFRICA

The World Bank (2012: 20) observes that business tourism represents 25 per cent of
international arrivals in sub-Saharan Africa.
In addition, domestic business tourism little documented is growing in the context
of Africas resurgent economies.
Coles and Mitchell (2009: 3) argue that Africa is the only continent where the number
of business tourists consistently exceeds leisure tourists so business tourism is
important because it is a large share of tourism activity.
In many parts of the continent business tourism is the leading element in the tourism
economy. In particular throughout much of West Africa and Central Africa the
majority of tourism revenues are from business tourism

TWO CIRCUITS OF AFRICAN

BUSINESS TOURISM
In undertanding business tourism in the global South it can be argued that there are
two distinct segments or circuits of business tourism in contemporary Africa which are
defined in terms of formal and informal economies.

FORMAL CIRCUIT OF AFRICAN

BUSINESS TOURISM
First, is a formal economy/circuit of business tourism which is organised around
supply/demand for venues such as convention centres and upmarket business hotels.
This formal economy of business tourism has international and domestic
manifestations and is driven by factors that influence business tourism development in
the global North.
This formal circuit of business tourism is represented by building of convention
centres, conference facilities and a network of hotels to cater for the formal African
business tourism traveller both domestic and international.
It is characterised by inter-locality competition for conferences as countries and cities
set up associations to bid for MICE tourism.
Drivers of this circuit are little different from Northern business tourism.

TWO CIRCUITS OF AFRICAN

BUSINESS TOURISM: INFORMAL
CIRCUIT
Beyond formal business tourism there is a second circuit.
This is an informal economy or circuit of low income business tourism which is much
less documented.
Timothy and Teye (1995) work is the exception.
Importantly, this second circuit is taking new forms to that of conventional Northern
business tourism.
Key element of it is international cross border trading which occurs in several parts of
sub-Saharan Africa

TWO CIRCUITS OF AFRICAN

BUSINESS TOURISM: INFORMAL
CIRCUIT
(2)
Scale of this trading within Africa is considerable and importantly it is inherently propoor.
Informal business tourism is a domestic as well as a phenomenon of international
tourism.
The scale of domestic business tourism in sub-Saharan Africa is very
significant in terms of total expenditure, and more so in terms of propoor impact as compared to the impacts of international business
tourism

MIGRANT ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Distinctions can be drawn between at least three
major categories
1. Transnational Entrepreneurs
2. International Migrant Entrepreneurs
3. Domestic Migrant Entrepreneurs
All three of these categories of contribute in
different ways to business mobilities in subSaharan Africa

TRANSNATIONAL
ENTREPRENEURS
Characterised by four features.
* They stay/reside in the host country .
* They carry out business in at least two
regions/countries and their business success
depends on their contacts and associates in another
country, usually the country of origin.
* They typically belong to communities characterized
by strong cultural relations and corresponding
institutions (religion) which contributes to high level
of trust and facilitate exchange of information.
* Finally, with a presence in two or more locations
these entrepreneurs can compare constantly
different locations in terms of their suitably for
business purposes.

TRANSNATIONAL ENTREPRENEURS
This group of transnational entrepreneurs would
be DRIVERS of (mainly) international business
mobilities
But they would not be classed as business tourists
per se
The concept of transnational entrepreneur has
linkages therefore with business scholarship on
ethnic or mmigrant entrepreneurs

BUSINESS TOURISTS
AND MIGRANT
If we ask the question who are Africas business
tourists, then the answer is that a large share is
ENTREPRENEURS
accounted for by the groups of
International Migrant Entrepreneurs
Domestic Migrant Entrepreneurs
These groups are distinguished from transnational
migrant entrepreneurs by the fact that they reside
in one country or region and carry out their
business in another country or region.

BUSINESS TOURISTS AND

MIGRANT ENTREPRENEURS
They differ from transnational entrepreneurs most
critically by the fact that they circulate between
countries or between urban and rural localities
such that their mobilities and different to those of
transnational entrepreneurs.
These forms of migrant entrepreneur can be
coincident with formal or informal sector forms of
business tourism.
The evidence from Southern Africa is that the
largest share of this migrant entrepreneurship is
of informal sector variant

INTERNATIONAL MIGRANT
ENTREPRENEURS
The activities of international migrant entrepreneurs as
business tourists are well-known and recognised
South Africa is a major hub for regional tourists engaged
in cross border trading
This contains elements of both formal and informal
sector business tourism.
Johannesburg would be Africas capital for such forms of
migrant entrepreneurship

DOMESTIC MIGRANT
ENTREPRENEURS

Much less well known and documented are the

activities of domestic migrant entrepreneurs
which can be again formal or informal sector.
Domestic tourism is a growing phenomenenon in
the context of Africas resurgent economies,
especially rise of a middle class.
In terms of informal sector domestic business
tourism, much less research is available as
compared to informal regional cross-border
business traders in Africa.
Coles and Mitchell (2009: 34) explain that the
domestic business tourism sector is a particular
blind spot in African tourism scholarship.

DOMESTIC MIGRANT
ENTREPRENEURS

Arguably, much domestic tourism taking place in

the global South is, in reality, business tourism
(Mitchell and Ashley 2010).
A trader from a peripheral town who comes to
the capital city to buy goods to take home to sell
is a business tourist (Mitchell and Ashley, 2010:
8).

THE CASE OF LESOTHO

Lesothos capital city, Maseru, has a small formal business tourism
sector which is centred on major hotels in the city and mostly linked
to servicing South African business travellers and international
aid/development organisations.
Beyond formal sector business tourism, Maseru is a vibrant hub for a
low income informal variant of business tourism.
Arguably, the nature and activities of informal business tourists in
Lesotho challenges Northern or Western conception of business
tourism.
50 interviews were undertaken with informal business travellers at
transport termini and entry points into Maseru.

DOMESTIC BUSINESS
TOURISM - LESOTHO

Findings from recent work on Maseru illustrate the scale, characteristics and impacts
of informal domestic business tourism
Survey revealed that informal sector business tourists are small-scale migrant
entrepreneurs travel who regularly between Maseru and other parts of the country for
business purposes, albeit in different cycles.
The demographic characteristics of these traders reveals a picture that informal sector
domestic tourists as a group are primarily male and mainly concentrated in the working
age cohort of 26-49 years (68 percent of the sample).
56 percent of travellers are visiting Maseru at least once a month and 80 percent once
every three months.
Importantly, the majority of these business tourists have limited or no formal education
and without necessary qualifications to engage in formal work particularly in the urban
environment - 60 percent of these business travellers have no formal education.

KEY FINDINGS
Spatial differences exist in terms of purpose of business
The nature of business undertaken by these invisible
domestic tourists shows that the purpose of informal
sector business tourists is radically different to that of
the formal sector business traveller.
Overall, five distinct clusters of business tourists can be
discerned.
First, are groups of farmers or herders who are bringing
livestock (sheep and cattle) into Maseru for sale. For
these business tourists the sale of their livestock is their
main source of income. In addition to livestock selling
the herders take the opportunity in Maseru to purchase
veterinary supplies, animal feed and other necessary
agricultural supplies, particularly of fertilizers and
pesticides.

KEY FINDINGS
A second group of domestic business tourists are the
makers and sellers of traditional arts and crafts,
including of woven distinctive Basotho hats, a
popular souvenir for Lesothos long haul international
tourists.
These arts and craft producers bring in their products
(woven hats and other traditional crafts) from rural
districts for sale at informal markets in Maseru where
they put up stalls to display their products and
continue craft weaving whilst waiting for clients.
The markets and sale of goods of this group of
informal business tourists are linked critically
therefore to the growth of the formal tourism
economy in Lesotho

KEY FINDINGS
Three, are the makers and sellers of traditional
weapons which are sold only through informal
markets in Maseru.
These business tourists travel to Maseru in order
to sell traditional weapons both to local residents
and international tourists.
The commercialisation of tradition is also
represented by a fourth group of informal
business tourists, namely of traditional doctors
who are in Maseru to sell traditional medicines.
In interviews it was disclosed that this type of
business was in decline and not as profitable as
formerly.

KEY FINDINGS
The final cluster of informal business tourists are
women-dominated shopper/traders. These
business tourists are a domestic variant of the
international cross-border shopper traders which
are common across Southern Africa.

The groups of domestic shoppers coming into Maseru

mainly are travelling on a regular basis to buy
fashionable clothes and other items that are not available
in the small towns and rural villages of Lesotho.

KEY FINDINGS
The majority of these purchases are made in Maseru from the group
of Chinese-owned stores in the city. The symbiosis between shopper
entrepreneurs and Chinese traders was made clear by the interviewee
responses:
We buy clothes and other goods like kitchenware and blankets from
the Chinese supermarkets so that we can go and sell them back
home. We buy them at a reasonable price so we are able to make
profits (Shopper).
Although some people dont like the Chinese (they call them
foreigners who are invading Lesotho and killing local supermarkets)
I love them because now I have a business. I do not make a lot of
money but at least I am able to put food on the table and also take my
kids to school. Chinese shops are very cheap and my clients love
their products (Shopper).

INFORMAL CIRCUIT: PRO-POOR

IMPACTS
Evidence from Maseru, Lesotho shows inherent pro-poor nature of informal domestic
tourism
It is pro-poor in terms of its participants
It is pro-poor in terms of local impacts with expenditure of informal sector tourist
occurring in informal accommodation, local restaurant/shebeens.

CONCLUSION
This paper draws attention to the nexus between scholarship on
migrant entrepreneurship on the one hand and business tourism in
the developing world (particularly sub-Saharan Africa) on the other
hand.
It was argued that key differences exist in the nature of business
tourism in developing Africa as compared to the global North which
forces a rethinking of the Northern conceptions of business tourism.
Africa has more business than leisure tourists and migrant
entrepreneurs domestic and international are business tourists.
In policy terms business tourism is an important focus for promotion
both by national department of tourism and local tourism promotion
in South Africa the welcome mat is out for business tourists.

Conclusion
By contrast the policy space relating to migrant entrepreneurs is
increasingly hostile in South Africa.
Attacks on foreign traders and the DTI Informal Sector Business
strategy suggest potentially highly negative interventions to be
enacted at national and local state to restrict migrant entrepreneurs.
A policy contradiction/disconnect exists between tourism policies
and DTI
Given the current policy environment in South Africa it
might be strategically useful to open further the policy
conversation from the perspective of these
entrepreneurs as business tourists.