Tourism Entrepreneurial Education and Intention Among Youths: A Case from KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa

Authors

  • Zinhle Mhlongo University of Zululand
  • Sibusiso David Ntshangase University of Zululand
  • Ikechukwu Onyekwere Ezeuduji University of Zululand

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34190/ictr.7.1.1964

Keywords:

Tourism Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Education and Intention, Entrepreneurial Attributes, Youth Entrepreneurship, PLS-SEM

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between entrepreneurial education (ED) and youths’ entrepreneurial intention (EI) towards starting tourism businesses. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. The study used purposive sampling method of the non-probability sampling design to select 400 youths living in different regions of the King Cetshwayo District Municipality (KCDM), KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa. The methodology employed partial least squares - structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS software version 4.0.8.5 to assess the relationships among the construct variables. The results show a significant positive relationship between entrepreneurial education and entrepreneurial intention. Recommendations are offered to the KCDM decision-makers (business support offices), National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), as well as Tourism KwaZulu-Natal to encourage youth entrepreneurship. South African higher education leaders and policymakers can benefit from these findings.

Author Biographies

Zinhle Mhlongo , University of Zululand

A Master’s student at the University of Zululand (UNIZULU), South Africa. She obtained a Bachelor of Tourism Studies (2020), Bachelor of Arts in Recreation and Tourism (2021). She served as a Tutor Co-ordinator, Tutor and Mentor (2021 – present) at UNIZULU.

Sibusiso David Ntshangase , University of Zululand

Holds a PhD (Tourism and Recreation) degree from the University of Zululand, South Africa, where he is currently serving as a Lecturer. He is an emerging scholar in the areas of tourism entrepreneurship and tourism in protected areas. He has published about ten journal articles around his research interest and contributed about four international conference papers. He is a scholar with great passion for community engagement and sustainable rural development.

Ikechukwu Onyekwere Ezeuduji, University of Zululand

A full Professor of Tourism Management at the University of Zululand, South Africa. He obtained his PhD degree from the BOKU-University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria. He has more than 12 years of teaching experience in Higher Education Institutions. He has widely published in broader areas of tourism development (rural and events tourism), tourism management (strategic tourism management and tourism entrepreneurship) and tourism marketing (brand essence, brand competitiveness, brand image and brand loyalty). 

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Published

2024-03-25

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 1 (2024): Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Tourism Research

Section

Late Submissions

License

Copyright (c) 2024 International Conference on Tourism Research

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.