Entrepreneurs in craft beer and tourism: Perspectives from South Africa

Abstract

Beer tourism attracts a growing international scholarship. As a result of the craft beer revolution a marked shift in beer tourism research is noticeable. The major focus is on the producers of specifically craft beer, of visits to craft beer micro-breweries and the evolution of craft beer trails. Existing scholarship on beer tourism and craft beer entrepreneurship is concentrated mainly in the global North. This article examines the appearance, motivations and challenges of entrepreneurs in craft beer in South Africa, a destination strongly associated with wine tourism but one that is increasingly developing an economy of craft beer tourism. The appearance of craft beer production is positioned within theoretical debates about resource-partitioning and craft beer entrepreneurship emphasizing the importance of passion as motivation. The results of qualitative responses from 53 craft brewery micro-entrepreneurs in South Africa show distinct parallels with research findings reported from the global North about the passion that drives the growth of the entrepreneurs building the craft beer industry.