Marketing strategies used by the small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in the tourism sector

M.Comm.Tourism development and SMMEs promotion is important for all nations since they both lead to the economic development of national countries. Both tourism and SMMEs has positive effects towards the country's GDP and employment creation. This makes the sectors very important sectors that require more attention. This is particularly relevant in SA where the government's main objective is to uplift the standard of living through employment and business opportunities creation. The positive effects of tourism are accompanied by some costs, which means that tourism need to be managed carefully to reap the benefits thus avoiding the costs. Tourism development requires the involvement of different stakeholders, which include, among others, national government, provincial government, citizens and private enterprises. The national government contributes towards tourism development through infrastructure development and the promotion of tourism on national and international level. These efforts lead to SMMEs development in the tourism sector as they bring along business opportunities. Tourism as an industry, is made up of businesses from both the private and public sector. Tourism is an industry, which is made up of different subsectors such as accommodation, transportation, and attractions, travel organisers and destination organisation sectors. Each of these sectors contributes towards tourist experiences and satisfaction. A poor performance by one sector may lead to tourist dissatisfaction even tough services from others sectors were satisfactory