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Immigrant entrepreneur knowledge in the tourism industry of island destinations

Abstract The economy of many islands is heavily based on tourism. In mature tourism islands, the tourism sector acts as a magnet for immigrant workforce that help resolve some human resource problems. Due to some blockades in the local job market and/or the opportunities they identify based on their knowledge, many immigrants set up new ventures in the tourism industry. Immigrants’ new ventures could increase destination supply in the sector, providing innovation and differentiation that avoid and delay the decline stage. In the island context, the creation of immigrant businesses is affected by a relative isolation and lack of easy connections with continental territories, which suggest the existence of interesting dynamics in the acquisition and use of knowledge. Immigrants’ life experiences and relationships in the home and host countries contribute to their knowledge construction to set up and manage their new businesses on islands. A survey on immigrant restaurant entrepreneurs in the tourism industry on the three Eastern Canary Islands was conducted. Results show the high relevance of knowledge obtained from experience, and the low importance of knowledge from institutions and written material; moreover, education in the home country is more relevant than education in the host country; in addition, networks and Internet also provide some entrepreneurial knowledge. The existence of two groups of immigrant entrepreneurs on islands with different knowledge characteristics is also shown.