Tourism Enterprises Job Opportunities: The Roles and Challenges for Sustainable Tourism Development in Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia

Abstract

This study focused on examining the roles of tourism enterprises in relation to job opportunities and the challenges faced for sustainable tourism development. The study used descriptive research design and mixed research approach. The target population of the study were tourists community representatives, souvenir shop employees, tour guides, culture and tourism employees, travel agents, transport service providers and government officials. The data gathering tools were questionnaire survey, key informant interview, field observation, Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and literature review. Both probability and non-probability sampling techniques were applied for sample size determination. To the questionnaire survey, 400 tourists were participated and 385 returned. Quantitative data was analysed with the help of SPSS version 20. Qualitative data was analyzed by using thematic analysis with identification of common themes. The result revealed that major roles played by tourism enterprises include: promote good image, encourage participate in conservation, creating sense of ownership, diversifying the livelihood of locals and reinforcement of environmental quality. However, the creation of job opportunities by tourism enterprises were hindered by different major challenges specifically; seasonality of jobs created in tourism, lack of coordination among enterprises, political instability affecting  visitors, lack of appropriate training for employees and poor organizational structure of enterprises. So different concerned stakeholders should work in cooperation to minimize the challenges faced to tourism enterprises.