ABSTRACT
The backbone of the tourism industry, whether urban or rural, comprises a plethora of private-sector businesses that are dominated by micro-businesses employing less than ten people and straddling several different standard industrial classifications. In Wales, micro-businesses (0–9 employees) account for 94 per cent of the total number of enterprises in Wales with the highest proportion located in rural local authority areas, such as Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire, Gwynedd, Isle of Anglesey, Monmouthshire, Pembrokeshire and Powys (Welsh Government, 2011a). Micro-businesses dominate the wholesale, retail, transport, hotels, food and communication sector (which incorporates tourism-related businesses) in terms of the total number of enterprises and employment accounting for 92 per cent of employment in these sectors (Welsh Government, 2011a). These figures illustrate the critical importance of micro-businesses to the economic sustainability of the Welsh tourism industry, particularly in rural destinations.
