ABSTRACT
Those participating in migration have been thought of as rational individuals who are prepared to take risks to improve their livelihoods and can sometimes take advantage of being outsiders. Whilst much is understood about migrant workers employed formally, or informally, within tourism and hospitality services, the self-employment of immigrants has received scant attention. This is surprising, given the general tendency in the labour market more broadly towards self-employment rather than paid employment. Evidence from other studies has shown self-employment in tourism, particularly within the hotel and restaurant sector amongst the foreign-born populations, is growing rapidly. In Europe in 2016 self-employment constituted 9% of the workforce in accommodation and food services, compared with 5% in the wider economy. This lack of research can be partly explained by a limited amount of data regarding self-employment and ethnicity more broadly, compounded by the challenges of the distinction between registered self-employment, and that which occurs in the informal sector. Whilst some have argued that culture plays an important role in the self-employment of migrants, others suggest it is a response to blocked mobility through labour market disadvantage and discrimination and is therefore a matter of strategic survival.
