This paper contends that tourism destination competitiveness depends upon a viable community of small tourism and hospitality firms that often collectively represent the destination product. It is argued that the requirement for tourism destinations to deliver high-quality service and products, coupled with the labour intensive nature of the industry, results in a need for businesses to recruit and retain well-educated and well-trained professionals. The findings of a sub-regional research project that explored small tourism and hospitality firm attitudes to training and training provision are presented. It is concluded that, while there is a range of tailored training provision available to such firms, they perceive several key barriers to prevent them from fully engaging with this. In conclusion, it is suggested that it may be the ‘lifestyle’-oriented nature of many such firms that is the most fundamental determining factor in training orientation. © 2007, SAGE Publications. All rights reserved.
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