The characteristics and motivations of expatriate tourism service providers on the Costa del Sol, Spain

Expatriate-owned businesses account for a significant proportion of the total supply of small licensed premises within the main mass tourist resorts of the Costa del Sol in southern Spain. This paper presents some findings from a questionnaire survey conducted with owners of these small businesses in the resorts of Torremolinos and Fuengirola and focuses in particular on the behavioural characteristics and motivations of this group of small business owners. Using evidence from other research a comparison is made between the characteristics and motivations of this sample of expatriate tourism business owners and those of other small business owners in the tourism and hospitality industry. It is argued that although these expatriate owners are more likely than other owners of small tourism firms to possess relevant management and industry experience, they too are predominantly driven by non-economic motives and are prepared to work incredibly long hours in order to reap other intrinsic rewards.