Social Entrepreneurship as a tool for promoting Global Citizenship in Island Tourism Destination Management

While on one hand, social entrepreneurship, as a new movement, is being spearheaded by individuals to make the world a better place, on the other hand, small islands, dominated by Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) seem to have overlooked this emerging concept in their tourism management initiatives. The work of Séraphin (2012) highlighted two important social entrepreneurship schemes in Haiti, but failed to shed light on its relevance and implications for island tourism. Similarly, in Mauritius, the Ministry of Tourism and Leisure is engaged in various tourism management initiatives aligned with the governmental vision called ‘Maurice Ile Durable' (MID), but, social entrepreneurship is not considered in the tourism plan. With these gaps as foundations, this paper examines the concept of social entrepreneurship and investigates its role in promoting global citizenship in island tourism destination management. Starting with a brief presentation of Mauritius and Haiti as tourism destinations, this paper examines two small islands heavily dependent on tourism. Exploratory in nature, it unfolds with some meaningful observations on the Haitian and Mauritian tourism industries. The paper thereafter develops new insights on the role of social entrepreneurship in island tourism and suggests its merit as a tool for island destination management.