Determinants of improving small tourism business performance and entrepreneurs’ quality of life: evidence from a three-year longitudinal study

ABSTRACT This research attempts to identify the determinants and impacts of performance on small tourism entrepreneurs’ quality of life and tourism attitudes. Consistent three-year data were collected from 198, 191, and 194 small tourism entrepreneurs in Global Geopark Yuntai Mountain, China. The results found that either entrepreneur characteristics, including business skills, locus of control, autonomy, social relations, and autonomy, or enterprise characteristics, featuring innovation, management, and policy intervention, significantly contribute to entrepreneurial performance. The model also suggests that entrepreneurial performance significantly affects QOL rather than attitudes toward tourism. Implications can be applied for policymakers to promote tourism sustainability for destinations.