ABSTRACT
This exploratory study focuses on the understudied area of financial services available to tourism social entrepreneurs. Understanding the unique user experience of fundraising by tourism social entrepreneurs leading hybrid business models, where social value creation is intertwined with profitability, gives us insights into the effectiveness of current finance tools, especially during crises. These insights can help optimize financial instruments that contribute towards higher volumes of successful social entrepreneurship in tourism, ensuring their survival during crises. Data was collected during COVID-19 through qualitative semi-structured interviews. Findings suggest a need for more understanding of relevant social business models by financial providers and a dearth of trust in tourism businesses. The conceptual framework presented in this paper takes an empathetic approach to understand the user experience of tourism social entrepreneurs, using a grounded theory approach to improve existing financial tools. This study is relevant to entities dedicated to financing tourism businesses, tourism social entrepreneurs, and policymakers keen on developing tourism for economic and community development while simultaneously contributing to the scant literature on social finance. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.