Chapter 10: Tourism Entrepreneurship and Social Capital

Tourism Entrepreneurship: Major Constraints

• Limited access to finance• Low skills• High operational costs

• Social enterprises tend to address unmet social needs due to market and government failures

The Role of Social Capital• Increases the likelihood of achieving socio-economic

goals• Provides a specific type of resource that is embedded

in the relations between an individual and other entities and the capacity to facilitate productive activity

• Comprises physical, human and knowledge assets necessary for economic growth

• Concerns the different network structures that facilitate or hinder access to social resources and the nature of the social resources

Public-Private Partnerships

• Shared Goals• Collective responsibilities• Effective Leadership• Stakeholder Communication• Community Capacity• Supportive Entrepreneurial Climate

Tourism Entrepreneurship & Social Capital

• Tourism entrepreneurship contributes to job creation and regional development

• Social capital is required in developing/remote destinations

• Requires creation, maintenance and extension of relationships

• Social capital is embedded in the degree of collaboration of those involved in entrepreneurial venture