Sustainable Growth Strategies for Entrepreneurial Tourism: A Link Between Entrepreneurial Growth and Regional Development

Introduction

The multi-billion-dollar tourism industry of today exhibits huge direct and indirect sway over a country’s economy and overall development. It has the power to transform entire cities and communities, especially in developing countries. The tourism industry has immense growth potential; it not only generates employment, but it can also develop social, cultural and educational values among people. Thus, the development of modern tourism industry is no longer limited to merely economic perspectives; its social impact has attracted significant attention from governments, NGOs, and private organizations (Ghasemi and Hamzah, 2014). Over the years, tourism has evolved from favouring solely those areas which offered countryside escapes or scenic beaches and hills. The modern tourist is not just tempted by the promise of scenic beauty, but also by the lure of exotic cultural gifts like heritage sites, traditional food, and eco-conscious experiences (Barett, 2008). Hence, the tourism industry is now open to exploration of areas that were previously deemed unlikely to be tourist destinations due to their lack of natural scenic landscapes. This shift has brought new areas to attention where tourism can be promoted for achieving social and economic development. As per the report of United Nations (2020), around 60 percent of the world’s population shall reside in urban areas by the year 2030¹. The tourism sector consists of a highly segmented and imperative arena in the economy of modern nation states. In a global economy, the tourism sector acts as a major determinant of the resources that a country can showcase against its competitors whilst also using the same to bring in ample finance. Several strands of thought are invested in the development of tourism theories and the identification of key issues that problematize the efficiency of the tourism sector. Hence, a holistic analysis of this particular sector requires that we undertake a comparative historical analysis of the development of the tourism sector in various economies over time and also consider micro-arenas where impact-evaluation can take place. Tourism has already had an impact on the development of developing economies (Ashley et al., 2007), which also explains its highly competitive and globalized all-inclusive nature, consisting of entities ranging from small sector enterprises to global mass-production chains. In this context, the present paper seeks to analyse the role of the tourism sector in development of national economies and how sustainable growth can be ensured for entrepreneurial tourism. To begin with, the definitions of certain key concepts need to be undertaken.