Proceedings of 2nd International Conference on Business, Management and Economics
Year: 2019
DOI:
The role of small and medium size enterprises in regional tourism development: the case of georgia
Merab Khokhobaia
ABSTRACT:
Tourism industry can have a significant impact on the regional and national economy. Due to the fragmented nature of the industry rational policy should to be developed in order to achieve productive results. Which potentially will positively contribute the balanced development of the national and local economy. Naturally, to study such a complex issue, we have to take into consideration the main trends which exists at the international level as well. It’s obvious, that the impact of the tourism industry on the economy is quite fragmented. Tourism enhances the process of creation of working places, tax generation, development of adjacent sectors. The system of the tourism industry can be considered as a platform, which accelerates activities in the economically depressive regions and tourist destinations. The role of SMEs in the tourism industry are crucial, which means, that SMEs can be considered as an important generator for the regional and national economy. It should be mentioned, that small and medium enterprises are more flexible and open to meet the market opportunities. As practice confirms there are no single recipe which can be taken into consideration by the different countries. This article aims to examine how tourism industry can promote balanced growth of local economic activities through the prism of small and medium size enterprises. Furthermore, research paper focuses on the study the developing trend of small and medium entrepreneurship in the tourism and hospitality industry in Georgia.
Keywords: Tourism industry, Local economic development, Tourism Policy, Poverty reduction.