ENTREPRENEURSHIP AS A PROCESS OF SOCIAL INNOVATION IN TOURISM

Abstract

From the perspectives of entrepreneurship, social innovation is seen as a
different context in which entrepreneurial opportunities can be identified, sized and
commercialized into a consumable tourism product. These opportunities are then
transformed into business innovations based on nature, culture, heritage, traditions,
religions, and other tourism venture initiatives. Various factors encourage STFs to
innovate, as follows: emerging technologies; competitor actions; new ideas from
customers, strategic partners, and employees; and emerging changes in the external
environment (societal, political, industry trends and government support). The aim
of the paper is to show that entrepreneurship, as a social innovation, is the key
catalyst of destination growth, rather than capital investment. Social Innovation is a
multifaceted concept and it can be classified according to the object, the field,
relevance and origin. Social innovation in the tourism can be observed at different
levels: firm level, network level, and public policy level.
Key words: Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Tourism