The entrepreneurship factor in sustainable tourism development

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2004.02.043

Journal of Cleaner Production

Volume 13, Issue 8, June 2005, Pages 787-798

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2004.02.043 Get rights and content

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is considered a central force of economic development, as it generates growth and serves as a vehicle for innovation and change. Tourism is one of the economic sectors in which a great degree of involvement is needed by the entrepreneurial sector: diversification of tourism products and services is needed to cope with increased demand for new types of tourism needs. These include opportunities for more sustainable tourism. The Söderslätt region of Sweden, which is used as a case study, is a newborn tourist destination with lots of natural and cultural characteristics. It is also one of the most agriculture intensive areas in Sweden where a potential for rural entrepreneurship development can be identified. However, the entrepreneurial culture and climate was poor in the region. This is due to the social pressure that is characteristic for this rural community. This paper shows the results of a SWOT analysis of Söderslätt tourism entrepreneurship development, which gives an overview of their current entrepreneurial situation. The case of a family-based enterprise, “Healthy Pig Farm” is presented as an example of a successful, innovative entrepreneur in farm tourism. Moreover, based on the findings and analyses, several recommendations are proposed to overcome obstacles for sustainable entrepreneurship development in rural tourist areas.

Introduction

This article is designed to emphasize the entrepreneurship factor in sustainable tourism development and to identify ways of enhancing entrepreneurship in tourism. The study is based on an M.Sc. thesis titled “Enhancing Entrepreneurship in Rural Tourism for Sustainable Regional Development: The case of Söderslätt region, Sweden” [1], for the programme of Environmental Management and Policy in the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE) at Lund University. The research question addressed is “How to stimulate and promote entrepreneurship for sustainable tourism development?”

Sustainable tourism development is envisioned as the “…management of all resources in a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural heritage, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems” [2]. The Agenda 21 for Travel and Tourism stresses the benefits that tourism can bring to rural areas. This requires a long-term perspective and careful consideration of the ways in which tourism and environment interrelate [3].

The trends observed in tourism indicate an increased demand for small-scale, nature-related and rural tourism. Tourism is one of economic sectors in which a great degree of involvement is needed by the entrepreneurial sector due to its rapid international market growth [4]. An entrepreneurial orientation with respect to rural development should be based on stimulation of local entrepreneurs thus, creating jobs and adding economic value to a region and community and at the same time keeping scarce resources within the community [5]. Moreover, what is needed is an environment that enables responsible entrepreneurial development, taking the demands of sustainable development as points of departure.

Section snippets

Addressing the tourism sector

Tourism is one of the largest and fastest growing industries today. With its rapid growth, a diversification of tourism products and destinations is taking place, consequently, demanding new alternative types of tourism, e.g. small-scale nature-related and rural ‘experience’ tourism [6]. Within the total world market for tourism, rural tourism forms a relatively small sector but is of growing importance. The reason for this is that, until now, a very large part of tourism has been concentrated

The concept of entrepreneurship

Because this article emphasizes the factor of entrepreneurship and identifies ways of stimulating this process, it is helpful to provide a short overview of the concept of entrepreneurship.

The root of the word ‘entrepreneur’ comes from the French verb ‘entreprendre’, which means ‘to undertake’ [11]. Despite the amount of published literature related to the theory of entrepreneurship, a generally accepted theory has never emerged [12]. According to Richard Cantillion, who first acknowledged this

Entrepreneurship and sustainable development

The relationship between entrepreneurship and sustainable development is concerned with the link between business and environment. They can support or contradict each other. On the one hand, market opportunities and policies supporting sustainable development can result in the creation of new firms and economic activities. New businesses can find new ways of providing more resource efficient products and services. On the other hand, new businesses may encourage new ecological risks, while

Responsible entrepreneurship in tourism

Within tourism, entrepreneurship has gained an increasing importance. The role of tourism entrepreneurs can be vital for the development of rural areas; therefore, it is essential to find new means of livelihood and alternatives for entrepreneurs. Environmentally responsible entrepreneurship can be based on resources and experiences offered by nature [24]. Special emphasis can be given to non-material values and renewable natural resources. Nature-based entrepreneurship can have the following

Case study—the Söderslätt region

The case study represents the Söderslätt region, which is situated in the southwest corner of Skåne, the southernmost part of Sweden. It is a newborn tourist destination and one of the most agriculturally intensive areas in Sweden. The area has a great variety of natural and cultural assets as well, which can be considered as a potential for rural entrepreneurship development. The proposition is that entrepreneurship, developed in a sustainable way, can make a positive contribution to rural

Entrepreneurial culture and climate in Söderslätt

The local culture of entrepreneurship can be seen in terms of how entrepreneurship is valued in a community. From that perspective the entrepreneurial culture is poor in the Söderslätt region due to conservative social pressure that is characteristic for this rural community. This type of pressure hinders the emergence of the trust and confidence, that is an essential basis for entrepreneurship [29]. In general, there is a negative social attitude towards entrepreneurship in Söderslätt and

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