Social Entrepreneurship in The Development of Sustainable Tourism: A Conceptual Evaluation

Abstract

Tourism is the basic economic activity in generating income and employment for many regions
with rich natural and cultural resources. However, this economic importance causes the
ecological and socio-cultural effects of tourism to be ignored. With the increasing needs of the
society and the demands to meet these needs, the importance of civil society has begun to be
revised and for this reason, models such as social entrepreneurship have started to increase in
recent years. The secondary goals of social enterprises are to generate profit and their main goals
are to create social benefits. Today, the borders between different sectors are gradually
disappearing and the social benefits that these sectors try to create are shaped in different
directions. Tourism sector is one of these sectors. In the sector, it is seen that the efforts of
individuals and institutions to create social assistance have become one of their main missions
rather than a secondary task. For this reason, the importance of social entrepreneurship, which is
one of the most important business models creating social benefits, is increasing day by day.
Accordingly, the purpose of this study is; to give information about the importance and role of
social entrepreneurship in terms of sustainable tourism development. In line with this
information, case studies in the tourism industry are mentioned. In addition, various suggestions
are made for the development of sustainable entrepreneurship in tourism.