The Role Of Social Enterprises In The Development Of The Tourism Industry

Social enterprises, as social businesses established to provide real employment opportunities for local residents from prioritized target groups, have become important development actors in the emerging economies over the last two decades. Furthermore, non-governmental organizations (as part of the social enterprise sector) are increasingly involved in “sustainable” activities, becoming the main service providers in countries where the government is unable to fulfill its traditional role. However, there has been given little attention to how social enterprises have an impact on the development of some industries such as tourism. Therefore, the aim of this article is to present the role and importance of social responsibility and social economy in the development of tourism. After a literature review on the social dimensions of business, social responsibility, social economy and their relationship with tourism, the paper presents a research based on an analysis of statistical data regarding the evolution of the number of social enterprises and tourists registered in the eight development regions in Romania. It was found that the regions with the most developed sector of social enterprises register the highest growth rate in the number of tourist arrivals. The analysis can be successfully used in a more comprehensive future research, involving the business environment.