Networking trends of small tourism businesses in post-socialist Slovakia

It is argued that the development of small economic enterprises is vital for a transitioning economy (Gibb 1993: Gibb and Haas 1996). Small businesses provide an outlet for many specialized workers to start their own firm, thus providing a foundation for a newly transitioning economy(Erutku and Vallee 1997). This philosophy has led to "a very substantial growth of the micro-small business sector over the past half-dozen years" (Charap, quoted in Gibb 1993.,p. 461). and this growth is the reason for the expansion of many new firms, particularly in the service sector (Gibb 1993). Tourism development is playing a strong role in the service sector boom. Research suggests that the tourism industry can be an area of high growth during economic transition, due to the low requirements of human capital needed to gain entry (Szivas and Riley 1999)