Copp, Charles B.

The country of Slovakia has experienced many new changes since their adoption of a market economic system. The tourism industry is an area of the economy that has experienced high levels of growth and is deemed to be a cornerstone of Slovakia's future well being. The objective of this paper is to assess this industry by investigating the reorganization and use of networks by small businesses. A survey of Slovak hotels and tourism agents was conducted to evaluate these interrelationships. The results of the survey were then used to analyze the geographic differences between firms in Slovakia's tourism industry. Emerging patterns were found that reflected the adaptation of Slovakia's small tourism businesses to the changing business environment as well as network patterns that resembled those found in older market based economies.

Tourism development in post-communist East Central Europe is characterized by growing numbers of international visitors. The region, however, has inherited infrastructural and policy limitations that perpetuate two distinct tourism spaces within most nations. International tourists remain very concentrated in the capital cities and a few resort locations, while domestic tourists display a much more diffused pattern of travel. The infrastructure that international tourists demand, and the information they require in making holiday decisions, is still quite geographically limited in East Central Europe.

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)