Scope for entrepreneurship networking: The case of travel and tourism trade in ASEAN region

• Main Author: Abdul Hamid, Ibrahim
• Other Authors: Ismail, Dahlan
• Format: Book Section
• Language: English
• Published: ASEAN Universities Consortium of Enterpreneurship Education (AUCEE) 2010
• Subjects: HB Economic Theory
• Online Access: http://repo.uum.edu.my/2957/1/Pages_from_The_First_Seminar_on._Entrepreneurship_and_Social_Development_in_Asean444.pdf; http://repo.uum.edu.my/2957/
• Institution: Universiti Utara Malaysia

Travel industry comprises of various kinds of businesses. These businesses ranges from accommodation business to food and beverages businesses, entertainment businesses, transportation, retailing, events, souvenirs and other hosts of businesses that support the travel and hotel industry.These businesses are fragmented in nature. Travel agency business alone is consisted of large numbers ofsmall, entrepreneurialfirms.The clusters of entrepreneurship had generated a formation of specialized services among them; by either serving an inbound or outbound travel services.Travel trade associations within the ASEAN countries had forged relationship to provide an opportunity that would generate better ties among the travel and hotel operators in the ASEAN region. Like travel trade, operators in the hotel and motel trade also depends on networking with trade members in other countries to enhance their mutual trade growth. Assessment of the current cooperation among travel and hotel entrepreneurs indicated that there are opportunities existed for wider cooperation and trade growth.However, many small entrepreneurs in hotel and travel still lack the readiness to export their services to the regional markets. There are several factors that resulted to this predicament.The use of web-based services only benefited the large and well-connected travel and hotel operators. Internet communication had created direct marketing for most destinations and services provided. Travel agency and hotel entrepreneurs need to use social networking as a way to inform the travelers.