Familjeägda turistföretag
Succé med succession för landsbygdsdestinationer?
TourismFamily BusinessSuccessionRural AreasDestinationDurabilityTurismFamiljeföretagSuccessionLandsbygdDestinationVaraktighet
This paper examines family owned tourism businesses with a special focus on succession. In Nordic countries tourism has been widely promoted and used in rural development as a replacement economy for ?traditional? livelihoods based on rural production. Because the tourism and hospitality industry, especially in rural areas, is dominated by family enterprises, the topic of succession is of great relevance for tourism and tourism destinations. This paper looks at family businesses? special characteristics, challenges and advantages in terms of ownership structure, lifestyle, motivations, employees and destination impact. This paper concludes that, while family-owned Small and Medium-sized enterprises make up the backbone of the tourism industry, especially in rural destinations, there exists insufficient research on their significance within tourism. A small percentage of family owned tourism businesses are successfully handed over to succeeding generations. Those that do are exceptional and more sustainable both in financial and marketing terms and therefore extremely advantageous for destinations. On the other hand, family businesses that fail to be passed on to following generations can have a devastating effect on tourism and destinations in general.