1. MENAGEMENT OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN TOURISM
Current global recession and unfavorable conditions for doing business induced the
deterioration of the entrepreneurial climate. The expected results have not been achieved due
to negative effects of the crisis, particularly in the sector of small and medium size business
which cause its failure to transform into the leading economic segment.
The entrepreneurial sector accounted for 99.8% out of 319,802 companies in 2011. The number
of people employed in medium and small businesses accounted for 65.3% of all employees with
the turnover of 65.2%, GDP share of 55.2%, and it employed 55.7% of the non-financial sector
investments in the same year. This sector accounted for 45.1% of the total employment rate,
51.7% of total investments, generated 46.5% of export, 52.7% of import, and 61.7% of Serbia’s
foreign trade deficit, and also participated in the country’s GDP with 33%.
The emergence of the global economic crisis late in 2008, created the necessity for developing a
new growth model based on the pursuit of export, increased investments and decreased public
expenditure, all that by simultaneously strengthening the industrial sector and developing the
service sector. Lack of competitiveness of the small and medium size business sector has still
been the main limiting factor for increasing the degree of internationalization. Qualitative
indicators of this sector development rate appeared to be lower compared to the EU average,
and to the majority of reviewed countries (employment rate by the company, turnover, GDP
and achieved profit rate by the employee).
The recession in the area of tourism has come with a delay. In cases of a short-term recession,
developed countries managed to avoid almost all of its negative effects. However, it has
changed economic activities in Serbia and the very development of the region, as well as the
awareness of the local population of positive and negative influences of tour¬ism to the local
economy.
Belgrade 2012