Potential for social entrepreneurship in tourism in the city of Chennai

Abstract

Purpose Tamil Nadu, the southern provincial state of India attracts the highest number of domestic as well as international tourist to India. Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu is the much sought-after destination for tourists and attracts a large number of visitors. Considering the transformational role of tourism with its focus on community-in-need, tourism can usher opportunities for both not-for-profit and for-profit social entrepreneurship (SE). At this juncture, the number of poor people in the city is relevant, which is almost 40% of the population seeking livelihood opportunities. SE operating for-profit model is often construed sustainable and appropriate in the context of tourism. Considering the relevance of such innovative actional approaches, this study aims to explore the potential of for-profit SE in the the city of Chennai. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted the exploratory sequential method. The social drivers and challenges of SE in Chennai were explored through expert in-depth interview and the dimensions of challenges were explored through factor analysis. Findings The study result indicates that the social drivers of SE in tourism can be broadly classified into concurrent social drivers and latent social drivers, which encompass the potential for social bricoleur, social constructionist and social engineer typologies. There are five dimensions for the challenges for institutionalizing tourism-based SE in the city of Chennai i.e. community concerned, industry specific, sustainability centric, governance oriented and collaboration centered. The study concluded with future directions for the institutionalizing SE, creating social value and fostering community-level transformation in tune with sustainable development goals (SDGs) in tourist destinations of the city of Chennai. Research limitations/implications The study considered existing wage employees of various vendors in tourist destinations of the city with an assumption that these wage employees are interested in entrepreneurship possibility. Practical implications SE assumes relevance in the context of inclusive tourism and toward the attainment of SDGs through tourism, as an economic activity. The outcome of the study can be a catalyst to stimulate alternative business models for local development; persuading existing business enterprises to follow more responsible business practices in city destinations, thus promoting more pragmatic socio-economic outcomes to the underprivileged, through tourism. Originality/value Social drivers and challenges are unique in the context of tourism especially in the Indian context as there was no such attempt to consolidate these aspects as a move toward inclusive tourism by strengthening the grass-root level participation.