Foundational economy as a lever of growth in the periphery: the tourism sector in Baranya county

Abstract

An emerging area of research in the post-Covid era is the analysis of the role of the foundational economy. The foundational economy comprises economic activities that meet people's everyday needs. In a broader sense, it also includes activities that, although not meeting a basic need, are frequently used by people, including tourism-related activities. In the present research, enterprise-level micro data have been used to analyse the entrepreneurial sector in Baranya county, Hungary. In a comparative perspective, we highlight the companies performing tourism-related activities and analyse the geographical distribution of such companies within the county, focusing on border municipalities and examining their main financial, employment, and efficiency indicators. Our results show that the importance of the tourism sector in the border areas of the county is due to its prevalence and relatively high share, while productivity is favourable only in terms of a narrow segment.