Tourism Enterprises as Buyers of Knowledge-Intensive Business Services

Abstract

This article is an attempt to assess the business relations between the tourism sector and suppliers of various types of business services. It focuses on knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS). The reasons why tourism businesses purchase outsourced services are also discussed. An Internet survey was conducted and the results were used to calculate and discuss a number of indices. Cross-tabulation statistics are used to assess the interrelation between types of tourist firms, their localization and size, and the types and number of services they use. The largest numbers of KIBS used by the Polish tourism sector are from the accounting, IT, and advertising sectors, whereas the smallest relate to research and experimental development in the social sciences and humanities. This article fills a gap in the knowledge about usage of KIBS services by the tourism sector at the national level.