Activation of innovative development of small business in tourism

The article considers the directions of activation of innovative development of small business in tourism. The main features that determine the role and weight of small enterprises in the structure of the tourism industry and affirm small business as an innovative and most acceptable form of organizing tourism activities are highlighted. The analysis and diagnostics of the dynamics of small business development in tourism is carried out on the basis of the formed matrix of analytical evaluation indicators by types of economic activity. An integral rating score has been derived for each selected group of small tourism enterprises. As a characteristic of small business in tourism, an integral criterion for assessing the level of innovation is proposed, which allows evaluating the final results of the effectiveness of innovative processes. The logic of the construction of this criterion assumes an assessment of innovation by determining and comparing the resource intensity of the relevant types of tourism activities in the base and analyzed periods. The basic principles have been formed and the technology of integrated monitoring of the innovative activity of entrepreneurial structures in tourism has been developed in the form of an annual selective survey of managers and specialists of small tourism enterprises. It is established that innovative development can be represented as a process of structural improvement of tourism, which is achieved mainly through the practical use of new knowledge to increase the volume of tourist services.