ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the characteristics and progression of the hospitality industry as a modern and global economic sector, and presents an overview of using economic-related ways of thinking and reasoning. First, the business characteristics and changing organization of the hospitality industry in world markets are highlighted. Besides, the composition of the hospitality industry, its overlap and interrelationship with the leisure, non-leisure and tourism sectors in general are explicated. In addition, the significance and economic dimensions of this industry are highlighted. Also, the key features of business innovations in the modern hospitality industry are elucidated. In the second part of this chapter, the basic principles of both microeconomics and macroeconomics are outlined. These include their key concepts, basic criteria used to explore the market behavior of individual consumers and firms, the role of price in the markets, measures used to assess the overall performance of an economy, and different roles of a government in an economy. Lastly, the organization and scope of this book are outlined and discussed. Keywords: business innovations; economic dimensions; hospitality; hospitality industry; macroeconomic principles; microeconomic principles
