Tourism has the potential to empower the community, and efforts need to be focused on its sustainable development. Understanding the needs of tourists and the peculiarities of tourism processes is the first step in expanding the capacity of local communities to make informed and acceptable decisions on tourism development. Significant investments are needed to build communication and trust among tourism representatives. Successful tourism development implies a clear understanding of the importance of entrepreneurship and human resources management. Tourist enterprises are defined as the most important participants in the process of job creation and the growth of the economy in the world. It is also necessary to identify the structures that influence the creation of quality enterprises in the tourism industry. Tourism has a significant demand due to the creation of various types of attractions and the maintenance of tourism infrastructure. However, it is necessary to develop a strategy that should ensure the management of tourism and marketing structure, support for research and development of new tourist products, approaches to risk management. Another important aspect is the protection of the environment, historical and cultural heritage and restrictions on tourist flows. In addition, entrepreneurial activity and leadership characteristics, that is, human capital of enterprises, are important factors for a successful tourism business. The purpose of the article is the conceptual framework of entrepreneurship development in the tourist and recreational sphere of Ukraine and directions of its activation in the medium term. Scientific novelty consists in research of marketing and market orientation of tourist enterprises, differentiation and perspective directions of development of tourist activity of the enterprise. The practical significance of the results obtained is that they can be used in assessing the relationship between the level of knowledge and competencies of tourism managers and their participation in making managerial decisions. A promising scientific direction on this topic is a further detailed analysis of the structure of incomes and expenditures of domestic tourism enterprises.