What is Handicraft

The purpose of this chapter is to identify entrepreneurial skill acquisition priorities of artisans and its dimensional orientation in cultural tourism destinations of India. The study adopted the exploratory sequential method, employed in-depth interview in qualitative stage, and structured questionnaire in the quantitative stage for primary data collection. Factor analysis was done for identifying dimensions of entrepreneurial skill acquisition priorities. Data gathered from three cultural tourism destinations of Andhra Pradesh, India. The results indicate that there are 17 indicators pertaining to entrepreneurial skill acquisition priorities, with three distinct dimensions consisting of (1) managerial skill, (2) initiating skill, and (3) destination-specific skill. This emphasizes that focus has to be given while imparting entrepreneurial training for artisan aspiring for grabbing cultural tourism opportunities. The study highlights the importance of framing broader strategies in skill development programs based on the destination-specific requirements of artisans for an inclusive growth, which may, in turn, meet the conservation and management needs of craft/artwork and also to expand economic opportunities in this informal sector.