Helping Tourism SMEs Plan and Implement Information and Communication Technology

This study has developed and tested a web based Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills capability toolkit consisting of two modules. The first module consists of 37 lessons on Internet strategy, website design and optimisation based on material developed by the ATDW. The second module is a questionnaire that allows the ICT skills profile of a region to be assessed. In developing this toolkit, a literature review was undertaken of the use of ICTs by SMTEs and prior methods of measuring ICT skills. This literature review indicated that the scope of technology that is available to SMTEs is broad and changing rapidly. The technology is also complex and SMTE managers often do not have enough time or money to adopt the technology. The prior literature also highlights a number of different approaches to assessing the skills of SMTEs dependent on the outcome required. If an assessment of the ICT skills capability of a region or country is required then a broad e-readiness questionnaire may be suitable. Alternatively, it may be that a self-assessment linked to training modules is more suitable as it provides a way for operators to improve their skills directly. The literature review also highlighted that ICT related to promotion and marketing is important for a majority of STME operators and that there was a ‘usual’ development path for web related SMTE marketing. A series of face-to-face interviews with 41 SMTEs were conducted and these provided information of the existing and likely ICT developments, sources of competitive advantage and best practice