Assessment of E-commerce Adoption and its Effects on Performance of Tour Operators in Arusha, Tanzania

The objective of the study was to assess the e-commerce adoption and its effect on the performance of the tour operator enterprises based in Arusha region, Tanzania. The research design adopted was a descriptive cross sectional survey. The study population comprised of all registered tour operator’s enterprises. From which a sample of 75 tour operators were sampled jointly through convenience and snow bowl sampling. The primary data collection instrument was a structured questionnaire. Sixty three usable questionnaires out of the 75 were collected and analysed. The descriptive statistics which includes percentage, means, and standard deviation were used to describe the sample and to assess e-commerce adoption and performance. Regression analysis was used to assess the effect of e-commerce adoption on performance. The findings revealed that most of enterprises based in Arusha region, Tanzania aware and adopted some form of e-commerce applications. Further, the study showed that e-commerce adoption has significant positively relationship with the performance. Lastly, the findings revealed that majority of tour enterprises efforts to adopt e-commerce are affected by inaccessibility of financial resources, inadequate and unreliable telecommunication infrastructure and non availability of advice and support about what technology to adopt, and how, in close proximity. The findings imply that for tour operators to achieve better performance, e-commerce adoption should be part of their strategy. It is recommended therefore all stakeholders should work to ensure the necessary conditions are in place to support e-commerce adoption