Understanding and Enhancing IT Use in Small Tourism Businesses

The rapid growth and development of information technologies (IT) is creating great opportunities for tourism businesses. Despite the potential for IT to assist the New Zealand tourism industry, studies show that the rate of IT up-take among small firms is worryingly low. Small operators (under 10 employees) make up over 80% of the country’s tourism businesses and potentially have the most to gain from exploiting emerging internet based technologies that allow traditional distribution systems to be by-passed. Indeed the New Zealand Tourism Industry Association has identified IT adoption by small firms as one of its key concerns for the coming decade. 

The first component of the proposed research focuses on the adoption of IT by small tourism operators in the Auckland region. Using surveys, in-depth interviews and case study observations this phase of the work will identify key factors that assist/hinder the diffusion of IT and will isolate areas where policy attention should be focused. We will then select a small number of operators who are willing to undergo basic training in IT use. This training will be conducted, evaluated, and further developed in a usability laboratory at AIT and in some cases within the business itself. We will analyse the ways in which individuals adopt IT, and highlight strategies that may enhance future uptake of technology. The research will generate outputs that are of value in both academic and industry settings, it will also help to cement growing links between IT and tourism research at AIT.