Article

Journal of Vacation Marketing

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Analysis of ICT usage patterns, ª The Author(s) 2016
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DOI: 10.1177/1356766716654515
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SMEs in the Middle Eastern
countries: The case of Dubai
in UAE

Esmat Zaidan
Qatar University, Doha, Qatar

Abstract
Information and communications technology (ICT) are widely used by enterprises to enhance their
competitiveness. Travel agents (TAs) are among service providers for whom their integration of ICT
and Internet technological capabilities could be the best marketing device and a potential promoter for
enhancing their competitive positioning in the tourism sector. The study contextualizes ICT usage
patterns in an underexplored context, the Middle East countries. This study provides an overview of
the current state of affairs of the ICT adoption in small- and medium-size TAs in Dubai in United Arab
Emirates. It investigates the usage patterns of the Internet by Dubai TAs, reasons for using the Internet,
features of agents’ website content, and perceived significant benefits of e-commerce and barriers to
adoption. It is found that the majority of TAs use the Internet for several reasons, ranging from
customizing services, attracting customers, communicating with customers, gaining access to interna-
tional markets, providing TAs with information and finding out about suppliers and competitors. The
significant perceived benefits identified in this study are establishing a reputation in the global markets,
increasing sales, revenues and profits, improving distribution channels, increasing competitive advan-
tage and customizing services to customer needs. On the other hand, it was found that the principal
barriers hindering e-commerce adoption are limited resources versus the high cost of e-commerce
adoption, online security concerns, lack of skilled information technology labour, a lack of customer
readiness, and a lack of advice and support. The study identified the need for more training facilities for
adopting e-commerce in TAs and the need for the government to provide incentives, professional
advice, and guidance regarding appropriate e-commerce products and services at an affordable cost for
TAs operating in the emirate.

Keywords
Internet adoption, tourism SMEs, travel agencies, tourism, marketing, and e-commerce, Dubai

Introduction and social networking to online commerce, vir-

tually nothing seems impossible with Internet
The Internet remains one of the most revolution-
(Andreau et al., 2010; Kumar and Becerra
ary inventions in the history of humankind
Fernandez, 2007; Stamboulis and Skayannis,
(Andreau et al., 2010). It is a technological
development whose capability has found signifi-
cance in almost all spheres of life of the modern
Corresponding author:
society (Andreau et al., 2010; Buhalis, 1998; Esmat Zaidan, College of Arts and Science, Department of
Buhalis and Law, 2008; Zhang and Morrison, International Affairs, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.
2007). From information processing and sharing Email: ezaidan@qu.edu.qa

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2 Journal of Vacation Marketing
2003; Wu et al., 2007). Although the Internet has
become a universally available technology, rec-
ognition of its functionality, means and capability
is still essential (Abu-Shouk et al., 2013; Alex-
ander, 2000; Beekhuyzen et al., 2005; Karanasios
and Burgess, 2008). Travel and tourism industries
are, information oriented, thus highly receptive to
the advantages of utilizing Internet (Andreau
et al., 2010; European Commission, 2006; O’Con-
nor, 1999). An important competitive feature of
the Internet is e-commerce, which is gradually
finding growing acceptance for application in a
wide range of industries (Dyerson and Harindra-
nath, 2007; Jin, 2007; Kim, 2005; Zheng et al.,
2004) including tourism (Abou-Shouk et al.,
2013; Alrashid, 2012; Longhi, 2011; Harindranath
et al., 2008; Zheng et al., 2004).
As a stage for e-commerce, the Internet con-
tinues to be a significant tool for use in the travel
and tourism industries (Andreau et al., 2010).
Utilization of the Internet is gaining increased
acceptance among major stakeholders in the
industry, including travel agencies (TAs)
(Abou-Shouk et al., 2013). Both tourism
academics and industry practitioners are explor-
ing the use of the Internet as an important
knowledge-based invention (Andreau et al.,
2010; Kumar and Becerra Fernandez, 2007;
Wu et al., 2007). Utilizing the Internet in a broad
range of different segments in the tourism indus-
try service is expanding, particularly over the
past two decades, where the use of cyberspace
has gained increasing popularity (Andreau et al.,
2010; Buhalis and Law, 2008). Companies
including TAs are using the Internet to achieve
commercial objectives as they market them-
selves locally and internationally, collecting nec-
essary information, delivering service and
support for their customers, and most importantly,
making electronic transactions (Abu-Shouk et al.,
2013; Bourgouin, 2002; Harindranath et al., 2008;
Karagozoglu and Lindell, 2004). Despite indica-
tions of slow rates of embracing Internet in tour-
ism in some countries, the future prospects of the
tourism industry appear to be significantly reliant
on this technology (Alrashid, 2012).
On the other hand, innovations in the informa-
tion and communications technology (ICT), over
the past two decades, particularly the growth of
the Internet, have had a significant impact on the
tourism industry all over the world (Al-Khouri,
2012; Alrashid, 2012), including the Gulf Coop-
eration Council (GCC) countries. Although the
use of e-tourism in the GCC countries is still rel-
atively low compared to other societies in the
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industrialized world, the United Arab Emirates
(UAE) in particular is investing heavily in adopt-
ing and implementing (ICT) in its governmental
sectors. The UAE leads the Middle East and North
Affrica (MENA) region in adopting and imple-
menting ICT to enhance economic diversification
and global competitiveness (Kalesar, 2010).
The Internet has played a significant role in
the tourism industry in UAE, not only through its
use as an improved source for information shar-
ing but also through the concept of e-commerce
(Alrashid, 2012). The impact of ICT in tourism
industry has been substantial enough to make the
future of this industry significantly dependent on
the adoption of the ICT (Balasubramanian,
2010). Consequently, research on Internet adop-
tion in tourism in the UAE is significant, given
that most research on the e-commerce and Inter-
net adoption in tourism has focused primarily on
Europe and North America. Little research at
present has focused on ICT and Internet adoption
in the tourism industry within the GCC
(Alrashid, 2012; Al-Rawi et al., 2008), particu-
larly the UAE. Thus, the three main objectives of
this article are identified as follows: first, to
investigate the patterns of use of the Internet by
Dubai TAs, reasons for using the Internet, and
features of agent website content. The second
objective is to explore perceived significant ben-
efits of e-commerce. The third objective is to
explore perceived significant barriers of
e-commerce. The logistic regression model is
used to examine the major benefits and barriers
of e-commerce among TAs adopting e-commerce
versus non-adopters. This is the first study to
examine the status of ICT adoption and usage
by TAs in the Emirate of Dubai. The findings of
this research may provide a foundation for future
research and can help policy makers, not only in
Dubai but in other Middle Eastern Countries, in
designing policies to further endorse the use of
Internet technologies and e-commerce adoption
in small- and medium-sized travel agencies
(SMTAs). These policies will lead to improve-
ment in marketing and internal efficiency, which
is in turn reflected in improved productivity and
competiveness.
Dubai as a particular case study is significant
for several reasons; first, Dubai, at present, is
well positioned on the international tourism map
as one of the world’s top tourism destinations
(Alhosani and Zaidan, 2014; Bageen, 2007;
Sharply, 2008). Second, Dubai is taking
significant steps to diversify its economy so as
to decrease its dependency on dwindling oil
Zaidan
supplies and to increase the non-oil sector’s
contribution to the country’s gross domestic
product by the year 2030 (Zaidan, 2015). The
government has been increasingly adopting ICT
to enhance its global competitiveness (Al-Khouri
and Bal, 2007; Al-Khouri and Bachlaghem,
2011), particularly in the tourism industry
(Alrashid, 2012). A gap may have been created
between the governmental agencies involved
in tourism and the private sector, which may
be still falling behind the government in their
adoption of ICT in their enterprises, including
the Internet (Alrashid, 2012; Al-Khouri, 2012).
Third, Dubai has experienced a positive
upward trend in tourist arrivals over recent
years and aims to increase tourist arrivals
into the Emirates to 20 million by 2020
(Al-Hosani and Zaidan, 2014). Accordingly,
this study may contribute to research about
developing strategies for achieving the Dubai
tourism vision 2020 of attracting 20 million
tourists.
Literature review
ICT have significantly changed the ways through
which governments and businesses provide their
services (Al-Khouri, 2012). The rapid spread of
the ICT including the Internet demonstrates how
prevalent and powerful these technologies have
become (Al-Khouri, 2012; Harindranath et al.,
2008; Migiro and Ocholla, 2005). Today, they
are considered one of the fundamental building
blocks for developing modern societies and digi-
tal economies (Al-Khouri, 2012; Castells, 2009;
Varian et al., 2005).
The Internet is a dominant and trusted source
of travel information at present (Abou-Shouk
et al., 2013; Jin, 2007; Kim, 2005). In most global
markets, Web search now plays a more signifi-
cant role than personal recommendation
(Andreau et al., 2010). According to International
Telecommunication Union (2012), the United
States was the first country worldwide to adopt
the Internet, followed by Europe 3 to 4 years
later. Continuing rapid growth in the use of the
Internet globally is expected, especially in Asia
(International Telecommunication Union (2012).
According to the International Telecommunica-
tion Union (2012), there were 111,721,020 Inter-
net users in 18 Arab countries in 2012, growing at
a rate of 18.98% as compared to 93,896,216 in
2011. The number of Internet users in the region
is expected to increase to about 197 million by
2017 (International Telecommunication Union,
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3
2012). Internet penetration in the Arab world is
expected to surge from 32% in 2012 to 51% in
2017, amounting to 3% above the world average
(Arab Knowledge Economy report, 2014: 1).
The 2011 Internet Price Basket (IPB) pub-
lished by the International Telecommunication
Union (2012) ranks a total of 161 economies
according to affordability of ICT services. This
report shows that there are major differences in
ICT prices between countries around the world.
IPB values range from a low (i.e., relatively
affordable) 0.3 in Macao (China) to a high (and
relatively unaffordable) 64.6 in Madagascar. The
IPB also shows that the countries with the high-
est income levels have the most affordable ICT
services. Given the fact that the IPB is calculated
as a percentage of Gross National Income (GNI)
per capita, the top 10 list is dominated by econo-
mies with very high monthly GNI per capita lev-
els (International Telecommunication Union,
2012). Certainly, Norway, Qatar, Luxemburg,
Denmark, Sweden and the UAE rank in the top
10 of the IPB as shown in Table 1 (International
Telecommunication Union, 2012).
Regarding the region of the Arab states,
Table 2 shows that the 2011 ICT Price Basket
values range significantly, between 0.5 in Qatar
and the UAE, which rank fourth and sixth glob-
ally, to 45.9 in Comoros, ranked 152nd out of
161 economies (International Telecommunica-
tion Union, 2012). These large disparities in IPB
values and global rankings may be explained by
the diversity of the Arab world in terms of
income and development levels. It should be
taken into consideration that ICT services are
relatively more affordable in high-income
economies (Alrashid, 2012, Al-Khouri, 2012;
International Telecommunication Union, 2012).
The table shows that all countries (ranking in the
top 40) of the global IPB, such as Qatar, the
UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Oman have
quite high-income levels. For example, Qatar
which ranks fourth globally, and has the most
affordable prices in the region, as low as 0.5%
of average monthly GNI per capita. Next comes
the UAE, followed by Bahrain, Oman and Saudi
Arabia. On the other hand, in Arab states with
lower incomes, such as Lebanon, Tunisia, Egypt,
Algeria and Jordan, the IPB represents about 4%
of GNI per capita. Furthermore, in Arab coun-
tries with low incomes where ICT services
remain mostly unaffordable, the IPB represents
more than 20% of GNI per capita, as exemplified
in Mauritania, Iraq and even reaching more than
45% in Comoros.
4 Journal of Vacation Marketing

Table 1. ICT Price Basket and sub-baskets, 2011 and 2010.

IPB

Rank Economy 2011 2010 GNI per capita, USD, 2010 (or latest available year)

1 Macao, China 0.3 0.3 34,880

2 Norway 0.4 0.5 84,290
3 Singapore 0.4 0.4 40,070
4 Qatar 0.5 0.5 71,008
5 Luxemburg 0.5 0.5 77,160
6 United Arab Emirates 0.5 0.5 41,930
7 Denmark 0.5 0.5 59,050
8 Hong Kong, China 0.6 0.5 32,780
9 Sweden 0.6 0.6 50,110
10 United State 0.6 0.6 47,390
11 Switzerland 0.6 0.6 71,530
12 Finland 0.6 0.5 47,720
13 Austria 0.7 0.7 47,060
14 Cyprus 0.7 0.9 29,430
15 Bahrain 0.7 0.7 25,420
16 Iceland 0.8 0.7 32,710
17 Netherland 0.8 0.8 49,050
18 Belgium 0.8 0.8 45,910
19 Israel 0.9 0.9 27,170
20 Germany 0.9 0.8 43,110
21 Ireland 0.9 0.9 41,000
22 Canada 0.9 0.8 43,270
23 Italy 0.9 0.9 35,150
24 United Kingdom 0.9 0.9 38,370
25 Japan 1.0 1.0 41,850
26 Brunei Darussalam 1.0 1.0 31,800
27 France 1.0 1.0 42,390
28 Malta 1.0 1.0 19,270
29 Australia 1.0 0.8 43,590
30 Oman 1.0 1.2 18,260
31 Russian Federation 1.1 1.0 9900
32 Korea (Rep.) 1.1 1.1 19,890
33 Lithuania 1.2 1.2 11,390
34 Greece 1.2 1.2 26,940
35 Trinidad and Tobago 1.2 1.2 15,380
36 Latvia 1.2 1.2 11,620
ICT: Information and communications technology; IPB: Internet Price Basket.
Source: Internet Telecommunication Union (2012).
Note: GNI and PPP$ values are based on World Bank data.

High-income states in the Arab world such
as UAE, and more specifically Dubai, have
invested considerably in their tourism industry.
The Department of Tourism and Commerce
Marketing (DTCM) in Dubai, which is part of
the Dubai government, is extensively using the
Internet to enhance its market share of interna-
tional leisure and event tourism (Alrashid, 2012,
Al-Khouri, 2012). DTCM is the principle author-
ity for tourism planning, development and mar-
keting in Dubai Emirate. The chairman of the
DTCM is Dubai’s ruler, Mohammed Bin Rashid
Al Maktoom. DTCM has integrated the Internet
use to enhance its sales for various tourism
products and services (Government of Dubai,
2014a). By exploring the DTCM official web-
site, it is noted that a wide range of e-services
exist, including hotel reservations and opportu-
nities for individuals and business entities to reg-
ister as agents for conducting special promotions
for the tourism products and services of Dubai
(DTCM website). In addition, the website pro-
vides options for clients to post ideas, sugges-
tions, or complaints in order to obtain feedback
on the quality of services provided. Another gov-
ernmental website (dubai.com) is considered a
good information source for potential users. The
website provides tourists with information on

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Zaidan 5

Table 2. IPB and sub-basket (USD, PPP$ and as a percentage of GNI per capita), 2011, Arab states.

Global IPB rank Regional IPB rank Country IPB Average annual GNI per capita, USD, 2010

4 1 Qatar 0.5 71,008 *

6 2 United Arab Emirates 0.5 41,930 *
15 3 Bahrain 0.7 25,420 **
30 4 Oman 1.0 18,260 *
41 5 Saudi Arabia 1.3 16,190 *
64 6 Lebanon 2.5 8880
66 7 Tunisia 2.5 4160
75 8 Egypt 2.9 2420
79 9 Algeria 3.4 4450
91 10 Jordon 3.9 4340
100 11 Morocco 5.1 2850
109 12 Syria 6.4 2750
119 13 Yemen 10.8 1070 *
121 14 Sudan 12.9 1270
126 15 Djibouti 19.8 1270 *
127 16 Mauritania 21.7 1030
141 17 Iraq 35.5 2340
IPB: Internet Price Basket.
Source: Internet Telecommunication Union (2012).
Note: GNI and PPP$ values are based on World Bank data.
*2009; **2008.

flights, hotels, and other tour-related services
offered by various actors in the country’s tourism
industry.
Furthermore, Dubai is recognized globally as
a tourist destination where most of its tourist
organizations are engaged in online promotion
and marketing of tourism products and services,
and sales are conducted through e-commerce
(Alrashid, 2012; Kalesar, 2010). According to
the Government of Dubai (2014b), in September
2013, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al
Maktoum, the Ruler of Dubai, issued a decree
regarding the implementation of a fully inte-
grated e-Permit and e-Ticketing system. The
main objective of developing and implementing
this online system is to support and enhance the
events sector, which is a key pillar underpinning
the Dubai Tourism Vision 2020 of welcoming
20 million visitors per year by 2020. The decree
states, ‘DTCM will be responsible for the devel-
opment and management of an online system
through which all procedures related to the appli-
cation, processing and licensing of event permits
will be operated. The system will also include a
centralized platform for the sale and distribution
of tickets for all events in Dubai’ (Government of
Dubai, 2014b: 1). The above examples represent
competitive uses of the Internet that Dubai has
incorporated. However, the question that may
rise here is whether the government tourism
organisations in Dubai are way ahead of the
average small- and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) in the emirate. This study may contribute
to the debate that can ensue in exploring this
question.
According to the World Tourism Organiza-
tion (2001), electronic business provides small
and medium-sized tourism enterprises signifi-
cant opportunities to improve their business in
an innovative and cost-effective manner (Abou
Shouk et al., 2013; Andreau et al., 2010;
Lichtenthal and Eliaz, 2003). Andreau et al.
(2010: 778) state that, ‘the accessibility of online
travel websites reduces the relevance of travel
agencies, and this might ultimately result in tra-
vellers bypassing traditional travel agencies’. On
the other hand, they also state, ‘a key strength of
traditional travel agencies is their ability to
provide information and advice to travelers. Con-
sequently, for travel agencies that position them-
selves as travel advisors . . . the adoption and
exploitation of the IT in the business processes
is one of the key success factors’.
Accordingly, TAs rely heavily on up-to-date
and precise information. Therefore, TAs make
extensive use of a range of information systems
for different purposes; reservations, making
transactions and inventory management (Barnett
and Standing, 2001). Literature surveys have
shown that adopting the Internet provides access
to helpful information on tourism products and
services and facilitates interaction with business

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6 Journal of Vacation Marketing
stakeholders; it improves customer services
while easing and accelerating the ways through
which business is being done (Abo-Shouk et al.,
2013; Karanasios and Burgess, 2008; Khanchouch,
2005; Teo et al., 2009; Usoro, 2007). As identi-
fied in Abou-Shouk et al. (2013), TAs widely use
global distribution systems, which are one form
of information systems for making reservations,
reporting, searching for information and for cli-
ent management.
Likewise, TAs also use organizational infor-
mation systems for different purposes, such as
accounting, billing, reporting and record man-
agement (Abou-Shouk et al., 2013; Alvarez
et al., 2007). The most significant benefits as
determined by Internet adoption experts for tour-
ism and hospitality companies are last-minute
bookings, lower distribution costs, improvement
in marketing and increased internal efficiency;
this is reflected in turn to improving performance
(Abou-Shouk, 2013; Alvarez et al., 2007; Dyer-
son and Harindranath, 2007; Jin, 2007).
With regard to tourism marketing, the Internet
has produced a revolution in marketing tourism
destinations (Andreau et al., 2010). According to
a study by Xiang and Gretzel (2010) who inves-
tigated the role of social media in online travel
information search, travellers use the Internet to
search information on potential travel destina-
tions as well as to take direct action by booking
online. Access to unlimited information, com-
bined with the tools to stay connected to others,
has generated a huge shift in the types of trips
people take, how they book, and what activities
they undertake while on vacation. Tourists today
can make personal travel itineraries, customized
to their individual preferences. Several years
ago, it was expensive for a TA to build and main-
tain a website and it required technical expertise.
The authors further explained that today, new
tools have made publishing easier and at a lower
cost. Search engines and online advertising pro-
vide operators with access to the right customers
for their business. Since online marketing is eas-
ily accessible and cost-effective, it has opened up
global competition (Xiang and Gretzel, 2010).
Today, no business and enterprises can manage
without capitalizing on the opportunities the
Internet presents (Andreau et al., 2010; Kim,
2005; Poon, 1993; Poon and Joseph, 2001).
However, the adoption of e-business implies
both benefits and challenges (Andreau et al.,
2010; Lichtenthal and Eliaz, 2003; Poon and
Joseph, 2001) that have not been explored as yet
in the academic literature. Most of the studies
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that have examined the adoption of the Internet
by TAs did not provide empirical evidence and
were mainly descriptive (such as Al-Rashid,
2012; Heung, 2003; Law et al., 2004). As iden-
tified in Andreau et al. (2010), the necessity for
having scientific research on this phenomenon
can be justified due to the occurrence of ‘disin-
termediation’ and ‘reintermediation’ in travel
industry. Disintermediation phenomenon saw a
decline in the role of long established intermedi-
aries in the supply chain of the tourism industry
due to an increase in direct interaction between
consumers and suppliers, which is made possible
using electronic means. The reintermediation
phenomenon has seen a rise in online travel inter-
mediaries such as Expedia, Travelocity, and so
on. in lieu of long established intermediaries.
Some of these online intermediaries have expe-
rienced remarkable growth leading to a call for
rethinking the role of long established interme-
diaries (Andreau et al., 2010: 778–779).
This study helps to shed further light on this
significant phenomenon in the tourism industry,
which remains one of the fastest growing indus-
tries across the world and among the most pro-
mising economic resources across the globe (Al-
Rashid, 2012). Therefore, this article focuses on
the use of Internet technologies by SMTAs in
Dubai as a case study. The article also examines
the opportunities and challenges it offers as seen
by the managers of the TAs in the emirate.
A review of the literature relevant to tour-
ism SMEs in the Middle Eastern countries and
the use, benefits and challenges of Internet
adoption in the tourism industry point to a
scarcity of research into the Internet marketing
practices of tourism SMEs in this region and
prompted this research that will contribute to
knowledge in this area. The article discusses
the practical implications of the findings for
the tourism SMEs.
SMEs are the backbone of Dubai’s economy,
representing 95% of all establishments in the
Emirate. According to a report published by
Dubai SME (2013: 7), the SME businesses
account for 42% of the workforce and contribute
about 40% to the total value add to Dubai’s econ-
omy. Government of Dubai is developing differ-
ent initiatives aiming at enhancing the
contribution and performance of the SMEs sector
to make them comparable to their counterparts in
other developed and high-income countries.
However, the formulation of such initiatives
aimed at the development of the SME sector and
enhancing support for SMEs have to be based on
Zaidan
thorough research assessing their current state
and development needs.
The situation regarding the small- and
medium-sized enterprises involved in the tour-
ism and hospitality sector in Dubai in UAE is
similar to their counterparts in other Arab coun-
tries in the Middle East and is quite different than
in the developed countries. Despite the fact that
the Internet would enable SMTAs to communi-
cate efficiently with their clients and stake-
holders and provide them with a new world
wide distribution channel, as well as success in
their business (Al-Allak, 2010), these SMTAs
still lack mechanisms to establish formal
Internet-based marketing.
In Dubai, which is a major tourism destination
in the Middle East region, the Internet is not used
by all tourism SMEs for promotional activities
and as a main marketing tool. Some SMEs and
TAs use Internet for information gathering on ad
hoc basis (Al-Allak, 2010). Being family busi-
ness, SMTAs in Dubai like in other Arab coun-
tries in the Middle East, have short-term business
horizons and limited resources and channels of
maintaining business relations (Al-Allak, 2010).
SMTAs in Dubai often have limited knowledge
of the business environment and are commonly
managed by Asians (Indians and Philippines) to
cater to Asian visitors and Asian migrant work-
ers, in particular Indians and South East Asians.
India is identified by the DTCM, as the second
top tourism market for Dubai, first is Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia. However, African visitors and
migrant workers considered as customers to tour-
ism SMEs in Dubai.
The activities of these TAs are mainly book-
ing plane tickets, hotels, finding tourism
packages as desert safaris and cruise packages.
They sometimes provide complementary ser-
vices as transport and inbound tours. The main
competitors for SMTAs in Dubai are the online
agencies and the global enterprises in the tourism
and hospitality sector (Dubai SME, 2013).
These TAs were largely established in the 70s
and 80s. The Internet has significantly affected
their business. Since the 90s until today, the con-
tinuing advancement of information technology
(IT), with the widespread public use of the Inter-
net and the rise of the online booking have had a
significant impact on the TA service industry in
Dubai. These agencies have traditionally relied
on being perceived as an essential intermediary
between travellers and the services they require.
However, airline and hotel executives merrily
have cut out the agency and the commissions
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7
by creating direct relationships with their clien-
tele and allowing them to book plane tickets and
lodging right from their sites. As a result, some of
these TAs have shut down their business. On the
other hand, many of them have had to make some
adaptations to remain solvent and relevant.
Although these adaptations still need improve-
ment, these TAs are still in business. Agents in
Dubai who embraced technology to improve
their performance and their customers’ experi-
ence have substantially improved their chances
of survival.
Methodology
To examine the adoption and usage of Internet
technologies (e-commerce) by SMTAs in Dubai,
a structured questionnaire was developed as a
tool for data collection. The questions included
in the survey tool were based on existing litera-
ture (i.e., Andreau et al., 2010; Abou-Shouk
et al., 2013), with minor modifications to better
fit the context of the study. Moreover, some
questions were based on a study about the Inter-
net and e-commerce adoption by Canadian busi-
nesses conducted by Statistics Canada (2000).
The on-site survey instrument consists of
three printed pages divided into three main sec-
tions: first, use of the Internet and its features and
functions; second, questions about the benefits
from their perception about adopting Internet in
their business. Nine categories have been mea-
sured on a 5-point Likert scale (1 ¼ strongly
disagree, 5 ¼ strongly agree). Third, questions
about the challenges for adopting the Internet in
their business, nine categories have been mea-
sured on a 5-point Likert scale (1 ¼ strongly
disagree, 5 ¼ strongly agree). The questionnaire
was first developed in English and then trans-
lated to Arabic. The TA has the option as to
which language of the questionnaire to use. A
list of all the certified and licensed TAs in Dubai
that are classified as SMEs was obtained from
the DTCM by email. The list contained 134 TAs
with their addresses and phone and fax numbers.
All these TAs were invited to participate in the
study after thoroughly explaining to them its
objectives. The ethics research office at United
Arab Emirates University approves the survey
instruments for the study and an explanatory let-
ter accompanied the questionnaire.
The survey instrument was implemented by a
carefully selected four research assistants who
volunteered to administer the questionnaire. The
volunteered research assistants were trained and
8 Journal of Vacation Marketing

Table 3. Travel agencies in Dubai using Internet. Table 4. Functions of Internet use by TAs in Dubai.

Valid Rank Function (purposes) (%)

Frequency percent
Have website 92 70.2
Have email only 23 17.6
Neither website nor email 16 12.2
Total 131 100
Note: N ¼ 131.
then sent to the field for the purposes of distribut-
ing and filling in the questionnaires. This was
done over a period of 8 weeks, ending 28
September, 2015. The research assistants con-
tacted the TAs face to face unless the TA asked
for a phone interview in order to fill in the ques-
tionnaire; 131 were completed, while 3 TAs
refused to participate in the survey. The study
is thus, based on a sample of 131 respondents.
To examine the significant perceived benefits
and barriers of e-commerce adoption, a logistic
regression model has been used to examine the
major benefits and barriers for TAs adopting
e-commerce versus non-adopters.
Discussion of results
The findings of the study show that TAs in Dubai
widely recognize the significance of adopting
Internet in their enterprises, since 92 agencies have
a website while 39 do not (23 have email only and
16 have neither a website nor an email), as shown
in Table 3. Thus, 70.2% of these agencies have a
website, while only 17.6% do not have and 12.2%
have email only. However, the survey results pre-
sented in Table 3 indicate that TAs in Dubai are
aware of the benefits of using the Internet.
To cover the first objective of the study to
examine Internet use among TAs in Dubai,
results in Table 4 indicate that TAs use the Inter-
net for several reasons, ranging from customiz-
ing services (92%) and attracting customers
(91.2%) to bidding for contracts (53.2%). Other
functions of Internet use cited by the TAs are
communicating with customers (91.2), having
access to international markets (89.4%), provid-
ing TAs with information (83.3%), finding out
about suppliers (83%), finding out about compet-
itors (78.5%), receiving customer bookings
(67.3%), providing staff formal training (58.2%),
monitoring hits on the website (54.9%) and bid-
ding for contracts (53.2%).
For agents adopting Internet, Table 5 presents
the content of their websites. It was found that
1 Customize services 92.0
2 Attract customers 91.2
2 Communicate with customers 91.2
3 Access to international market 89.4
4 Provide TAs’ information 83.3
5 Find out about suppliers 83.0
6 Find out about competitors 78.5
7 Receive customer bookings 67.3
8 Provide staff formal training 58.2
9 Monitor hits on website 54.9
10 Bid for contracts 53.2
TA: travel agency.
Table 5. Features of websites of travel agencies in
Dubai.
Rank Feature (%)
1 Email 98.9
2 Home page 95.3
3 Agency/services information 94.3
4 Receive enquiries and comments 93.8
5 Online finder of tourist facilities 85.4
6 Interactive search facility 79.6
7 Online reservation request form 68.7
8 Interactive trip planner 52.7
9 Online booking (with payments) 39.6
10 Virtual brochures 38.7
11 Users’ accounts 32.7
the online presence of the TAs in Dubai is still
informative for clients, as it focuses on emails
(98.9%), home page (95.3%), providing informa-
tion about the agents’ services (94.3% of sur-
veyed agents’ websites), receipt of enquiries
and comments (93.8%), online finder for tourists
facilities (85.4%), interactive search facility
(79.6%), online reservation request form
(68.7%) and interactive trip planner (52.7%).
Although online transactions, virtual bro-
chures and, most importantly, online booking are
still in their early stages in Dubai’s TAs (39.6%,
38.7% and 32.7% of surveyed agents, respec-
tively), this indicates that TAs in Dubai are not
taking the best advantage of Internet opportuni-
ties to increase their competitiveness in the glo-
bal travel market.
Furthermore, the results in Table 4 show that
the most significant perceived feature of Internet
by TAs in Dubai is the email function. This is not
surprising as such results indicate that the more
innovative features seem to be not highly
demanded by the tourism SMEs or customers.
This may be explained by the fact that the main

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Zaidan 9

Table 6. Perceived benefits of Internet adoption by travel agencies in Dubai.

Mean Significance
Benefits Category N Mean SD difference T-test (two-tailed)

Establish reputation in the global markets Adopters 92 4.01 1.074 1.370 6.932 0.000
Non-adopters 39 2.64 0.932
Easiness of carrying out transactions Adopters 92 3.55 1.370 0.811 3.476 0.000
Non-adopters 39 2.74 0.751
Improve customer satisfaction Adopters 92 3.42 1.535 0.809 2.982 0.000
Non-adopters 39 2.62 1.091
Improve distribution channels Adopters 92 3.63 1.524 0.630 2.283 0.000
Non-adopters 39 3.00 1.235
Enhance staff satisfaction Adopters 92 3.43 1.252 1.230 5.726 0.000
Non-adopters 39 2.21 0.732
Increase competitive advantages Adopters 92 3.58 1.170 1.115 5.406 0.000
Non-adopters 39 2.46 0.822
Customizing services to customer needs Adopters 92 3.55 1.463 0.836 3.011 0.000
Non-adopters 39 2.72 1.432
Sales, revenue and profits growth Adopters 92 3.68 1.374 1.505 6.302 0.000
Non-adopters 39 2.18 0.885
Effective partnerships with supplier/partners Adopters 92 3.50 1.330 1.218 5.186 0.000
Non-adopters 39 2.28 0.944

clients of tourism SMEs in Dubai are Indian vis-
itors or Indian working migrants who do not have
access to the Internet.
On the other hand, survey results showed that
adopting e-commerce by TAs in Dubai gener-
ated a number of benefits. Overall, results
showed that the adopter TAs agreed to most of
the perceived benefits of e-commerce as indi-
cated in the survey tool. These benefits are as
follows: establishing a reputation in the global
markets (4.01), ease of carrying out transactions
(3.55), improve customer satisfaction (3.42),
improving distribution channels (3.63), enhance
staff satisfaction (3.43), increasing competitive
advantages (3.58), customizing services to cus-
tomer needs (3.55), increasing sales, revenue
and profits growth (3.68) and effective partner-
ships with supplier/partners (3.50).
On the other hand, Table 6 indicates that
there is a significant difference between adop-
ters and non-adopters in their perceptions of
the benefits gained from Internet use. A w2 test
was conducted to examine statistical differ-
ences among adopters and non-adopters of the
Internet. The results of the w2 test indicated a
significance difference at .05 levels. Further-
more, a T-test for equality of means was
applied and the results revealed values of p
< .05, which implies the rejection of the null
hypothesis (H0) of no difference between the
two groups of TAs (adopters and non-adop-
ters) in their opinions regarding the benefits
of using the Internet.
Therefore, a binary logit model was
utilized for developing significant benefits of
e-commerce adoption by TAs. This model is
characterized by its simple probabilistic choice
function, clarity in the algebraic manipulations
related to the derivation of the final probabilistic
choice function, and the ease of interpreting the
estimated result. The use of this technique dee-
pens the understanding of the choice behaviour
of TAs in adopting the Internet.
Explanatory variables for the model have
been assessed to identify which of these variables
most effectively augment the data for TAs’
choice in using the Internet. Some of the vari-
ables (i.e., increasing sales, revenues and profit
growth, increasing competitive advantages,
improving distributing channels . . . ) included in
this study are considered significant in modeling
the e-commerce adoption choice. A binary logit
model has been designed for two alternatives,
mainly adopters and non-adopters, to compare
the significant differences in perceiving the ben-
efits of adopting the Internet.
All explanatory variables in the model were
considered key variables affecting a TA’s choice
of e-commerce use and were statistically signif-
icant at p ¼ 0.05 level. Table 7 shows the results
of the model for adopting or not adopting Inter-
net, presented as two different main groups.
Overall, the model fits the data. The results of
running the logistic regression model to identify
the significant benefits of adoption by TAs show
that there are four significant benefits gained

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10
Table 7. Model parameter estimates.
Benefit
Establish reputation in the global markets
Sales, revenues and profit growth
Improve distribution channels
Increase competitive advantages
Customizing services to customer needs
Constant
from the adoption of e-commerce (Table 7).
These benefits are establishing a reputation in
the global markets, increasing sales, revenues,
and profits, improving distribution channels,
increasing competitive advantages and customiz-
ing services to customer needs.
Using 2 Log likelihood and chi-square test,
the inclusion of predictors in the regression
model reduced the 2 likelihood by 110.540.
The chi-square value of Hosmer and Lemeshow
(11.08), df of 8, and p > 0.05, which implies
acceptance of the null hypothesis of no differ-
ence between observed and predicted values of
dependent variable, thus suggested that the
model fits the data. Furthermore, the R2 values
indicated that the model has moderate explana-
tory power, since the variables included in the
model accounted for 71.4% of the variation for
Negelkerke and 53.3% for Cox and Snell, indi-
cating that the model offers a good explanation
of variance.
From Table 7, it was found that establishing a
reputation in the global markets is the greatest
perceived benefit of adoption of e-commerce.
Increasing sales, revenues and profits comes
next, then improving distribution channels,
increasing competitive advantage, and customiz-
ing services to customer needs. To interpret the
results using logit values: Logit e.com.adoption ¼
7.847 þ 2.950  agents agree to establish new
reputation in global markets, þ 2.889  agents
agree to sales, revenue and profit growth, þ
2.850  agents agree to improving distribution
channels, þ 2.752  agents agree to increasing
competitive advantages, and þ 2.667 agents
agree to customizing services to customer needs.
These results show that agents perceive estab-
lishing a reputation in the global markets as the
greatest benefit, followed by increasing sales and
revenues, improving distribution channels,
increasing competitive advantages, and last, cus-
tomizing services to customer needs.
Since the third objective of the study seeks to
identify the barriers to adopting e-commerce by
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Journal of Vacation Marketing
b SE Wald df Significance
2.950 0.727 29.619 1 0.000
2.889 0.610 28.619 1 0.000
2.850 0.869 26.748 1 0.000
2.752 0.589 25.308 1 0.000
2.667 0.429 24.093 1 0.000
7.847 1.208 38.584 1 0.000
TAs in Dubai, Table 8 presents some of the per-
ceived barriers faced by TAs when using the
Internet. In the main, non-adopter TAs largely
agree regarding the barriers to e-commerce adop-
tion in this study. These barriers are lack of
advice and support (mean value of opinions is
3.56), lack of customer readiness (3.66), lack of
public infrastructure readiness (3.41), no wish to
expand (3.15), Internet is not relevant to business
(3.10), security concerns (3.82), limited resources
versus high cost (3.95), lack of IT skilled labour
(3.64) and no online competitors (3.59). On the
other hand, adopters of e-commerce have neutral
opinions regarding the barriers to adoption.
The T-test for equality of means confirms
that there is a significant difference in opi-
nions of adopter and non-adopter TAs regard-
ing the barriers to e-commerce (Table 8).
Furthermore, running the logistic regression
model of barriers of e-commerce highlights
four significant barriers obstructing the adop-
tion of e-commerce by TAs in Dubai (Table 9).
These barriers are limited resources compared
to the high cost of e-commerce adoption,
online security concerns, unskilled labour and
lack of customer readiness.
Some apparent contradictions exist in the
results of this study, for example, 89.4% of TAs
(see Table 4) state that the Internet gives them
‘access to international markets’ yet the mean
value of opinions is 3.10 (see Table 8) for ‘Inter-
net is not relevant to business’. Such contradic-
tion maybe explained by the fact that TAs in
Dubai recognize that the adoption of Internet will
give them access to extra market share, but their
current market does not require working online
or using advanced features of the Internet. This is
related to the fact that the main clients of tourism
SMEs in Dubai are Indians, Philippines, or Afri-
can visitors or working migrants who do not have
access to the Internet. This appears to be
reflected in the fact that only 39.6% (see Table
5) do ‘online booking’. This indicates that 60.4%
almost two-thirds of their business is done over
Zaidan 11

Table 8. Perceived barriers to Internet adoption by travel agencies in Dubai.

Mean Significance
Barriers Category N Mean SD difference T test (two-tailed)

Lack of advice and support Adopters 79 2.87 1.165 0.695 0.022 0.000
Non-adopters 33 3.56 0.984
Lack of customer readiness Adopters 79 2.97 1.157 0.597 2.110 0.000
Non-adopters 33 3.66 1.001
Lack of infrastructure readiness Adopters 79 2.82 1.137 0.695 0.226 0.000
Non-adopters 33 3.41 .972
No wish to expand Adopters 78 2.61 1.199 0.545 1.549 0.000
Non-adopters 33 3.15 1.211
Internet is not relevant to business Adopters 79 2.61 1.183 0.494 1.096 0.000
Non-adopters 33 3.10 1.084
Online security concerns Adopters 79 2.25 1.337 1.571 3.483 0.000
Non-adopters 33 3.82 1.149
Limited resources versus high cost Adopters 79 2.67 1.327 1.275 1.788 0.000
Non-adopters 33 3.95 1.193
Lack of IT skilled labour Adopters 79 2.63 1.173 0.908 0.799 0.000
Non-adopters 33 3.64 1.458
No competitors are online Adopters 79 2.83 1.425 0.761 0.918 0.000
Non-adopters 33 3.59 1.482

Table 9. Variables in the equation-significant perceived barriers to Internet adoption by travel agencies in Dubai.

Barrier b SE Wald df Significance

Limited resources compared to high cost 0.987 0.289 11.358 1 0.000

Online security concerns 0.776 0.274 8.742 1 0.000
Lack of IT skilful labour 0.688 0.268 5.885 1 0.000
Lack of customer readiness 0.884 0.379 8.973 1 0.000
Lack of advice and support 1.475 0.347 28.967 1 0.000
Constant 2.068 0.365 32.886 1 0.000

the phone or by mail or by a visit from the client
to the TA.
On the one hand, although the UAE is the
sixth cheapest country in the world for the
affordability of Internet pricing, yet ‘high cost’
is perceived as a barrier to going online (see
Table 8). It is apparent by the findings of this
study that owners of tourism SMEs are slow in
adopting ICT in their businesses due to resource
constraints such as lack of training and capital
and the fear of the ‘hidden costs’ of ICT adoption
and usage, such as human resources (HR) train-
ing and upgrading software.
From Table 8, it can be seen that the limited
resource versus high cost of e-commerce adop-
tion is the greatest perceived barrier to adoption
by TAs. Online security concerns come next,
then lack of IT skilled labour, lack of customer
readiness, and finally lack of advice and support.
The results in logit format: Logite.com.adoption ¼
2.068  0.987  agents agree to limited
resources 0.776  agents agree to online
security concerns 0.688  agents agree to lack
of IT skilful labour 0.884  agents agree to
lack of customer readiness 1.475 lack of advice
and support.
Using 2 Log likelihood and a chi-square test
to evaluate the model fit, the inclusion of predic-
tors in the regression model reduced the 2 like-
lihood by 330.840. The R2 value of Hosmer and
Lemeshow (13.15), df of 8 and p > 0.05, imply
acceptance of the null hypothesis of no differ-
ence between observed and predicted values of
dependent variable thus it is suggested that the
model fits the data. Furthermore, the variables
included in the model accounted for 44.4% of
the variation for Negelkerke and 33.3% for Cox
and Snell. The literature suggests that values of
0.2–0.4 for R2 represent an excellent fit. The R2
values indicated that the model has moderate
explanatory power.
The key findings of this study are that tourism
SMEs in Dubai appear to have at least a recog-
nition of the necessity to adopt Internet and ICT

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12
in their business to a certain extend. The findings
also show that tourism SMEs are slow in adopt-
ing Internet and ICT in their businesses due to
resource constraints. These findings are similar
to other studies in other countries in the Middle
East such as Jordan (Al-Allak, 2010) and Egypt
(Abou-Shouk et al., 2013). Tourism SMEs in
these countries according to studies seem to have
similar characteristics and patterns of behaviour.
Although, the results indicate that the
extended use of Internet is slowly progressing
among TAs in Dubai, the potential to gain a
competitive advantage through Internet adoption
seems to be given. This is considered to be vital
given the fact that tourism SMEs in competing
neighbouring countries (e.g. Qatar, Oman and
Bahrain) are following the steps of Dubai in
diversifying their one – commodity economy
by investing in their tourism sector and thus are
more likely to be relying more on Internet-based
marketing intelligence. These Gulf countries as
such are competing for attracting more tourists
and visitors at the expense of Dubai tourism and
hospitality SMEs.
Conclusions and implications
Internet and ICT adoption by TAs has been
widely discussed in the literature; this article
investigates Internet and ICT adoption by tour-
ism SMEs in Dubai in the UAE. Dubai is a par-
ticular case, not only because it is in a specific
geographic region that has been unexplored yet,
but also because it is the fastest growing tourism
destination in the world. Dubai is also the focus
of this study because of its relatively growing
economy, rapid modernization and westerniza-
tion, and its political stability in a relatively
unstable region. Accordingly, the study could
provide enlightening insights, which might have
implications in other GCC countries as well as
other Middle Eastern countries.
The UAE has been identified as one of the
leading counties concerning ICT adoption
among the GCC countries. Remarkably, huge
development has been made concerning the
transfer to eGovernment in UAE particularly the
Government of Dubai. In fact, the UAE may be
recognized as one of the forerunners in the world
for ICT usage (Al-Khouri, 2012). Nonetheless,
the government agencies are well ahead of the
average SMEs in the country including the tour-
ism sector (Manochehri et al., 2012). This study
contributes to this debate in presenting indicative
evidence on the state of ICT adoption and usage
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Journal of Vacation Marketing
patterns of the tourism SMEs in Dubai. The find-
ings of this study suggest that policy makers in
Dubai should be aware of a potential growing
gap in terms of ICT adoption between the public
and the private sector. If not addressed, this gap
could further make the local population to
become less enthusiastic to deal with the private
sector. Local government has in this perspective
a significant effect on ICT adoption and usage.
The findings of this research have provided
revealing insights into the adoption of the use
of the Internet by tourism SMEs in a Middle
Eastern country as a potential promoter for
enhancing the competitive positioning of the
tourism sector in this region. The study offers
an overview of the current state of affairs of the
ICT adoption by TAs in Dubai.
In total, 28.8% of all SMTAs have no online
presence, whereas 70.2% of the TAs have home
pages. Overall, the results may signify that Inter-
net use is at an advanced stage compared to TAs
in other countries in the region, such as Egypt
(Abou Shouk et al., 2013) and Jordan (Al-Allak,
2010). However, exploring the functions and
uses of Internet emphasizes that adoption of the
Internet by SMTAs in Dubai is still not mature
and in its infancy stages, since it focuses on
emails (98.9%), while online reservation
requests constitute 68.7% and interactive trip
planner is 52.7%. Furthermore, online transac-
tions (39.6%), virtual brochures (38.7%) and,
most importantly, online booking (32.7%) are
still in their early stages in Dubai’s TAs. These
results also indicate that TAs in Dubai are not
taking the best advantage of the Internet oppor-
tunities to increase their competitiveness in the
global travel market. It also indicates that the
prospect of gaining a competitive advantage
through the extended and advanced adoption of
the Internet needs to be endorsed by local author-
ities and policy makers. Taking into consider-
ation the increasing gap between the public and
the private sectors in Dubai in terms of ICT adop-
tion, it is suggested that policy makers should be
aware of the significant value that the tourism
industry of Dubai may enjoy from changes intro-
duced by the Dubai government in terms of the
Internet technologies.
The findings of the study also show that TAs
use the Internet for several reasons, such as cus-
tomizing services (92%), attracting customers
(91.2%), communicating with customers (91.2),
gaining access to international markets (89.4%),
providing TAs with information (83.3%), finding
out about suppliers (83%), finding out about
Zaidan
competitors (78.5%), receipt of customer book-
ings (67.3%), provision of staff formal training
(58.2%), monitoring of hits on the website
(54.9%) and bidding for contracts (53.2%).
These findings indicate that TAs in Dubai are
apparently aware, to a certain extent, of the
necessity of adopting the Internet.
On the other hand, the study has investigated
the perceived significant benefits gained from
adopting e-commerce and the barriers contribut-
ing to tourism agents’ reluctance in adopting
e-commerce. The findings of the study are con-
sistent with other similar studies. Empirical results
of the regression model showed that establishing a
reputation in global markets is the largest per-
ceived benefit of e-commerce. Increasing sales,
revenues and profits comes next, followed by
improving distribution channels, increasing com-
petitive advantage, and customizing services to
customer needs. Overall, all these perceived ben-
efits could be classified as marketing benefits.
In examining the factors that are significantly
hindering e-commerce adoption in Dubai, non-
adopter agents largely agree that limited
resources versus the high cost of e-commerce
adoption constitute the greatest perceived bar-
rier. Online security concerns come next, fol-
lowed by a lack of IT skilled labour, a lack of
customer readiness, and a lack of advice and
support. These barriers may be categorized as
internal factors related to SMTAs, or external
factors related to local authorities in the emirate.
With respect to internal barriers, this study
suggests that TAs in Dubai could overcome dis-
intermediation challenges in different ways, such
as launching automation to attain competitive
advantages. Technology and automated systems
have been identified as vital to the achievement
of service quality (Abou Shouk et al., 2013;
Deng et al., 2000). Furthermore, it is essential
that TAs in Dubai develop online booking sys-
tems as well as competent websites to attract new
customers and to retain old ones. Furthermore,
developing online travel services and adopting
innovative ways through e-commerce will signif-
icantly contribute in expanding the customer
base for Dubai TAs.
Taking into consideration that Dubai is
becoming a business hub for meeting, incentives,
conferences and events travellers, in addition to
the family market share that is significantly
growing, it is suggested that TAs in Dubai should
offer customized services to identify and serve
those niche markets as well as older travellers.
There are also significant prospects for TAs to
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13
group together to improve the Web’s potential.
For example, to overcome the security concern
that is hindering Internet adoption, TAs in Dubai
can form alliances in order to develop a more
secure and effective transaction-based website.
Additionally, creating alliances with other indus-
try facilitators such as airlines, tour operators,
hotel chains, international TAs and cruise lines
will certainly increase their competitiveness and
their market share. Another significant barrier
that may be hindering e-commerce adoption is
the lack of IT skilled labour. This could be over-
come by sending employees in TAs to attend
professional training courses and sessions related
to ICT.
With respect to external factors hindering
e-commerce adoption by TAs in Dubai, the study
emphasizes the need for more training facilities
for adopting ICT in SMEs, including TAs. The
study results indicate that the high cost and lack
of IT skilled labour are significant barriers that
may be hindering e-commerce adoption. Accord-
ingly, it is suggested that the government should
provide guidance on appropriate e-tourism tech-
nologies, products and services at a reasonable
cost for ICT and Internet technological capabil-
ities. The government could also propose incen-
tives to encourage e-tourism adoption, such as
soft loans and providing professional advice and
consulting at low or even no cost to TAs in the
Emirate. This study may well be the first such
study investigating the status of e-commerce
adoption by SMTAs in the Emirate of Dubai.
There can be no doubt that the continued
adoption of e-tourism by TAs will increase the
strength of the tourism industry on the level of
international competition. Simply put, Dubai
Tourism Vision 2020 of attracting 20 million
visitors by that year will depend on the
acknowledgement of the importance of inte-
grating ICT in the operations of the tourism
industry. In fact, the rate of technological
advancement in the public sector in GCC coun-
tries is so fast that small- and medium-sized
enterprises are lagging behind in terms of fully
exploiting the Internet technological capabil-
ities, particularly when it comes to marketing
the tourism products and services and online
booking. Gaining the benefits associated with
technology adoption in the tourism sector is not
essential for traditionally known tourism desti-
nations but also for emerging world tourism
destinations in the Middle East countries.
While there are some strengths of tourism
SMEs in the emerging destinations in the Middle
14
Eastern countries, there are still many areas that
need improvement. First, their competiveness,
which is comparatively lower than their counter-
parts in high-income countries as Singapore, may
be endorsed by online channels and reaching
enormous markets that would never be accessi-
ble if working offline. Second, adoption of ICT
in improving effectiveness, processes and ser-
vices among tourism SMEs in the Middle East
is still lacking. The public and private entities in
high-income Middle Eastern countries should
meet the needs of tourism SMEs in operating in
global markets and attracting tourists and seek-
ing business collaborations. These entities
include the financial institutions such as banks;
the firms involved in providing IT solutions and
services, the human resource consulting and
training firms, and many others. Third, tourism
SMEs need to improve their HR competences by
employing and rewarding the skilled and talented
staff, and making their enterprises a pleasant
place to work. Finally, in today’s knowledge-
based societies, tourism SMEs should realize that
investment in innovation and creating a culture
of innovation are essential to ensure new mar-
kets, products and services.
Declaration of conflicting interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of
interest with respect to the research, authorship,
and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for
the research, authorship, and/or publication of
this article.
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