Tips on what’s available to help you conquer the world of e-business and make your small and medium-sized tourism business more profitable.
Summary
Click here for full report.
Tourism stands out among industrial sectors because of the importance of small and medium‑sized enterprises. It’s an industry where a small number of large businesses, providing transportation and accommodation infrastructure, are complemented by a very large number of small and medium‑sized businesses, providing the great range of services that contribute to the tourism experience. Small and medium‑sized businesses make up 95% of the tourism industry!
Tourism was one of the first business communities to understand the huge potential of information technologies and e‑business. Our businesses embraced the technologies with enthusiasm – and the tourism and travel businesses have been leaders in showing how to incorporate the technologies into business practice.
Even so, some small and medium‑sized enterprises (SMEs) in tourism have been left out of the e‑business loop. It is fairly easy to imagine how this could happen.
It’s typical for operators of many tourism businesses to work full‑time, 24‑7, year round. When business is good, the pace of work is constant. There isn’t much down time for “extras” such as taking courses and acquiring skills that could help a business grow and prosper.
That is why we’ve put together this guide to courses and services that will help you upgrade your computer skills and make use of the e‑business tools to let your business grow and prosper.
There is a wide variety of courses and programs, available in every part of the country, convenient for busy entrepreneurs, and affordable or even free of charge.
The guide brings together the information and contacts you need to find the best federal government program for you.
We’ve tried to make the task easier by providing basic information and toll‑free phone numbers, e‑mails, and Web sites.
Who should use this guide
The guide is for all operators of tourism SMEs and their staff who want to learn more about computers, the Internet and e‑business. There are courses, seminars, workshops, on‑line learning, and Internet resources – and many are free.
