Small businesses in the tourism sector need to network closely to access technology that will help them recover from the impact of COVID-19.

In a webinar hosted by World Travel Market last week, tourism industry experts discussed the need for small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in the tourism industry to develop partnerships and networks that would facilitate the integration of technology into the industry.

Founder of Tourism SMME network SEEZA, Septi Bukula, moderated the webinar and, after receiving feedback from African-based panellists, asked Valentina Ndou, Senior Researcher and Aggregate Professor of Management Engineering from the University of Selanto in Italy, for a practical approach that SMMEs could leverage to prepare for the future.

Bukula said from his perspective the issues around technological innovation and adaptation were crucial. “We are doing what we can to deal with the crisis currently but we need to ask: ‘How do we prepare entrepreneurs for the future?’”

“We live in a world dominated by analytics and big data, which are mostly produced by large companies,” said Ndou, adding that most of the tourism industry was made up of SMMEs who could not produce the same data.

She said for SMMEs to access the same level of technology as big companies they would need two important things: closer collaboration with other small enterprises in the private sector, and also with the public sector.

According to Ndou, SMMEs cannot afford the technologies required to compete with larger businesses, apart from the costs of investing in, upgrading and upskilling their own businesses. This is why they need to collaborate.

She sees innovation and technological entrepreneurship as a way out of the crisis in the tourism sector. “We need to start to think of technology as a means for sustainable development in the tourism sector.”