Adoption of Online Business Platform Among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the Tourism Industry in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman and Bicol Region, Philippines

The sustained agility of the business organization to creatively innovate and adapt to the changing business environment is a strong determinant of sustainability. This study looks into how the SMEs in tourism industry in Muscat, Oman, and in the Bicol Region, Philippines manage their sustainability in light of the emerging business competition due to the renewed vibrancy of the tourism industry since the post-pandemic period. Specifically, factors that influenced these SMEs to successfully migrate substantially from traditional to online business platforms were established to gather insights on the potential effect on the organization’s financial performance and sustainability. The study was conducted using the comparative research design. A combined quantitative and qualitative approach was employed to gather data from selected DOT-accredited tourism companies in the Bicol Region, Philippines that belong to the SME category. Comparable data were also collected from SME tourism companies in Muscat, Oman. These data were critically analyzed and statistically tested. The study revealed that some common issues were prevalent during the time before these companies adopted the online business strategy: (1) it was not very easy for the guests to book a reservation for the hotel stay, (2) the speed and efficiency of the websites were wanting, (3) responding to changing clients’ demands and evolving expectations takes time, (4) (re)-inventing company’s products and services to include non-traditional offerings to widen client base was almost nil. The following factors were among the strong considerations for adopting to online business platform: (1) the presence of IT infrastructure and the emergence of new software useful in digitizing bookings and reservations to enhance the guest experience, (2) manageable user-friendly web interface promising high level of customer acceptance, (3) availability of trainable skilled human resources, (4) foreseen high trust level among customers, and (5) potential cost savings due to comparable efficiency and security in processing transactions and delivering hotel services. Regarding financial performance among selected hotels, the study shows that hotels in Muscat, Oman have comparably higher levels of return on investment (ROI) and return on sales (ROS). However, the study does not conclude that observed ROIs and ROS are consequences of the hotels’ adoption of the online business platform. Finally, the study proposes that (1) hotels need to strengthen their resolve to adopt environmentally friendly practices and reduce resource consumption, (2) comply with labor laws religiously, (3) strategically manage staffing to reduce negative setbacks due to seasonality in demand, (4) maintain strong tie-up with producers of local farm products, (5) effectively manage operating costs, particularly labor and electricity costs, and (6) continue re-inventing their services to include enhanced personalized service approaches.