The management practices of tourism SMEs in pandemic times: innovation as a quest of survival

ABSTRACT

The objective of this paper is to analyze the strategies and actions implemented by small and medium-sized companies in the tourism sector (SMEs) based on the social and economic crisis caused by COVID-19. The study focuses mainly on direct customer service on the coastline of the Metropolitan Area of Puerto Vallarta, including souvenir shops, accommodation, restaurants, and art galleries, among others. Our argument is that to keep operating, companies had to implement various changes, mainly the incorporation of digital tools in their management and communication processes with both suppliers and their customers. The research uses quantitative methods, both digital and traditional (face-to-face) instruments were used to data collection in order to overcome the obstacles imposed by the social distancing, and confinement required in the general population. The results show what were the activities implemented by the companies that contribute to innovation, as well as particularly two types of innovation, according to the Oslo Manual (2007) in relation to commercial and organizational innovations. We conclude that tourism is an activity of direct contact with the consumer and experience, which limits certain services to be digitalized, so that it must be considered the profile of tourists, the age group and their region of origin to explain the acceptance to digitalization of some practices related to the provision of tourist services.