This paper provides a new perspective of
the realities faced by small tourism
enterprises in the developing world. Given
the well-recognised value of the Internet in
tourism, we sought to identify how
entrepreneurs mitigate Internet adoption
obstacles such as the inadequate and
unreliable telecommunications
infrastructure, the cost of the technology,
and a lack of knowledge and skills that
characterise developing nations. A
qualitative study was performed on small
tourism enterprises in rural and
metropolitan areas of Malaysia and Ecuador.
We found that entrepreneurs established
ways to overcome obstacles, with some
applying quite innovative solutions. This
paper helps to understand the role of
entrepreneurs in innovation adoption and
improve knowledge of Internet
appropriation among small tourism
enterprises in developing nations. A
number of transferable lessons are
identified.