Madurez digital de las Micro, Pequeñas y Medianas empresas del sector turístico en Encarnación-Paraguay, 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic severely affected the tourism sector of Encarnación, Paraguay, forcing Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to look for technological solutions to survive. In 2022, an investigation was carried out to analyze its digital maturity. Using a mixed, quantitative and qualitative methodology, a questionnaire based on the IDB's Digital Checkup tool was applied and interviews were conducted with managers and employees about their digital practices. The sample included 21 tourism MSMEs from Encarnación, selected at random and stratified by type of business. The results showed that the majority of these MSMEs are one-person hotels, and almost 50% are at an initial level of digital maturity. This underlines the urgent need to implement digital tools to improve productivity. It is concluded that the low level of digital maturity of these MSMEs limits their competitiveness in the global market. Training programs, financial support, digital marketing strategies and collaborative networks are recommended to improve your situation. These findings are crucial for MSMEs, governments and organizations that support the tourism sector.