Objective:

Characterize innovation processes of micro, small and medium enterprises participating in the tourism services market of the Sonora River.

Methodology:

A semi-structured interview was applied to a non-probabilistic sample consisting of 20 companies. The instrument allowed gathering information about innovations in four areas: product, process, organizational and marketing.

Results:

Innovation types adopted by companies are related to process and marketing; on the other hand, organizational innovation shows the least acceptance. The main motivation to make innovations was to satisfy needs imposed by demand.

Limitations:

This study was limited to adoption of innovations situation by rural companies, however, in subsequent studies can establish relationships between innovations and variables such as business competitiveness and leadership types.

Conclusions:

The situation analysis of tourism services companies in the Sonora River region shows the presence of innovations for their survival. The contribution of this study lies in the generation of empirical knowledge about the adoption of innovations carried out by rural MSMEs, aspects about which little has been documented in the academic literature.