Digital Tools and Rural Tourism Competitiveness under Disrupted Tourism Flows: Evidence from Consumer Perspectives

Tourism is highly exposed to external shocks such as pandemics, geopolitical instability, and security related disruptions, which particularly affect small and rural enterprises. Although digital tools are frequently discussed as mechanisms supporting tour-ism competitiveness under volatile tourism flows, consumercentred evidence remains limited. This study examines how consumers in Latvia evaluate digital tools and which factors they associate with rural tourism competitiveness and improvement priorities. The study is guided by a conceptual framework in which digital tools function as intermediary mechanisms linking tourism flow disruptions to rural tourism competitiveness through consumer perceptions of accessibility, convenience, and trust. A mixed-methods CATI survey (N = 1,004) was conducted in February-April 2025, combining statistical analysis of closed-ended responses with thematic analysis of consumer-defined competitiveness and improvement priorities derived from open-ended questions. The results show that age is the main factor differentiating evaluations of digital tools, while regional and settlement-type differences remain weak. Online booking and digital payments are valued across all age groups, whereas tools such as virtual tours show stronger age-related variation. When discussing competitiveness, respondents most frequently refer to institutional conditions, promotion, pricing, and digital tools as key competitiveness dimensions. However, when identifying improvements, priorities shift toward diversification of the tourism offer and physical accessibility. Digital tools remain important and are primarily associated with practical functions such as booking, payments, information access, and online visibility that make rural tourism offers easier to find and use. The findings highlight the growing role of digital accessibility and information transparency as foundational conditions for rural tourism competitiveness under uncertain tourism environments.