The impact of Covid-19 on the Tourism and Accommodation Sector in Lithuanian Rural Areas

This article aims (1) to underline the level of impact of COVID-19 on the accommodation sector in Lithuanian rural areas, (2) to evaluate transformation possibilities and new opportunities for rural tourism, and (3) to present a new model of the tourism future in the regions. The article discusses the historical aspects of the accommodation business in Lithuania, the territorial distribution of accommodation in rural areas of Lithuania, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the accommodation sector in rural areas. Spatial analysis, together with qualitative and quantitative methods, was used in this research. The primary data for the article were received from the questionnaires filled out by fifty representatives of the Tourism Information Centres from different Lithuanian regions. Also, the analysis is supplemented by the secondary official statistical data. The research results revealed the direct impact of COVID-19 on the accommodation sector in rural regions of Lithuania. The proposed RegTour model contributes to reducing the impact of COVID-19 on the country's economy and promoting the development of new forms of knowledge-based business and the transformation of the sector. Moreover, the research revealed the unexploited opportunities of rural tourism and the possible directions of change.