Benefits and barriers for the use of digital channels among small tourism companies

This study aims to identify and explain perceived benefits and barriers for the use of digital channels by tourism companies in Swedish Lapland. Data were collected through exploratory interviews and an online survey to tourism companies in the region, most of which are small firms. Through factor analysis, we identified four barriers (Financial risk, Time constraints, External environment, and Lack of IT expertise and strategy) and three benefits (Internal efficiency, Marketing and competition, and Financial benefit) connected to the use of digital channels for customer communication. Results suggest that having staff with work time specifically reserved for working with digital channels, rather than trying to manage this alongside other tasks, increases the perceived benefits and decreases barriers related to Information and Communication (ICT) use. Moreover, analysis shows that the most important factors explaining tourism firms’ intentions to use digital channels are the perceived benefits connected to marketing and competition, as well as the perceived financial risk, which works as a barrier. Contrary to expectations, time constraints had a significant positive correlation with the intention to use digital channels. This implies that tourism firms in Swedish Lapland increasingly recognize the necessity of investing time in online communications in order to attract more visitors.