attracting tourists all year round – challenges and ... · in seasonality and responsibility....

Attracting tourists all year round – challenges and opportunities in seasonality and responsibility

Terhi Hook, product development manager, Visit Finland

11.4.2008Alatunniste teksti

Sustainable tourism in Finland

Ecological

EconomicalSosio-cultural Tourism that supports local

economy, provides benefits to thesurrounding society and acts with a long-term interest.

Tourism, which has no negative impact on environment.The conservation of biodiversity.

The protection of local cultureAuthenticityEquality

Because of the natural resources the touristic image of Finland relies on nature.

Thus, the main focus in measuring impacts of tourism is on ecological sustainability.

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The key attributes that tend to drive likelihood to visitthis region are…. (Visit Finland Brand Tracker study)

•Calming & relaxing wilderness retreats

•Peace, quiet & relaxation

Finland is perceived as a country of nature

•Beautiful, natural landscapes

TOP ATTRACTIONS

1. Nature lightphenomenon

2. Nature in generall3. Lakes4. Lapland5. Archipelago

Finnish ”icons” in tourism

Opinion about attributes related to Finland 1 / 2

Very interesting

Not very interesting

To some extent interesting

Not at all interesting

I don’t know

Nature

Lakes

Northern lights,

Midnights sun

Darkness in winter vs.

lightness in summer

Forests

LaplandArchiplago

Quietness

Finnish Folklore, Kalevala

• “Protected Areas” is by far the most popular Brandtagfor Finland, 26,9% of the total volume of Specific searches.

• Followed by LocalGastronomy and Winter Sports

• Group “Protected Areas” includes: Northern lights, Natural wonders, National Parks etc.

• Finland’s digital demand: The online searchkeywords in 6/2014 –6/2015

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Top Brandtags

Finland is a country of nature

Lähde: Bloom Consultingi: Finland’s Touristic Demand.

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0123456789

101112131415161718192021

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

unspoiled naturestunning sceneryInteresting cities

Comfortable weather/climateGuarantee of nice weather

Cultural attractions and eventsTasty local cuisine

Good value for moneyGood service

Acceptable political and social situationEnvironmentally friendly destination

Hospitable populationPersonal safety

Great holiday accommodationSuitable for holidays with children

Good bating/swimming possibilitiesGood possibilities for hiking

Good possibilities for cyclingGood possibilities for winter sports

Unique destination

Question: Please tell me which of these characteristics do you think particularly apply to Finland?

Image of FINLAND: Nature, scenery, safety

Basis: German-speaking population 14+ years in Germany who are aware of Finland as a holiday destinationSource: Reiseanalyse 2016

in %

Tourism in Finland and sustainability

• Nature is the main attraction in Finland• The sensitive arctic nature – global attention is

also strongly following the situation in the arcticzone because of the climate change

Need for ecological sustainability in Finland

• Culture is an underutilized/underrated strenght• In Finland live Europe’s only indigenous

people; the Sami people

Need for cultural sustainability in Finland

• Communication of sustainable issues to theconsumers.

Nature tourism and sustainabilityThe most important ecological sustainabilityaspects for Finland

• Waste sorting, recycling and decreasing of waste• The company operates tourism services

environmental friendly• The company aims at decreasing energy and

water consumption• The company has an environmental programme• The personnel is trained to environmental issues

.

• Cultural tourism pays attention to all dimensions of responsibletourism – not only cultural (also environmental and economical)

• In Finnish definition of cultural tourism the cultural sustainability is included as follows:

• "Cultural tourism involves producing tourism products and services and offering them on commercial grounds to locals as well as people from outside of the region in a manner that respects regional and local cultural resources. The goal is to create memorable experiences and opportunities to explore these cultural resources, to learn from them and to participate in them, thus facilitating the building of one's personal identity and increasing understanding of and appreciation for one's own and other cultures."

Culture tourism and sustainability

Culture tourism and sustainabilityin FinlandThe most important cultural sustainability aspects for Finland

• The protection of local culture; especially Sami, respect for the rights and culture of the indigenous people and theauthenticity in culture products

• Wellbeing for the surrounding society, involvement of localcommunity and interaction with local people

• Use of local labour • Use of local food products • Use of local products e.g. in in the hotel shop

• The locality and Finnish life style are visible in marketing• Use of different local elements in tourism products (f.ex. Products

around tear in the region where tear was an important good for trading)

Nights spent in summer and winter season 2015, whole Finland

Summer56 %

Winter44 %

OVERNIGHTS 2015, SHARE % Total foreign overnights5,5 mioWinter 2,45 mio nightsSummer 3,04 mio nights

Seasonality in Finnish tourism

Denmark Finland Norway Sweden

Summer Winter

26% of all

11% of allTotal overnightsin Scandinavia 35,7 mioFinland’s share 16%

Finland’s winter strongest in Scandinavia

Nights spent in the summer and winterseason, share per country

SummerWinter

UK Germany

United Kingdom

Summer (05-10) 2015Overnights total

159 000

Winter (11-04) 2014-2015Overnights total

298 900

9 %

57 %

25 %65 %5 %

5 %

UK

Foreign Overnights per region in winter and in summer, share and change

Helsinki region

Lapland

Tampere regionÅland

Turku region South Karelia

Challenges in seasonality and responsibility Lapland

The issues in seasonality of tourism to consider in Lapland

• In Lapland Europe’s only indigenous people. How to protectthe local culture and rights of the indigenous people in ”masstourism”?

• Use of authentic local products and services -> Sami handicrafts

• Regional employment – availability of local labour in skiresorts - the personnel comes from the Southern Finland in peak seasons

• Regional wellbeing – does the welfare from tourism benefitthe locals? ”Globalisation” inside Finland - taxes and ownership - hotels or restaurant chains

• The rights of the indigenous Sami people• Preservation and right to their own livelihood -

reindeer husbandry

• The involvement of indigenous also in business, not only as objects of attraction.

• Educating tourists about the Sami culture, livelihood, symbols and history -> Backgroundand reasons for a strong Sami identity

• Use of Sami symbols like costumes and handicrafts in tourism

• Respectful use - not only for exotic experiences• Dressing the Sami traditional costumes of non-

Samis or in an inaccurate way• Use of authentic handicrafts. Maintain the

knowledge of local traditional handicrafts.

Lähde. http://jultika.oulu.fi/files/nbnfioulu-201402061070.pdfhttp://jultika.oulu.fi/files/nbnfioulu-201402061070.pdf

Cultural sustainabilityand Sami culture

Cultural sustainabilityissues in Finland

• When using culture in tourism, you alsohave to note the concrete cultural aspectsf.ex. in land use.

• Important to increase the knowledge of thetourists about the local culture

• No negative impact on local way of life and source of livelihood because of tourismunless the locals decide so.

Lähde. http://jultika.oulu.fi/files/nbnfioulu-201402061070.pdfhttp://jultika.oulu.fi/files/nbnfioulu-201402061070.pdf

• Opportunity to develope new products• In winter season skiing destination, 5th biggest ski center in

Finland • In winter season marketing also for foreign tourists

• Summer season, pop music festivals and sportive summer activities like mountain biking, golf and frisbeegolf

• in summer season marketing only for Finnish tourists


Opportunities in seasonalityCase Himos

Jämsä region /Himos

Month’s share of yearly total nights spent Jämsä vs. Tampere

Tampere

Opportunities in seasonalityCase Syöte • Opportunity new target groups

• Winter ski resort in the north for families• Profiling itself in summer as mountain biking destination. • Summer activities , national park


Month’s share of yearly total nights spent Iso-Syöte vs. Ylläs

Iso-Syöte

Ylläs


Alta Badia, South Tyrol, Northern ItalySummer marketing campaingto the ski tourists in winter


Alta Badia, South Tyrol, Northern ItalySummer marketing campaing in the ski lifts to the ski tourists in winter

INTERNATIONALIZATION CRITERIA of VISIT FINLAND

• QUALITY DEVELOPMENT• SUFFICIENT LANGUAGE KNOWLEDGE• MARKET TESTING• CUSTOMER ORIENTATION• SAFETY• PRODUCT DESCRIPTION • AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCE AND ATTRACTIVENESS• SUSTAINABILITY

• companies attending the VF activities have to follow the principles of sustainabledevelopment

• companies are free to choose a propriateprogramme for themselves e.g.

• Laatutonni module ”Green Start”• For the destinations Responsibility

Destination Quality Net and Green Destination Quality Net

• Other certifications for sustainability; e.g. Nordic Swan, Green Key, EU Eco Label, Green Finland, Responsible Travel etc.

•

Sustainability certificates, labels & standards in Finland

KIITOS

• www.visitfinland.com• [email protected]

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