Test trip for representatives of Russian tourist companies with the participation of the crew of the television broadcasting company "Nika plus" took place from 4th to 8th of September as a part of the project KA325 "White Road - Cross-boarder tourism development in Northern Finland and the Republic of Karelia" (Karelia ENPI CBC Programme).

Tourist companies from Petrozavodsk ("Intourist - Petrozavodsk", tourist bureau "Korela") and St.Petersburg ("Alean", "Aquarelle") participated in the trip.

During the trip representatives of tourist companies visited several regions along the rout of the White Road including an urban-type settlement Kalevala, towns Kuusamo and Vuokatti, farmstead Kormilo and Voknavolok village.

In an urban-type settlement Kalevala all participants were accommodated in a two-storey wooden chopped house which is located in a pine forest, 50 meters far from the lake Srednee Kuitto and belongs to a tourist complex "WelT". In this region participants had a look at exposition of the Karelian life in the Rune Singers Museum of local lore, visited a famous monument "Lönnrot's pine" which is a kind of landmark of the region because in the XIX century in the area of present-day settlement famous Finnish folklorist Elias Lönnrot had recorded many runes which were included in world-known Karelian-Finnish epic "Kalevala". After folklore program participants took a bath in a Russian bath-house with birch bath besoms and then walked along picturesque and quite shore of the lake.

In the region you can visit ethnocultural center "KALEVALATALO" ("Kalevala house") where the center staff organize traditional craft workshops and workshops on folk games, for example, kyukka, palika and others. Moreover, there is a Siberian Husky farm in Kalevala where participants of the trip not only became friends with sociable husky-dogs but also had an opportunity to ride several kilometers along forest trails accompanied with chosen husky (dog-tracking is a movement with a dog attached to a belt of a person with special shock absorber). They reached the halt point where after a small snack they changed belts with huskies to life-jackets and oars and boarded a raft for a leisurely boat trip down the river Uhtinka accompanied by an experienced instructor.

Further participants experienced long and wearisome transfer to Kuusamo through

International Automobile Border-crossing Point Suopera. Representatives of tourist compenies were accommodated in the hotel «Rantasipi Rukahovi», then they continued the evening with famous Finnish dance orchestra «Eini&Boogie». In the morning participants went for a small walking tour to the top of the mountain Ruka, offering an exciting view of the National Park "Paanajarvi" which is located in Louhsky region of Karelia. After that all participants went to see over comfortable chalets offered by the company «Rukan Salonki», as well as different types of saunas, which gave luster to Finland.

On the way to Vuokatti participants had a dinner at a place called Pohjanseita which is a picturesque and exotic forest camp with a shade of mysticism for those who are tired of urban life. It is owned by the company «RukaPalvelu». The participants were welcomed by the head of the company and a Russian-speaking guide who told about the services offered by the «RukaPalvelu»: accommodation, restaurants, snowmobile safaris, snowshoe excursions, ice fishing, reindeer safaris and many others. A good hostess also showed Seita Forest Spa where you can find different types of saunas including a traditional sauna, a smoke sauna, a herbal sauna and others. After the excursion the hostess invited all participants to a forest restaurant the entrance of which is guarded by a huge stuffed bear and where participants enjoyed traditional local delicacies in the light of a hearth and hundred of candles.

After this long way participants arrived at Vuokatti. All of them were accommodated in cottages "Vuokatinmaa" that is not far from the city center. The location is quite good because in winter people are attracted by nearby skiing runs and ski slopes and in summer people are attracted by the amusement park "Angry Birds", reservoirs and so on.

The next destination point of the group was farmstead Kormilo located an hour away Kostomuksha. The first thing that catches people's eye when they are approaching the farmstead is interesting alpacas and horses grazing freely in the territory. The group was welcomed by owners of the farmstead, Olga and Victor, and they told participants about the history of the region and the history of the farmstead itself. After an accommodation and a supper owner organized for the group an exciting entertainment show " Tervetulloa" which not only introduced the culture of Karelia but also exhilarated all participants. There is a lake near the farmstead where you can go boating and enjoy the chapel built by the owner of the farmstead in the middle of the lake. Also in Kormilo you can see a unique exposition of samovars and steelyards and get to know about the origin of the Museum of samovars.

In the same Kostomukshsky region you can visit Voknavolok village, see the old barns, samples of architecture of the late 18th - early 19th century, the Ontchi merchant house, a peasant house of Matero, a monument to the rune singer Miyhkele Pertunenu, the House of the village, the Orthodox Church etc., also you can taste Karelian cuisine.

Consequently, in a few days representatives of tourist companies got an insight into tourist opportunities in regions including transportation, accommodation, nutrition and program of activities.

Links to the videos prepared by the crew of the television broadcaster "Nika plus":

Project "White Road"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kETH9ZbdbR4&feature=youtu.be

Project "White Road" (with subtitles)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32xJGpVjqyI

The opening of the forum “Role of tourism in sustainable development of the Russian North” took place at the National Theatre of the Republic Karelia on the 21 of November.

Forum goes under the federal “Tourism Week”, which is held by The Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Karelia, and it is the main event. The main theme of the forum was revealing the potential of tourism in the Northern territories of Russia, creation mechanisms of interaction between the state and business in order to develop the Russian North.

The seminar “Current mechanisms of interaction between the state and business in order to develop inbound and domestic tourism in the Russian North: Prospects for tourism development within the cross-border territories” was held in conference hall of the hotel “Onego Palace”. The moderator of this seminar was Alexander Konovalov, research and development expert of the project “White Road”. State Committee for Tourism, Karelian Resource Centre of NGOs, Karelia University of Applied Sciences, Kajaani University of Applied Sciences and others presented their reports during the seminar.

Timo Ekroos told about possibilities of creating accessible environment for people with disabilities in tourism and provided many vivid examples of finish experience. The presentation of Jan Mitts “Tourist behavior in the new digital world” was quite relevant. The speaker provided a lot of statistics on how tourists use the Internet and mobile technologies for organizing and spending their holidays.

Next day the forum continued with the conference «Rural, event and ethnographic tourism in preservation and development of rural tourism in the Russian North», which was held in Ethnic and cultural center «Elämä» in Pryazha region. After the conference participants visited Karjala Park where the workshops on creating karelian amulet was held, and of course everyone got an opportunity communicate with friendly husky dogs.

On November, 21 “Tourism Week” was finished with the conference “Event tourism as an instrument of the development of tourist destinations of the Russian North” in Olonets and “Olonets games of Grandfathers Frost”.

5-12 декабря  2014 года состоялась ознакомительная поездка представителей российских СМИ в пос. Калевала, деревню Вокнаволок, город Костомукша (Республика Карелия) и в Кухмо, Каяни, Вуокатти (Финляндия) в рамках проекта KA325 «Белая Дорога – Развитие трансграничного туризма в Северной Финляндии и Республике Карелия».

В проездке приняли участие съемочная группа Филиала ФГУП ВГТРК ГТРК «Карелия»,  ГТРК «Поморье», Телекомпания «Ника+»,  АУ РК «Республиканская телерадиовещательная компания «Сампо».

В первый день участникам поездки представилась возможность посетить  «Музей Рунопевцев» в Калевале и прослушать обзорную экскурсию «Калевала – родина эпоса», после чего группа разместилась в удивительно красивом месте на самой окраине посёлка Калевала – в туристическом комплексе «ВелТ». Коттеджи предназначены для тихого, спокойного отдыха в комфортабельных условиях. Вечерняя  фольклорная программа и трапеза с карельскими блюдами  завершили и без того насыщенный день.

После сытного завтрака журналисты сразу отправились в увлекательное путешествие по заснеженному лесу Карелии на собачьих упряжках (породы сибирских Хаски), после чего каждому участнику заезда торжественно вручили дипломы каюров. Игра в «Карельские городки или «Кюккя» увлекла всю группу. Краткий инструктаж и тренировочная игра прошли на специально оборудованной для этого открытой площадке. В Этнокультурном центре «KALEVALOTALO» каждый смог  попробовать себя в качестве мастера народного промысла и изготовил рождественскую козюлю. Богатый на события день был завершен финальным праздничным ужином на удивительной земле Калевала.

На следующий день по пути в город Костомукша журналисты смогли оценить весь туристический потенциал поистине карельской деревни – Вокнаволок¸ которая известна как одна из рунопевческих деревень связанных с именем Элиаса Леннрота.

Во второй половине дня группа добралась до удивительного по красоте места «Хутор Кормило» (в 49 км от Костомукши), где участников поездки встретили гостеприимные хозяева Ольга и Виктор Воробьевы, разместили в уютных коттеджах, предложили вкусный ужин, карельскую баню и программу «Припечные гадания». Особенно запомнился музей самоваров, в котором  собрано более 300 экземпляров самоваров в течение 15 лет.

После сытного завтрака, приготовленного самой хозяйкой хутора, журналисты осмотрели весь хутор, прокатились на лошадях в санях. На хуторе есть не только известные всем животные: лошади, овцы, собаки, кролики и многие другие, но и необычные  для карельских мест – альпаки.

В Костомукше, в гостевом доме «Котиранта», гостям был предложен мастер-класс по приготовлению новогоднего слабоалкогольного напитка «Glogi».

Вечером группа прибыла в город Кухмо (Финляндия) и разместилась в отеле Кайну (Hotel Kainuu). На следующее утро журналисты посетили концертный зал «Kuhmo-talo», сплавились по порогам (rapid swimming), сыграли в командные зимние игры, смогли сравнить катание на Хасках в Финляндии и Карелии, встретились с Санта-Клаусом   и отпраздновали приезд в Финляндию праздничным ужином.

На следующий день группа рано утром прибыла на финальный семинар по проекту КА325 «Белая дорога - Развитие трансграничного туризма в Северной Финляндии и Республике Карелия», где все участники смогли ознакомиться с основными результатами проекта и оценить его эффективность.

После насыщенных двух дней семинара  участники поездки отбыли в Вуокатти, совершили прогулку к лыжной трассе, которая находится недалеко от отеля, где было предложено размещение (SOKOS Hotel Vuokatti).

Утром следующего дня группа отбыла в Карелию. Журналисты получили возможность эффективно поработать и достойно представить туристический потенциал Северной Карелии и  Финляндии.

Ссылки на видео, подготовленное съемочной группой телекомпании «Сампо»:

http://sampo.tv/video.php?id=9226

Ссылки на видео, подготовленное съемочной группой ГТРК «Карелия»:

http://petrozavodsk.rfn.ru/rnews.html?id=1561193

Ссылки на видео, подготовленное съемочной группой ГТРК «Поморье»:

http://www.pomorie.ru/news/v-finlyandii-poyavilsya-noviy-vid-ekstremalnogo-sp

http://www.pomorie.ru/news/lyubiteli-gadaniya-gdut-glavnuyu-noch-goda

http://www.pomorie.ru/news/s-rostom-kursa-valyut-otdih-v-rossii-nabiraet-popu

Ссылки на видео, подготовленное съемочной группой телекомпании «Ника плюс»:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNOcNAlPPY0

The aim of the “White Road” project, implemented under the management of Kajaani University of Applied Sciences with support of the ENPI CBC Karelia program, is development of the tourist companies’ cooperation on both sides of the Finnish-Russian border. The objectives of the “White Road” project imply skills improving of those who responsible for tourist product development and joint marketing and the whole sphere of tourism. Russian partners of this project are Karelian Resource Centre of NGOs from Petrozavodsk and six Northern regions of the Republic of Karelia (Kostomuksha, Loukhi, Segezha, Kem, Belomorsk, Kalevala). In addition, Voigt Travel B.V, tourist operator from the Netherlands is also a partner of the project. Project implementation period is November 2012 – December 2014.

The activities of the “White Road” project in Finland directed to such regions as Kuusamo, Suomussalmi, Kuhmo, Sotkamo. The aim of this report is to familiarize Russian partners and other persons and tourist organizations involved in the project with the abovementioned regions and their services. There are some web-sites where you can find further information about tourist services in those regions. You also can find an e-mail and send suggestions for the development of the tourism cooperation.  We hope that our report will be useful for the dialogue between Russian and Finnish tourist companies.

Jari Järviluoma, tourism researcher from Kajaani University of Applied Sciences, researcher Salla Voutilainen and “White Road” project manager Petri Muje prepared the report.

You can find the report here  http://www.theseus.fi/handle/10024/86717

January 26-30, 2014 in the framework of the project "The White Road - Development of cross-border tourism in Northern Finland and the Republic of Karelia" a study tour (Benchmarking trip) in the Netherlands (Amsterdam). It should be noted that the Netherlands is the official partner of the project "The White Road".

On a trip uchuvstvoval representatives project partners with the Finnish and Russian sides. The aim was to get acquainted with travel companies in Central Europe, in particular, with the Netherlands, as well as the marketing strategies used in Amsterdam to attract tourists.

The participants had the opportunity to meet with representatives of Transavia.com (Airport Schiphol) and discuss opportunities for the development of flight in a northerly direction (Kuusamo, Kajani). In addition, the participants visited the studios cooking (cook studio), the Finnish House of JARI (Suomi House JARI). The agency owns Jari Einio, who organizes tours, excursions and cultural activities for tourists looking for a personal touch and exceptional experiences. Despite the fact that the organization works primarily with Finland and the Netherlands, however, is ready to cooperate with new partners.

Participants acquainted themselves key marketing company «I Amsterdam» (http://www.iamsterdam.com), dedicated to the promotion of products and shares with the slogan "I Amsterdam", as well as a tourist attraction in Amsterdam and a suburb of Amsterdam (http://www.youtube .com / watch? v = ecuLRqj2hUc).

During the trip, the tour took place in Flevoland (Flevoland), a province in the Netherlands: a visit to the Tourism Bureau in Flevoland and several tourist organizations. Thus, the participants visited the Batavia Shipyard (Bataviawerf) - shipyard in Lelystad. Built at the shipyard Batavia copy replica ships of the XVII century, with as much as possible, use technology of the era. Shipyard is open to visitors and is one of the popular attractions of Lelystad. Due to the presentation of the activities of this organization and familiarity with its own marketing strategies, participants had the opportunity to compare the methods of work of a major marketing campaign in Amsterdam «I Amsterdam» and small organizations in Flevoland.

The final event of the trip was a meeting with a tour company Voigt travel, official partner of the "White Road". In addition to the presentation of their activities, representatives Voigt travel talked about interest in the development of tourism in the north, including Finland and Russia. As it turned out, many tourists would love to visit Russia, and in particular, the Republic of Karelia, but, unfortunately, there are issues that make such a trip difficult. The main problem, of course, is a difficult and long process of obtaining a visa to Russia. For the majority of Dutch tourists Russia seems a little "extreme" direction, but at the same time very inviting. At the moment, tourists enough information about winter tours organized in Karelia, and now they are interested in what they can provide local tourist company in the summer.

Director Voigt travel (Cees van den Bosch), referring to the travel companies, operating in the Republic of Karelia, advised to unite and work together, as with many small tourism companies can achieve real success.

On 23 of January presentation of Russian-Finnish project KA325 «WHITE ROAD – Cross-border Tourism Development in the Northern Finland and the Republic of Karelia» was held in Petrozavodsk. The project is being implemented in the framework of ENPI CBC program and which is being funded by EU, Finland and Russia. The event was arranged by Karelian Resource Centre of NGOs.

Project partners took part in the presentation: from the Finnish side – project manager Petri Muje and development manager Mikko Keranen (Kajaani University of Applied Sciences), from the Russian side - Karelian Resource Centre of NGOs and the representatives of the Administrations of the regions project partners. The welcoming remarks were pronounced by Nikolay Oskin – Director General of Karelian Resource Centre of NGOs, Anna-Maria Liukko – Council of Finland’s Consulate General and Alexander Voronov – Minister of the Ministry of the Republic of Karelia of Youth Affairs, Physical Training, Sports and Tourism.

The main project objective is to improve the quality of tourist services. It aims on establishing unique quality standards for tourist services offered in Russia and Finland, working out new tourist products on the territory of Karelia and inclusion of the following tourist objects into tourist routes: the White Sea-Baltic Sea Canal, the White Sea and the Onega Sea Petroglyphs etc. The main task is attraction of tourists from other regions and countries to target region, strengthening cooperation system in the sphere of tourist products working out and marketing, creation of electronic system of services and internet sites, developing of educational system in the sphere of tourism, providing safety frontier tourism.

This project is planned for 2 years, till the end of 2014. Project geography covers 5 Northern regions of the republic: Loukhi region, Kalevala region, Kem region, Byelomorsk region, Segezha region and Kostomuksha. There are also two regions in Finland – Kainuu and Oulu.

The WHITE ROAD project was started on 1 of November 2012. At the moment one of the main project event is already being conducted – analysis of tourist industry development on the territory of the project. This study is being conducted jointly with the specialists of Karelian Resource Centre of NGOs and the Institute of Economics of Karelian Research Centre RAS with the assistance of the Administrations of the regions of Karelia, taking part in project implementation.

In the framework of the project Tourist Information Centres will be opened in the Republic of Karelia, their main objective will be to provide informational services for tourists and marketing of tourist products. There will be 6 working spaces and working hours will be established. The centres will cooperate and form a joint network.

In the framework of the event Russian and Finnish participants discussed many issues: expectations of tourist companies and local authorities, objectives and tasks for partners, necessity of tourist marketing, usage of historical and cultural heritage of the Northern Karelia in order to attract tourists from Russia and from abroad to Karelian regions.

On 12-13 December 2012 the seminar “Tourism Cooperation” was held in the Finnish town Vuokatti. Within the seminar the projects of the development of the cross-border tourism in the Republic of Karelia and Finland were represented. Karelian Resource Centre of NGOs and Kajaani University of Applied Sciences start the implementation of the two-year project «WHITE ROAD – Cross-border Tourism Development in the Northern Finland and the Republic of Karelia» in the framework of ENPI CBC in the Northern Finland and Karelia. The main objective of the project is to improve the quality of the tourist services on the both sides of the territory of the program. The important aim is to establish equal quality standards for tourist services offered in Russia and Finland.

During the working meeting in Vuokatti the project managers discussed the schedule of project events and exchanged the ideas on efficient project implementation. The representatives of the organizations-project partners took part in the discussion:  Voight Tourist Agency (the Netherlands), Wild Taiga Association (Finland), the administrations of Kostomuksha and Loukhi regions of Karelia. The next meeting of the project group will be held on 23 of January 2013 during the presentation of the “White Road” project in Petrozavodsk.

The seminar «Cross-Border tourism – marketing and future prospects» took place on 29-27 May in the city of Kostomuksha. It was organized by Kajaani University of Applied Sciences (Kamk) (BOSS-project), Karelian Resource Center of NGO’s (KRC) and Kostamuksha Urban District.

Within the seminar participants got an opportunity to discuss such urgent and essential issues as:

- Cross-border tourism: new project topics, New CBC-programme (Project Manager Petri Muje, Kamk)

- Tourist behavior in the new digital world (Senior lecturer Jan Mitts, Kamk)

- Tourism sector prospects and future plans in the Republic of Karelia (Deputy chairman Vladimir Gromov, State Committee for Tourism of the republic of Karelia)

- Tourism companies future prospects in Russia – economical and legislative changes (Tourism research expert Alexander Konovalov, University of Petrozavodsk)

- Cross-Border tourism in Kainuu (Tourism researcher Jari Järviluoma, Kamk)

- Nature based events in Kainuu (Project Manager (events) Teemu Takalo, Kainuu Liikunta)

- Tourism-oriented cross-border projects by KRIMEL: past and future prospects (Angela Gloushanok and Vladimir Schevchenko, KRIMEL)