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)
Report
Kuusamo, Suomussalmi, Kuhmo are Sotkamo are the regions for the tourism
Description
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
The final seminar of the project “White road” was held in Kajaani on the 10-11 of December.
The representatives of the tourists companies, tourist information centers, local administrations, project staff, experts, representatives of the State committee of the Republic of Karelia for tourism took part in the seminar. The special section – training called “Communication Skills in Services” was organized for the participants. Mr. Duncan Holmes, the Director of the British company “Speak the Speech” moderated this section.
During a two-day seminar participants discussed project results, prospects of tourism development in the project territory and outlined the plans for future cooperation.
The project territory contained 2 regions in Finland (Kainuu and Kuusamo) and six northern regions of the Republic of Karelia (Louhi, Kalevala, Kem, Byelomorsk, Segezha, Kostomuksha).
During project implementation there were many activities that can be divided into three blocks, which were aimed to certain problem: education, information and project marketing.
Educational unite includes educational seminars and trainings, aimed at experience exchange, building-up contacts between tourist companies.
The main project result is opening of tourists information centers at six regions of the Republic of Karelia with the active participation of local administrations. The important part of this unite is the active work with the Russian Mass Media so as to promote the project territory. Also the web-page of the project was created.
Thanks to the project tourist companies of the Republic of Karelia had an opportunity to take part in such important marketing events, as the international exhibition “MATKA” (Helsinki, Finland) and the international tourist exhibition "Leisure" in Moscow, and to present their products at international level.
At the final stage of the “White Road” (August-December, 2014) there were test and show trips for journalists and tourist operators from Russia, Finland, Netherlands and Italy. Russian mass media from Karelia, St. Petersburg and Moscow, broadcasting companies “Karelia”, “Pomorie”, “NIKA Plus” and “Sampo” took part in the test trips. Now the tourist potential of the regions is presented not only in the Karelian Mass Media, but also at the federal lever. Thanks to the participation of broadcasting companies, there are several videos about the project that have been shown on TV.
In general, during joint activities, representatives of the finish and Russian tourism had an opportunity to build-up contacts. They discussed the opportunities of close cooperation and creation of common tourist products. Also they discussed a lot of problems which inhibits the development of tourism in Karelia, including visa regime, road infrastructure and difficulties in the republic legislation in sphere of tourism.
Ссылки на видео, подготовленное съемочной группой телекомпании «Сампо»:
http://sampo.tv/video.php?id=9226
Ссылки на видео, подготовленное съемочной группой ГТРК «Карелия»:
The Republic of Karelia was presented at the festival-contest “Divo Rossii” (Wonder of Russia) in the nomination “Tourist routes and excursions”.
For the festive finale total winners of semifinals "Europe" and "Asia", winners in every nomination among the participants of semifinals, total winners in every Federal county, as well as 3 projects gained the most views at the диво-россии.рф web-page and video channel at the youtube.com were chosen.
The festival finale was held on 26 May in Moscow. 36 projects in 7 nominations presented unique, wonderful and memorable places in Russia, including historical and architectural, religious objects and museums, legends, myths and tales, tourism for children and youth, rest and recreation, tourist routes and excursions (this is the one where the Sampo video took the third place), natural objects, adventure and event tourism.
The video “White Road” was prepared by the representative of Sampo TV company - Elena Fomina.