Attracting tourist to coastal areas

Southwest Finland is responsible for delivering the know-how and the operational best practises to the benefit of operators and tourism enterprises. The target is to build a "Centre of Excellence" co-operation network of operators, universities and polytechnics, and the public and private sectors, in order to join the resources of know-how and development. The flagship project is concentrating especially on development of products, services and accessibility, based on culture and nature in the coastal regions according to the principles of sustainability.

The Baltic Sea Region has good possibilities to become a tourist region similar to the Mediterranean, with its own, special brand. It is essential to work together to increase the know-how and the means of co-operation between regions, enterprises and operators in order to turn the region into a worldwide area of attraction. Without high quality product development stemming from the needs of the users and the necessary service know-how, there will be neither joint products nor a joint brand of the region.

One product alone does not create an attractive tourism destination. The services must be available to the customers and the service chain must function seamlessly together, to make the travel experience successful and memorable. Ease of purchase, travel comfort, and the networking of destinations will promote the growth and competitiveness of tourism in the Baltic Sea Region.

Coastal Areas Flagship Project concentrates on the sustainable development of travel destinations, products and services, based on culture and nature in the coastal region and ensuring their accessibility. The aim for the future is that operators in the region will develop joint products and services across borders, offering in this way memorable travel experiences to the customers, profitability to the producers and vitality to the regions through new enterprises and new jobs. The development is based on recognising the strengths of the regions, on thematic profiling, and on partnerships between the operators of various branches. The key to positive results and successful operational patterns lies in the use of operators of various regions through the network.

The project consists of:
- Building of a network of partnerships in the BSR,
- Mapping the network of enterprises,
- Preparing the international mentoring programme,
- Concentrating on, e.g. developing the guest harbours to the regional service centres,
- Defining the development of products and services based on customer information.