Kevo: A sustainable travel product
Lybeck, Richard Leo-Emil Christian (2021)
Lybeck, Richard Leo-Emil Christian
2021
All rights reserved. This publication is copyrighted. You may download, display and print it for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2021060414282
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2021060414282
Tiivistelmä
For the past decade, the tourism industry has experienced an immense surge in popularity,
with some destinations even getting overloaded. In national parks, the overtourism issue is
also beginning to become prevalent, and in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic, the
industry is likely to face a great number of travelers again. I have therefore chosen to plan a
sustainable travel product in one of Finland’s less known national parks, Kevo national park.
This is a product-based thesis with the final goal of an ecologically sustainable and unique
travel product. The thesis is not created for any specific commissioning party, but rather as
a potential product to be sold in the future. The aim of the product is to act as an example
for travel agencies, demonstrating how travel packages could be developed in less popular
areas to spread out the amount of travel in national parks around Finland. The product
should also act as an example for sustainable product development and good practice with
regards to protecting the nature in the destination.
An overview of sustainable tourism, adventure ecotourism and hiking trips is included in
the thesis to provide context for the product development process. Based on research, a
set of sustainability criteria are introduced and these criteria should be followed during the
product development process. The most important criteria are then selected for the product
plan and will be put into practice within the product. The product itself is included as an
appendix to the thesis and includes a summary of the activities for the duration of the
hiking product.
The end result of the project is then examined based on the criteria and goals set at the
beginning of the process and the author’s personal and academic learning outcomes are
discussed.
with some destinations even getting overloaded. In national parks, the overtourism issue is
also beginning to become prevalent, and in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic, the
industry is likely to face a great number of travelers again. I have therefore chosen to plan a
sustainable travel product in one of Finland’s less known national parks, Kevo national park.
This is a product-based thesis with the final goal of an ecologically sustainable and unique
travel product. The thesis is not created for any specific commissioning party, but rather as
a potential product to be sold in the future. The aim of the product is to act as an example
for travel agencies, demonstrating how travel packages could be developed in less popular
areas to spread out the amount of travel in national parks around Finland. The product
should also act as an example for sustainable product development and good practice with
regards to protecting the nature in the destination.
An overview of sustainable tourism, adventure ecotourism and hiking trips is included in
the thesis to provide context for the product development process. Based on research, a
set of sustainability criteria are introduced and these criteria should be followed during the
product development process. The most important criteria are then selected for the product
plan and will be put into practice within the product. The product itself is included as an
appendix to the thesis and includes a summary of the activities for the duration of the
hiking product.
The end result of the project is then examined based on the criteria and goals set at the
beginning of the process and the author’s personal and academic learning outcomes are
discussed.