Helsinki-Pärnu flight route’s effect on Pärnu’s attractiveness as a tourism destination
Aulavuo, Jenni (2023)
2023
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023120133615
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023120133615
Tiivistelmä
This is a research-based thesis work, made in course of 2023. The aim of the thesis is to find out if the newly opened flight route between Helsinki and Pärnu increases Pärnu’s attractiveness as a holiday destination, in the eyes of Finnish travellers. Also, the link between the flight route and decision making when planning a trip to Estonia, ferry trips importance to Finnish travellers and importance of cost compared to durations of journey are analysed as secondary research questions.
The theoretical framework focuses on three main topics. The first topic gives information about how peoples motivation to travel is being formed, utilising theoretical framework such as Leiper’s tourism system model and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The second topic discusses how an airport can effect on its’ surrounding areas and gives background information of the history of the airport of Pärnu. The last topic is about tourism in Estonia and the travel habits of Finnish tourist in Estonia.
In this type of research people’s opinions are needed. This is why a questionnaire was conducted since no preexisting data on this topic can be found. The aim of the questionnaire was to form questions that would give answers to all the research questions. Valuable to this type of research where the quantitative data is gathered by a survey, is to gain as many answers as possible. This is why the questionnaire was published as an online survey.
The answers were analysed and based on the analysis the conclusion withdrawn. The research concluded that the flight route between Helsinki and Pärnu can increase the attractiveness of Pärnu as a holiday destination. However, if the cost of the flights is a lot pricier than the cost of the combination of boat & buss/car the flight route loses its attractiveness, since it was found out that the cost of the journey is more important than the duration of the journey. If both modes of transport (aircraft vs. ship + bus/car) costs were the same, majority would rather fly there. Also, majority of the respondents found the boat journey itself insignificant or felt neutral about it.
The theoretical framework focuses on three main topics. The first topic gives information about how peoples motivation to travel is being formed, utilising theoretical framework such as Leiper’s tourism system model and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The second topic discusses how an airport can effect on its’ surrounding areas and gives background information of the history of the airport of Pärnu. The last topic is about tourism in Estonia and the travel habits of Finnish tourist in Estonia.
In this type of research people’s opinions are needed. This is why a questionnaire was conducted since no preexisting data on this topic can be found. The aim of the questionnaire was to form questions that would give answers to all the research questions. Valuable to this type of research where the quantitative data is gathered by a survey, is to gain as many answers as possible. This is why the questionnaire was published as an online survey.
The answers were analysed and based on the analysis the conclusion withdrawn. The research concluded that the flight route between Helsinki and Pärnu can increase the attractiveness of Pärnu as a holiday destination. However, if the cost of the flights is a lot pricier than the cost of the combination of boat & buss/car the flight route loses its attractiveness, since it was found out that the cost of the journey is more important than the duration of the journey. If both modes of transport (aircraft vs. ship + bus/car) costs were the same, majority would rather fly there. Also, majority of the respondents found the boat journey itself insignificant or felt neutral about it.