Building a Net Database for Kymenlaakso Tourism

Abstract

The Kymenlaakso University of Applied Sciences started a project on Tourism to de-velop the industry within its region. Part of this project is to create a net database on tourism, to be used as a research tool for the university. The benefits of a net database on tourism can reach businesses within the industry. This thesis follows the progress of building such a database, and what observations can be made in the process for the tourism industry of the Kymenlaakso region. The aim of this thesis was to fill in this information gap of insufficient publications for assessing the tourism situation. The objective was to find reliable and updateable data for Kymenlaakso tourism and present that in the form of a net database. From the col-lection of data and building of the database, tourism business using the website could better assess the tourism situation in Kymenlaakso and understand how it could be improved. The study was conducted using action research, creating a net-database in order to make a change in the situation. Reflections and observations were used to come to the findings of the dissertation. From the observations of the research, new opportunities for improving the tourism of the region have been revealed. Suggestions for the fur-ther development of the database were also made.