Elevating Rural Tourism Experiences in Finland
Pylkkänen, Laura (2024)
2024
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024051712814
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024051712814
Tiivistelmä
Finland welcomes travellers to experience the peaceful nature and landscapes, local food, Finnish lifestyles, and traditions. While a considerable number of travels focus on the most popular areas, rural Finland offers a wide range of destinations to see and experience. The potential of rural Finland has received a lot of attention and discussions recently and became the focus of this thesis.
The theoretical framework focuses on rural tourism, experiences, and sustainability, and each chapter begins with definitions of these key concepts. Rural tourism covers the current state of rural tourism in Finland and identifies some current projects related to the development of rural areas. The experience part presents the key theories and some essential elements creating a successful experience. The importance of sustainability actions in the tourism industry is investigated, and some sustainability development goals are discussed.
The empirical part of this thesis used qualitative research methods, including semi-structured interviews with travellers and thematic interviews with rural tourism specialists. The focus was to identify the elements necessary for attracting travellers to rural Finland and to get travellers’ points of view on what is appreciated and expected on their travels. To support the findings of interviews with travellers, rural tourism specialists were interviewed to understand the rural operations.
After analysing the data, the findings are linked to the theoretical framework, offering a broader understanding of travellers’ expectations and needs. It provides important information to rural tourism service providers. Additionally, it offers some practical proposals for companies to elevate rural experiences, meet potential guests’ demands, and improve the overall attractiveness of rural tourism in Finland.
The discussion part answers the main research question: how to get travellers to explore more rural Finland from domestic travellers’ point of views. The main findings show that travellers are looking for a calm environment to relax, gather with their family and friends, and engage and learn from the local communities and traditions. As a summary, rural Finland interests domestic travellers. The elements that travellers require are found in rural tourism experiences, which can be enhanced with visibility and providing accessible information.
The theoretical framework focuses on rural tourism, experiences, and sustainability, and each chapter begins with definitions of these key concepts. Rural tourism covers the current state of rural tourism in Finland and identifies some current projects related to the development of rural areas. The experience part presents the key theories and some essential elements creating a successful experience. The importance of sustainability actions in the tourism industry is investigated, and some sustainability development goals are discussed.
The empirical part of this thesis used qualitative research methods, including semi-structured interviews with travellers and thematic interviews with rural tourism specialists. The focus was to identify the elements necessary for attracting travellers to rural Finland and to get travellers’ points of view on what is appreciated and expected on their travels. To support the findings of interviews with travellers, rural tourism specialists were interviewed to understand the rural operations.
After analysing the data, the findings are linked to the theoretical framework, offering a broader understanding of travellers’ expectations and needs. It provides important information to rural tourism service providers. Additionally, it offers some practical proposals for companies to elevate rural experiences, meet potential guests’ demands, and improve the overall attractiveness of rural tourism in Finland.
The discussion part answers the main research question: how to get travellers to explore more rural Finland from domestic travellers’ point of views. The main findings show that travellers are looking for a calm environment to relax, gather with their family and friends, and engage and learn from the local communities and traditions. As a summary, rural Finland interests domestic travellers. The elements that travellers require are found in rural tourism experiences, which can be enhanced with visibility and providing accessible information.