Press release
Bothnian Coastal Route Attracts New Tour Operators – Companies Seeing Concrete Results
The Bothnian Coastal Route (BCR) project is now showing clear results. International tour operators from several European countries have chosen to include the route in their offerings for the current year and 2026, and small and medium-sized enterprises along the Bothnian Bay coast report new contacts, bookings, and collaborations thanks to the project.
Bothnian Coastal Route connects destinations in northern Finland and Sweden, with the Kvarken connection as a central link. The project aims to strengthen small and medium-sized enterprises through increased international visibility and new cross-border collaborations, with a particular emphasis on sustainable tourism development.
New International Tour Operators See Potential and Concrete Bookings
Wasaline connects a Finnish-Swedish roundtrip around the Bothnian Bay’s northern parts with its under 4-hour route across the Kvarken between Vaasa (Finland) and Umeå (Sweden). The modern hybrid ferry Aurora Botnia offers a sustainable way to travel, and variety in the timetable makes different kinds of roundtrips possible for different target groups. Moreover, Bothnian Coastal Route’s project activities are reflected in Wasaline’s daily operations.
“We’ve been happy to see how many international tour operators have been interested in Wasaline as a part of the Bothnian Coastal Route. It’s very important for us to collaborate with other actors in the tourism industry to attract more international clients to the region. Together with the Bothnian Coastal Route project, we’ve had an opportunity to host familiarizing trips, meet new cooperation partners, discuss business opportunities, and get to know each other. We also see the results of this cooperation in the form of new clients and bookings”, says Niina Jansson from Wasaline, NLC Ferry Oy Ab.
The project staff are particularly pleased with the latest additions of international tour operators who, thanks to the project’s active efforts directed at the tour operator sector, have chosen to package and include the BCR region in their offerings for 2025 and 2026. The new operators come from Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom, and they join the growing number of tour operators in Central and Northern Europe who had already chosen to include the region in their programs. In total, 16 tour operators have now included the BCR region in their production.
“We’ve already planned a winter trip around the Bothnian Bay for the coming season, with 30 bookings confirmed so far. Inspiration for the trip came partly from the project’s website (Bothniancoastalroute.com) and partly from the business contacts we made at Matka Travel Fair, and during the subsequent familiarization trip organized by the project, which contributed to the planning process”, says Manuela Heeb from Kontiki Reisen.
The project partnership’s determined efforts have already borne fruit, and the strong hope is that the joint efforts within the project will lead to continued visits in the future from e.g. German-speaking countries, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, the United Kingdom, and France, to the benefit of the entire tourism industry along the Bothnian Bay. This is confirmed by the positive feedback shared by the tour operators.
“The project really allowed us to discover new and very interesting destinations. With good cooperation, these have become one attractive destination with huge potential. We’ve already started seeing increasing interest from our markets, and we’ll always be very grateful to our partners for the possibility of discovering the region. These activities or ”projects” are extremely valuable to us and we really rely on the companies behind them to increase our knowledge, and we return the investments from their side with travelers from our side”, says Claudio P. Nielsen from Delta of Scandinavia.
Companies Seeing Concrete Results
Normally, the results of projects like BCR become visible with delay, but the project’s activities are already noticeable among small and medium-sized enterprises along the entire coastal route.
“The Bothnian Coastal Route project has brought us closer to international travel trade in terms of site visits and networking. It has been wonderful to see how Kalajoki Sand Dunes has sparked interest. Tour operators have already reached out, and the first activities for next winter have been booked.” (Pepita Varila & Marko Santapakka, Safaritalo / Hiekkasärkkien Ohjelmapalvelut Oy)
“We’ve found the Bothnian Coastal Route project to be very concrete and well-executed. We’ve got many new contacts, and it has led to real business opportunities for us, not just potential but tangible results.” (Katja Vuorio, Nallikari By The Sea)
“It’s been a great collaboration with the project and resulted in new contacts with travel agencies in Belgium and Germany, as well as potential future customers for us. It’s also positive that we have already had our first customers from a Belgian tour operator, and the feedback from the guests was very positive for the entire Umeå–Haparanda–Vaasa route.” (Kristian Holmkvist, Wästinn)
“This has been of crucial importance for a small company like ours, as it usually requires significant time and effort to develop such high-quality relationships with tour operators independently.” (Jon-Krista Jonsson, Reindeer Ranch)
”We’ve always been passionate about cross-border cooperation and experiences. Being involved in the Bothnian Coastal Route project has been natural for us. Through several familiarization trips carried out over the BCR project period, we‘ve already seen concrete results in increased interest in our hotel as well as our common travel reason. These have led to new collaborations and agreements and concrete new series bookings from international tour operators of great importance. We’ve also participated in study trips that have inspired our employees to new ways of working and improvements in our own organization.” (Susanne Wallin, Haparanda Stadshotell)
Companies within the project area also see value in having had the opportunity to meet and network with other similar companies from the neighboring country.
“Participating in the BCR project has proven to be extremely valuable for our company. The benchmarking trips to food, drink, and experience destinations in Sweden not only brought us new ideas but also strengthened our confidence in what we do. Ideating and testing our own service products – and, above all, the feedback we received on them – has been a major milestone for us.” (Hanna Saari, Hiekkadyyni)
“The project has been very relevant for us. We’ve participated in different types of project activities, such as study trips, webinars, and familiarization trips. This has increased both our knowledge about tourism trends and the tourism businesses on the Finnish side to benchmark with. In addition, it’s given us more export readiness to meet the European travel trade market. The project geography and route focus are also relevant for us because they connect the different destinations along the Swedish and Finnish Bothnian Bay coast since roadtrip travelers are also a natural target group for us.” (Charlotta Nilsson, First Camp Luleå)
Continued Development
A joint platform has been built for tourism companies along the Bothnian Bay coast with the Bothnian Coastal Route project partnership. The project has increased international visibility, created new contacts, and laid the foundation for long-term cooperation. As the project now approaches its end, the results live on through stronger networks, business contacts, new travel products, and more reasons for international visitors to discover our cities and destinations all year round.
Contact for Further Information
Marianne Sjöström, Kvarken Council EGTC
Project owner’s representative, Project Manager
+358 (0)40 678 83 75
marianne.sjostrom@kvarken.org
Erja Back, Visit Umeå
Destination: Umeå Region
+46 (0)70 647 62 78
erja.back@visitumea.se
Bo Wikström, Visit Skellefteå
Destination: Skellefteå
+46 (0)70 597 73 31
bo.wikstrom@visitskelleftea.se
Karin Åberg, Luleå Municipality
Destinations: Luleå, Piteå, Kalix, Haparanda
+46 (0)70 288 26 90
karin.aberg@lulea.se
Sari Kasvi, BusinessOulu
Destinations: Oulu, Raahe, Liminka, Kempele, Hailuoto, Ii, Kemi, Tornio
+358 (0)40 724 94 19
sari.kasvi@businessoulu.com
Jaana Sirkiä, City of Kalajoki
Destination: Kalajoki
+358 (0)40 359 14 57
jaana.sirkia@kalajoki.fi
Peter Källberg, Vaasa Region Development Company VASEK
Destinations: Vaasa, Pietarsaari, Kokkola
+358 (0)40 844 20 58
peter.kallberg@vasek.fi
Briefly about Bothnian Coastal Route (BCR)
The purpose of the project is to make the coastline of northern Finland and Sweden a well-known destination with its unique nature and cultural heritage. Through joint marketing, the development of new travel packages, and investments in sustainability, the project has created conditions for more travelers to discover the entire coast – and to stay longer in the region.
Read more about the project HERE kvarken.org/en/project/bothnian-coastal-route/
Discover the marketing webpage: www.bothniancoastalroute.com
Project period: 1.1.2023–31.12.2025
Project partners:
Kvarken Council EGTC (lead partner and coordinating beneficiary), City of Kalajoki, Luleå Business Region AB and Luleå Municipality, City of Oulu/BusinessOulu, Vaasa Region Development Company VASEK, Visit Skellefteå AB, and Visit Umeå AB.
Financiers:
Interreg Aurora, Regional Council of Lapland, Region Västerbotten, Kvarken Council EGTC, Umeå Municipality, Vaasa Region Development Company VASEK, City of Kalajoki, Luleå Business Region AB and Luleå Municipality, City of Oulu/BusinessOulu, Visit Skellefteå AB, City of Vaasa, Kokkola Tourism Ltd, Municipality of Haparanda for Haparanda/Tornio, Bothnian Arc, City of Jakobstad, Piteå Municipality, Kemi Tourism Ltd, NLC Ferry Ab Oy.
