\u201cWe wanted to create a method that is suitable for the BCR area. The BCR sustainability working method will support and complement already existing programs. This working method can be the very first step for our companies to start their process towards sustainable thinking and behaviour,\u201d says Sari Kasvi<\/strong>, Project Manager at BusinessOulu, one of the partners in the BCR project.<\/p>\n Competence and network building activities have <\/span>also <\/span>been arranged<\/span> <\/span>and are henceforth arranged<\/span><\/span> for the companies. Th<\/span>e<\/span>s<\/span>e<\/span> include benchmarking and study trips for learning and networking between tourism companies from Finland and Sweden, <\/span>a<\/span>s well as<\/span> workshops for competence building, product development, and sales workshops with tour operators. <\/span>A webinar<\/span> series about the use of AI for tourism businesses was arranged for the companies together with<\/span> <\/span>the digital marketing company<\/span><\/span> Kuulu<\/span> at<\/span> the beginning of 2025<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The project\u2019s work package 3 is all about marketing. Several marketing activities have been carried out to increase the visibility and awareness of the coastal route around the Bothnian Bay and across the Kvarken strait. A specific marketing website for the target group of Tour operators and Destination management companies, www.bothniancoastalroute.com<\/a>, was built and launched to improve visibility and awareness of the area and to highlight local culture and sustainable products.<\/p>\n \u201c<\/span><\/span>The website <\/span><\/span>is a vital resource for the travel trade, offering <\/span>tour suggestions<\/span><\/span>, and it is also possible to tailor them to your needs by filtering services and products available in the region,\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>says<\/span> <\/span>Erja Back<\/span><\/span><\/strong>, Project <\/span>L<\/span>eader at Visit <\/span>Ume\u00e5<\/span>, one of the partners in the BCR project.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n So far, during 2024\u20132025, the project group has participated in over 16 sales and marketing events and had approximately 500 face-to-face meetings with travel trade professionals. During these workshops, and several site inspections arranged for travel trade actors to the BCR area, a genuine interest for the joint destination has been experienced, that also has delivered results in terms of concrete tour production.<\/p>\n To awaken and maintain the interest for this area, approximately 1300 travel trade professionals have continuously received newsletters about tours and destinations along the coast.<\/p>\n A collaboration with the Ume\u00e5-based company Best of Scandinavia Incoming was launched at the beginning of 2025. The partnership introduced a tailored and customizable tour around the Bothnian Bay and across the Kvarken strait as part of Best of Scandinavia\u2019s product range.<\/p>\n The determined and valuable work done in the project has in addition resulted in that around 11 international Destination Management Companies (DMC) and Tour operators have introduced a tour production to the BCR-area for 2025 and\/or 2026.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cA central part of the project is to establish collaboration with DMC\u2019s as well as Tour Operators, which both organise and sell travel packages highlighting the region\u2019s unique values. A DMC or an incoming bureau serve as a wholesaler acting as a dealer to Tour operators, by producing tours that are flexible and can be tailored to meet customer preferences. A Tour operator usually produce and sell own finished travel packages,\u201d says Marianne Sj\u00f6str\u00f6m<\/strong>, Project Manager for the Bothnian Coastal Route project at the Kvarken Council.<\/p>\n Efforts have also been made to spark media and social media interest in the Bothnian Coastal Route. So far, these efforts have resulted in posts, articles, and YouTube films in English, German, French and especially Italian. The Bothnian Coastal Route received a lot of media attention when it was featured in Italian media as a Nordic summer bucket list road-trip destination. Over 20 media outlets presented BCR in texts and pictures.<\/p>\n With less than a year remaining of the project duration, the project team still wants to continue to contribute to better conditions for economic growth for local companies through even more established collaborations with travel trade with long lasting and sustainable business relations.<\/p>\n With the new EU Green Claims directive coming<\/span>, the project group <\/span>also wants to encourage local companies to see the opportunities that the sustainable development process and competence building efforts <\/span><\/span>of the project<\/span><\/span> provide for the future<\/span>.<\/span> T<\/span>he<\/span> work with the<\/span> BCR working method towards sustainability <\/span>has <\/span>recently started.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Before summer, the project group look forward to sharing the recently started Food Travel Assessment for the BCR area, that will provide key insights into the current state, opportunities, and potential development strategies for food tourism in this unique coastal region. With this assessment the project group wants to further highlight new opportunities for local companies.<\/p>\n The project\u2019s overall objective is to create awareness of the BCR as an attractive travel route for visitors and locals, with its outstanding nature and rich cultural heritage, and provide a sound basis for growth and sustainable tourism.<\/p>\n \u201cWe feel that the results up to now are well reflected in both the project\u2019s overall objective and expected results,\u201d Sj\u00f6str\u00f6m <\/strong>concludes.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read more about the Bothnian Coastal Route project HERE<\/a> and HERE<\/a>. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Launched at the beginning of 2023, the Bothnian Coastal Route project has already achieved remarkable milestones in promoting travel across the Kvarken strait and around the Bothnian Bay, fostering sustainable development, and increasing visibility for the coastline. With less than a year remaining, the project team is working hard to complete the final project activities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":15822,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"amnen":[96],"class_list":["post-22540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","amnen-tourism"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIncreasing the Visibility and Awareness of the Coastal Route<\/strong><\/h2>\n
The Final Stretch Remains<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nRead more about the collaboration with Best of Scandinavia HERE<\/a>.
\nRead more about the Bothnian Coastal Route sustainability working method HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.kvarken.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/cropped-AURORA-RGB-Color-1.png\")
<\/p>\n