Discover the achievements of the 2014-2020 NPA projects

Seven years of cooperation between people, communities, and organisations across thousands of kilometres made a difference in the Northern Periphery and Arctic regions.

Browse the NPA map of results to discover our stories of cooperation. Pick a dot from the map and scroll down to read  about people who have met similar minded colleagues and together found solutions for their shared challenges.

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Exploring ecotourism

Linking cultural and natural assets into tourism products

In the Koitajoki area in North Karelia, SHAPE has gathered representatives from various regional tourism association, tourism entrepreneurs, regional government, and educational institutes to map the existing cultural and historical assets, tourism service providers, and future possible ecotourism products. The outcome of these workshops is the “Koitajoki SLOW triathlon initiative” linking regional cultural and natural assets to tourism products and allowing providers in the area to develop joint tourism packages for tourists. The slow triathlon has gained ground in North Karelia and is now being sold as a package service by various enterprises. The SHAPE eService has gathered ideas of ecotourism products/services also from other Sustainable Heritage Sites and prepared tips for ecotourism businesses how to effectively use social media for engaging with visitors.

Photo credit and copyright: SHAPE project/North Karelia biosphere Reserve

 

 

Anna Härkönen

Visit Karelia

The Shape eService is valuable resource for our Destination Management Planning process. We share the examples on ecotourism products and services for the business customers to support them in service developments. We will continue using the SHAPE eService dissemination and networking tool as part of our Sustainable Destination Management.