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José-Carlos García-Rosell · Maria Hakkarainen · Mira Koskinen
Petra Paloniemi · Niina Syrjälä · Teija Tekoniemi-Selkälä · Mari Vähäkuopus
2nd Edition
Action Plan
Barents Tourism
Editors
José-Carlos García-Rosell, Maria Hakkarainen,
Mira Koskinen, Petra Paloniemi, Niina Syrjälä,
Teija Tekoniemi-Selkälä & Mari Vähäkuopus
Public-Private Partnership in Barents Tourism (BART)
2nd Edition
Rovaniemi 2013
© Editors
Graphic design and layout: Maaret Posti
Print: Erweko Oy, Rovaniemi 2013
ISBN 978-952-6620-04-6 (pdf)
5 Foreword
6 Barents Tourism Action Plan
9 Action area 1: Cooperation
12 Action Area 2: Education and Knowledge
15 Action Area 3: Accessibility and Transportation Infrastructure
18 Action Area 4: Product Development
21 Action Area 5: Place Identity
24 Moving forward
26 References
28 Glossary
30 Appendix 1
31 Appendix 2
Contents
Foreword
Before the Joint Working Group on Tourism (JWGT) started its work in 2009, we knew very little
about our neighbors. Although the development of tourism has been one of the major success
stories of many destinations in the Barents Region, we didn’t know how this industry was organized
in each country. Through our meetings that are attended by representatives from the four Barents
countries, we have become more aware of our commonalities and strengths but also the challeng-
es we have to deal with to develop the Barents into a strong tourism destination.
The tourism industry in the Barents Region is not only a promoter of economic development but
also social well-being among the societies living in this northern European region. The tourism
industry contributes over one billion of Euros on to the Barents Region economy annually and em-
ploys more than tens of thousands of people. By keeping the economy of towns and villages alive,
tourism contributes to the long-term sustainability of natural sites, traditional industries, cultural
heritage and local ways of live.
The Barents Tourism Action Plan will help develop a strong and sustainable tourism industry. It
will help protect the jobs of people who are directly and indirectly employed in tourism now, while
growing the industry in the years to come. As a whole, the Action Plan offers a continued strategic
focus to the combined efforts of the members of the JWGT. The JWGT is fully devoted to promote
the Barents tourism industry through commitments in ve action areas; cooperation, education
and knowledge, accessibility and transportation infrastructure, product development, and place
identity.
The implementation of the Barents Tourism Action Plan has already begun.
Kairi Pääsuke
Joint Working Group on Tourism
Committee of Senior Ofcials of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council
Barents Regional Committee
5
The Barents Euro-Arctic Region is characterized
by its diversity and extensive territory. The re-
gion consists of 13 municipalities located in
the northernmost parts of Sweden, Norway,
Finland and Northwest Russia. Around ve
and a half million people live in this area,
among them indigenous people like Sámi, Ne-
nets, Vepsians and Komi, scattered in an area
of 1,755,800 sq. km. The arctic climate, exot-
ic midnight sun, dark polar nights, northern
lights, cold winters, vast natural resources and
diverse cultural heritage offer both a fertile
but also a challenging ground for tourism de-
velopment.
In 1993 the Kirkenes Declaration ofcially
acknowledged the need to improve the condi-
tions for cooperation, security, integration and
prosperity between local authorities, institu-
tions, industry and business across the borders
of the Barents Euro-Arctic Region (henceforth
Barents or Barents region). The Barents is now-
adays considered one of Europe’s largest re-
gions for interregional cooperation. This level
of cooperation is partly thanks to the active
engagement of the Barents Euro-Arctic Coun-
cil (BEAC) and the Barents Regional Council
(BRC) which, as political entities, are a direct
result of the Kirkenes Declaration.
Over the past two decades policy makers
and business people have discussed opportu-
nities for collaboration and the future of the
region with a particular emphasis on the ex-
ploitation of natural resources such as forest,
sh, minerals, diamonds, oil and gas. Although
the potential of tourism, as a means to foster
social and economic development, was also
recognized in the Kirkenes Declaration, inter-
regional cooperation within the tourism indus-
try has remained underdeveloped.
As a tourism destination, the Barents Region
currently attracts millions of visitors every year,
generating billions of Euros and tens of thou-
sands of jobs. While tourism continues to grow
in the future, visitor arrivals are not equally dis-
tributed across the municipalities of the Bar-
ents. Indeed, the high degree of heterogeneity
– in terms of business culture, levels of tourism
development, infrastructure, legislation and
human capacity – characterizing the tourism
industry in the Barents not only hinders inter-
regional cooperation but also prevents some
municipalities from the benets of tourism.
Public-Private Partnership in Barents
Tourism (BART)
Several interregional EU funded projects have
been implemented to make use of these op-
portunities and minimize these challenges
by supporting and stimulating interregional
“The promotion of tourism across national borders will strengthen human contacts and mutually
benecial economic development with positive effects for employment and business activities.”
Kirkenes Declaration 1993
6
Barents Tourism Action Plan
tourism cooperation across the borders of the
Barents Region. Public-Private Partnership in
Barents Tourism (BART) is a concrete example
of an EU funded project aiming to strengthen
and enhance cross-border tourism cooperation
between the public and private tourism sector
(Appendix 1). This project, which was fund-
ed under the Kolarctic ENPI CBC Programme
2007–2013, aimed to promote tourism devel-
opment in the Barents by:
• conducting a detailed analysis of the cur-
rent state of the tourism industry in the
Barents Region;
• analysing existing tourism expertise in
higher educational institutions in the Bar-
ents Region;
• assessing needs and expectations of tour-
ism entrepreneurs regarding tourism
knowledge;
• stimulating research and development co-
operation by supporting joint research work
and initiating joint publications; and
• establishing and monitoring Monchegorsk
Tourism Information Center in the Mur-
mansk region as a learning environment for
the Public-Private Partnership.
This action plan, which represents one con-
crete result of BART, is based on extensive
research, background material and expert con-
sultations. A total of 71 interviews were con-
ducted among small- and medium-sized Bar-
ents tourism enterprises between September
2011 and April 2012. These enterprises were
located in Finnish Lapland, Swedish Lapland,
Northern Norway, Arkhangelsk and Murmansk.
The interviews provided critical information
on the needs and expectations of tourism en-
terprises regarding tourism development in
the Barents.
A careful review of ofcial documents, re-
ports and academic literature was conducted
to analyze the data collected through the in-
terviews. The review also helped assess the
current level of tourism knowledge in relation
to the Barents Region. Data collection and
analysis were supported by consultations that
took place in the form of workshops organized
with tourism experts from Finland, Norway,
Sweden and Russia. The extensive research
and consultations were planned, coordinated
and implemented by higher education institu-
tions situated in the Barents Region.
The partners in the Public-Private Partner-
ship in Barents Tourism (BART) - project were
• Multidimensional Tourism Institute (Fin-
land) as a Lead Partner
• Regional Council of Lapland (Finland)
• Luleå University of Technology (Sweden)
• University of Tromsø: Barents Institute
(Norway)
• Ministry of Economic Development of
Murmansk Region (Russia)
• Murmansk State Humanities University
(Russia)
• Murmansk State Technical University (Russia)
• Monchegorsk Town Authority (Russia)
• Ministry of Youth Affairs, Sports and Tour-
ism of Arkhangelsk Region (Russia)
• Northern (Arctic) Federal University (Russia)
The Barents region is considered one of the Europe’s largest region for
interregional cooperation.
7
The Action Plan
The overall intention of this Barents Interre-
gional Tourism Action Plan is to offer an over-
view of the state of the tourism industry in this
Nordic region. By articulating the views, needs
and demands of Barents entrepreneurs, the Ac-
tion Plan aims to encourage policy makers in
national ministries, government agencies and
EU institutions to provide the resources and
improve the conditions needed for promoting
interregional tourism development.
In particular, the Action Plan will play a key
role in supporting the new mandate for the
Joint Working Group on Tourism (JWGT) – es-
tablished by the BEAC / Committee of Senior
Ofcials and the BRC / Barents Regional Com-
mittee in 2008 – in achieving the objectives
set for the period 2013–2017 (see Appendix
2). It will help the JWGT support cooperation
between the many public and private organiza-
tions that have a role to play in Barents tourism
industry. In the long-term, this will enable the
tourism industry to grow in a sustainable and
responsible way across the Barents Region.
The Action Plan focuses on ve key areas which
have been identied as vital to promoting interre-
gional tourism development in the Barents Region.
Key action areas
• cooperation
• education and knowledge
• accessibility and transportation infrastructure
• product development
• place identity
Each key area is presented in the following
structure: signicance, current circumstanc-
es, challenges and development needs and
recommendations for implementation. The
information and suggestions included in the
key action areas should help private and pub-
lic tourism stakeholders plan and implement
activities that promote interregional tourism
development in the Barents Region.
It is important to note that the Action Plan is
a living document, developed to be updated as
new needs are identied, gaps are lled, new
opportunities emerge and the markets change.
The extensive background and research ma-
terial used in the development of this Action
Plan is available on a supporting website. For
more information please visit
www.barentsinfo.org/barentstourism
8
9
Action Area 1: Cooperation
Signicance
Tourism destinations are complex and dy-
namic webs of multi-stakeholder relations
characterized by multiple and divergent
views and values, and a lack of control by
any particular stakeholder group. In a rapidly
developing tourism destination such as the
Barents, these characteristics, combined with
four different national contexts, considerably
increase complexity and uncertainty, creating
a challenging transnational environment. In
order to develop tourism in such an environ-
ment, there is a need not only to promote spe-
cic national and regional objectives but also
to determine common goals which maximize
the economic, social and cultural well-being
of the majority of stakeholders in the Barents.
These common goals can only emerge by
dealing constructively with differences and
promoting cooperation, collaboration and
partnerships through a joint decision making
process that includes key stakeholder groups
from the different municipalities of the Bar-
ents.
The terms cooperation, collaboration and
partnerships are commonly used as a gener-
al descriptor for joint efforts and initiatives. In
this action plan, these terms are used in ref-
erence to exible and dynamic processes that
evolve over time, enabling multiple stakehold-
ers to jointly manage resources and address
common problems and opportunities. Cooper-
ation does not exclude working together with
competitors. Indeed, the success of most tour-
ism destinations rests on a harmonious rela-
tionship between cooperative and competitive
behavior.
While tourism organizations compete over
getting a bigger piece of the business once
tourists are in the Barents Region, they also
need to pool resources and work together to
attract the visitors to this Nordic destination.
Due to the signicant role of public adminis-
tration in tourism planning, management and
marketing, special attention should be given
to public-private partnerships as instruments
for facilitating cross-border participation,
competitive-collaborative interaction and re-
lationships needed to work towards sustaina-
ble tourism development in the Barents.
Current Circumstances
Over the last two decades numerous public
and private tourism stakeholders in the Bar-
ents have engaged in various forms of coop-
eration, collaboration and partnerships. The
nature of such relationships exists on a contin-
uum ranging from loose and informal linkages
to more formal and structured alliances.
• Personal business contacts and interorgani-
zational relationships between educational
institutions, tourism industry associations,
10
local tourism boards and development
agencies among others.
• Clusters of bilateral cross-border coopera-
tion and business-to-business collaboration
can be found in different municipalities of
the Barents (e.g. Tornio(FI)-Haparanda(SE),
Salla(FI), Kirkenes(NO)).
• National and EU nancing instruments
granting funding to projects promoting col-
laboration between public and private or-
ganizations across the Barents Region.
• Regional tourism development organiza-
tions in the Finnish, Norwegian and Swed-
ish municipalities of the Barents have
gained a strong position in tourism related
policies and decision making.
• Tourism marketing organizations and desti-
nation management companies in the Finn-
ish, Norwegian and Swedish municipalities
of the Barents have become drivers of busi-
ness-to-business collaboration.
• The presence of the Joint Working Group on
Tourism formed – incl. representatives from
different Barents municipalities – estab-
lished by the Barents Euro-Arctic Council
to develop tourism in the Barents though
cooperation and networking.
Challenges and Development Needs
Despite the existing collaborative practices
among Barents tourism stakeholders, the cur-
rent situation is still insufcient for promot-
ing successful tourism development across
the national borders of the Barents. There are
certain gaps that need to be lled in order to
improve cooperation in this northern Europe-
an region.
• Lack of channels for identifying and estab-
lishing contact with (new) potential busi-
ness partners, networks and key public or-
ganizations especially across the national
borders of the Barents.
• Poor information dissemination regarding
ongoing and future projects and initiatives
for promoting cross-border cooperation
and tourism development.
• Lack of information on international events
targeted to the tourism entrepreneurs in
the Barents Region.
• Lack of resources and organizational struc-
tures for assuring the sustainability and use
of project results after the termination of
project funding.
• Prevailing ad hoc, temporary and loose link-
ages and collaboration between public and
private tourism actors.
We have to determine common goals which maximize
the economic, social and cultural well-being in the Barents area.
11
• Propensity to plan, coordinate, implement
and nance cooperation through temporary
project-based structural arrangements.
• Lack of more innovative ways of coopera-
tion that go beyond conventional seminars,
conferences, study trips and benchmarking
activities.
• Lack of public-private partnership initia-
tives in the Russian municipalities of the
Barents. Tourism entrepreneurs in the Rus-
sian municipalities of the Barents feel they
need more support from public organiza-
tions and local authorities.
• The variety of tax regulations, commercial
law and legal systems represents a chal-
lenge for cross-border cooperation.
• Need for joint efforts of the tourism indus-
try in order to enable professional special-
ization.
Recommendations for Implementation
To further promote cooperation and public-pri-
vate partnerships among tourism stakeholders
across the national borders of the Barents Re-
gion, it is necessary to address the gaps men-
tioned above.
Information sharing
• Creating new, pragmatic ways for nding
potential partners (e.g. speed-dating, an-
nual match-making fairs, interactive online
channels) and establishing networks.
• Establishing an open information channel
regarding potential public-private partner-
ships.
• Creating a data base for tourism compa-
nies and local authorities interested in
cross-border cooperation.
Cooperation & Networking
• Promoting lasting and structural arrange-
ments that support partnerships between
tourism public and private organizations.
• Strengthening existing – and promoting
new – cross-border coalitions and networks
that include representatives from educa-
tional institutions, tourism companies and
local authorities across the Barents.
• Clarifying and systematizing the role and
structure of regional tourism organizations
in promoting cross-border public-private
partnerships, networks and other forms of
cooperation.
• Offering concrete ways of cooperating and
networking in the Barents Region; support-
ing benchmarking and professional mobil-
ity, organizing seminars and match-making
activities.
• Promoting regular cooperation between
two or more Barents tourism educational
institutions through formal arrangements
(e.g. joint study courses, programs or de-
gree) to achieve common educational, re-
search and development objectives.
• Developing cooperation between educa-
tional institutions and the tourism industry
in the Russian municipalities of the Barents.
• Intensifying and consolidating the role of
the Joint Working Group on Tourism by es-
tablishing a broad mission and joint and
strategically interdependent actions.
23
12
Signicance
Tourism development and innovation highly
depends on the ability to promote education
and training that helps create, manage and
share knowledge. Sound cooperation among
educational, research, development, political
and business organizations among others is a
basic precondition for knowledge generation
and dissemination.
Knowledge can be divided into codied and
tacit knowledge. Codied knowledge refers to
knowledge that can be easily communicated
and recorded, such as statistics, guidelines, his-
torical facts and cultural behavior. In the Bar-
ents it is important to create research, educa-
tional and development programs for generate
codied knowledge that can be used by dif-
ferent tourism stakeholders in the region. Tacit
knowledge refers to know how and the ability
of tourism stakeholders to “do things” with-
out necessarily being able to describe how or
why. Tacit knowledge is difcult to decode and
transfer without collaborative practices. In this
sense, the development of tacit knowledge re-
quires projects and training that bring actors
together and promote cross-border dialogues
in the Barents.
Education and knowledge are important for
stimulating creativity and new ways of think-
ing. The multicultural environment of the
Barents region offers favorable conditions for
promoting such creativity and innovation. It is
through multi-stakeholder processes expand-
ing beyond the borders of a single state that
new and more sustainable ways of thinking
and practicing tourism business can be fos-
tered. The text below makes reference to the
ways education and knowledge have been ad-
dressed as well as existing gaps that need to
be lled in order to stimulate knowledge ca-
pacity building among Barents tourism stake-
holders.
Current Circumstances
Some countries in the Barents have already
developed and consolidated practices for cre-
ating and sharing knowledge that is relevant
to tourism organizations.
• The collection of data for statistical pur-
poses. For example, Finnish, Swedish and
Norwegian tourism organizations and local
governments collect statistical information
in the eld of tourism (e.g. room and bed
places, overnight stays, tourist ow and
economic development, among others) on a
monthly, quarterly and yearly basis.
• Initiatives that promote mutual knowl-
edge-building between industry and ac-
ademia. Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian
educational institutions have succeeded
in establishing collaborative working rela-
tions with public and private tourism or-
Action Area 2: Education and
Knowledge
23 24
13
ganizations that contribute to developing
tourism knowledge and expertise.
• Cutting-edge vocational and higher tourism
education curricula in Northern Finland,
Sweden and Norway.
• Establishment of the Barents Cross-Border
University (BCBU) as an entity aiming to
develop and coordinate joint educational
programs in the elds of sociology, engi-
neering, health and law.
• Existing student and staff exchange pro-
grams providing opportunities to educators,
researchers and students to visit university
campuses in the Barents (e.g. north2north,
FIRST program).
• Establishment of the Barents Journal that
aims to publish peer-reviewed scientic ar-
ticles with a focus on the Barents Region.
Challenges and Development Needs
While the Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian
areas of the Barents have been successful in
developing some practices for the promotion
of knowledge, the situation is different on
the Russian side. At the same time, there still
commonly shared needs among all the Bar-
ents countries that have not been addressed
yet.
• Lack of knowledge about potential target
markets and customer needs, expectations
and preferences.
• Lack of skills and proper training for fore-
casting market trends and identifying
emerging issues, events and signs about fu-
ture changes at the local, regional, national
and global level.
• Poor skills and knowledge in information tech-
nology, e-commerce and tourism marketing.
• Necessity to improve knowledge about law
and regulations applied within specic Bar-
ents countries, especially about legislations
regulating commercial contracts.
• Lack of knowledge, sensitivity and aware-
ness about the different cultures represent-
ed in the Barents Region.
• Poor linguistic competence among public
and private tourism organizations in the
Barents. Decient skills in Barents languag-
es and limited English prociency. The lat-
ter tends to prevail in the Russian munici-
palities of the Barents.
• Underdeveloped Russian tourism education
curricula and tourism related training pro-
grams.
• Need for training in safety and security
among tourism organizations and resorts in
the Barents.
Tourism development and innovation depends on the ability to promote
education and training that helps create, manage and share knowledge.
14
Recommendations for Implementation
To further promote tourism education and
knowledge creation across the borders of the
Barents Region, the previously mentioned gaps
mentioned need to be dealt with. These gaps
need to be addressed in order to provide a
strong platform for developing a competitive
and sustainable destination in the future.
Market Knowledge
• Creating uniform standards, principles and
guidelines for statistical data collection of
tourism in the Barents.
• Creating uniform standards, principles and
guidelines for collecting and analyzing in-
formation on market developments and
customer trends relevant for the tourism
industry in the Barents.
• Dening a responsible body for the coor-
dination of the two previous recommenda-
tions and the annual publication of statisti-
cal and market trend reports.
• Establishing a reliable and accessible
website for providing information on the
Barents with a special focus on tourism.
This website should also host reports and
documents relevant to the tourism indus-
try.
• Establishing a marketing organization for
the Barents Region that coordinates com-
mon marketing activities and initiatives.
This organization should also provide
small and medium-sized entrepreneurs
with marketing information related to the
Barents.
Cultural and Language Knowledge
• Promoting general knowledge about the
Barents Region among different tourism
stakeholders.
• Creating educational programs for tourism
students and practitioners that promote
knowledge about Barents cultures, business
etiquettes and languages.
Tourism Education
• Developing joint educational programs
and study units that bring together tourism
students from different educational institu-
tions in the Barents.
• Creating joint training courses/programs
that gather tourism entrepreneurs and
developers from different municipalities
of the Barents. Priority should be given to
training in the following areas: tourism
marketing, e-commerce, service quality,
safety and security, nancial management
and commercial law.
• Creating training programs for tour opera-
tors interested in cross-border tourism de-
velopment in the Barents.
• Promoting benchmarking, study visits, pro-
fessional mobility, organizing seminars,
match-making activities and other knowl-
edge sharing initiatives for Barents tourism
entrepreneurs and developers.
Signicance
Improved accessibility and efcient transpor-
tation infrastructure are two central precondi-
tions for tourism development. In this action
plan accessibility is understood in terms of
facilitating both virtual and physical access
to tourism destinations on a global and local
scale. The idea of accessibility refers to the
effort of making tourism destinations acces-
sible to travelers regardless of their physical
limitations, disabilities or age. In this context,
a traveler is dened as any individual who is a
temporary visitor, traveling or planning to trav-
el for business or leisure purposes.
As the internet and social media play an
important role in our society, tourism destina-
tions need to work harder to enable travelers
to easily access reliable and accurate infor-
mation by using information communication
technology. The websites of tourism destina-
tions are major information resources for trav-
elers before arrival, during and even after the
visit. Also local tourism information centers
play an important role as information dissem-
ination channels and places for assisting trav-
elers during their visit.
In relation to mobility, accessibility also
refers to the ability of travelers to reach a
destination in a relatively safe, fast and rea-
sonably comfortable way. The availability of
different transport modes, access routes and a
sound interaction between them are required
to support travel into and out of destinations
and also their transportation needs within a
particular destination. To a great extent the
attractiveness of a tourism destination rests
on the availability of a high-quality, integrated
and reliable transportation system consisting
of air services and airports, land transport con-
nections and routes and waterways as well.
A destination such as the Barents, which is
not only geographically wide and dispersed
but also far away from large population
centers, should be easy to get to and around.
In fact, the transport infrastructure is respon-
sible for connecting both the traveler’s place
of origin to the Barents Region and the tour-
ism destination within the Barents itself. For
example, road capacity improvements (such
as improved safety, road surfacing, wider lanes
and better road lighting) reduce fuel consump-
tion, wear and tear and transit time of trafc,
thus having a direct impact on the cost and
quality of the tourism experience.
Current Circumstances
There are already good practices among
tourism destinations in the Barents concern-
ing the use of information communication
technologies and the dissemination of infor-
15
Action Area 3: Accessibility and
Transportation Infrastructure
mation through visitor centers. The Barents
Region has also achieved a certain degree of
integration at the level of transport connec-
tions.
• A wide range of websites covering general
information and news related to the Bar-
ents. Good examples of such sites are Bar-
entsinfo.org and Barentsobserver.com.
• A large variety of websites providing in-
formation on destinations in the Barents.
Websites are available in different languag-
es, English being predominant.
• Tourist Information Centers serving trave-
lers across the different municipalities of
the Barents.
• Excellent railway connections in the south-
ern part of the Barents.
• Upgrades in railway connections within the
Barents Region are currently being planned
and implemented.
• Good north-south road networks offering
access to remote northern areas. Especially,
in Finland and Norway the maintenance of
roads and other transportation infrastruc-
ture are managed rather well.
• Continuous road improvements in northern
Sweden and between Finland and Russia
(e.g. Salla and Lotta). The road system be-
tween Murmansk (RU) and Kirkenes (NO) is
under construction.
• Existing Barents water ways are currently
used for tourism purposes (e.g. Hurtigruten).
• Schengen visa arrangement enabling uent
mobility to and between the Norwegian,
Swedish and Finnish municipalities of the
Barents.
• Special visa-free border-crossing agree-
ment for Norwegians and Russians living
close to the Norwegian and Russian border.
Challenges and Development Needs
Despite the level of accessibility and the state
of transportation infrastructure achieved in
the Barents Regions, there is still room for im-
provement.
• Lack of an entity responsible for coordinat-
ing information resources about the Bar-
ents as a coherent tourism destination.
• Absence of an integrated tourism website dis-
seminating information on the Barents and
assisting visitors before and during their visit
(e.g. travel advice, offerings, online bookings).
• Lack of roadways, railways, air routes and
bus connections in west-east direction.
• Limited number of ight operators and air
routes within the Barents Region, most air
routes are in north-south direction.
• Limited number of ferries and cruise ships
operating within the waterways of the Bar-
ents Region.
• High transport prices prevail in the Barents
Region.
• Poor road conditions and infrastructure, es-
pecially in the Russian municipalities of the
Barents.
• Lack of resting places, gas stations and oth-
er roadside facilities, especially along the
Russian roadways of the Barents.
• Poor border-crossing infrastructure and fa-
cilities in the Russian municipalities of the
Barents.
16
Though the level of accessibility and state of transportation infrastructure
achieved in the Barents regions, there is still room for improvement.
• Lack of adjustments of Barents tourism of-
ferings for the needs of disabled travelers.
• High level of bureaucracy and formali-
ties for crossing the borders between the
Schengen area and the Russian area of the
Barents.
• Complicated visa policies, long and com-
plex application procedures, and expensive
visas.
Recommendations for Implementation
To improve the level of accessibility to and
within the Barents Region, it is necessary that
companies, public organizations, municipal-
ities and governmental ofcials join efforts
to nd solutions to the needs previously ad-
dressed.
Information
• Establishing a trans-regional entity respon-
sible for unifying, planning, coordinating
and evaluating information resources and
marketing activities related to the Barents
as a tourism destination.
• Creating a Barents visitor information web-
site providing travel information, assistance
and a booking system covering the differ-
ent municipalities of the Barents.
Transportation
• Improving and expanding the public trans-
port network (bus and railway) connections
within the Barents Region.
• Making the Barents attractive for airline
companies and working with them to de-
velop affordable and comfortable ight
routes connecting the municipalities of the
Barents.
• Supporting the development of new Bar-
ents Sea routes for tourism purposes.
Infrastructure facilities
• Improving and further developing the road
system and infrastructure, especially in
west-east direction and in the Russian mu-
nicipalities of the Barents.
• Improving border-crossing infrastructure
especially on the Russian side of the Bar-
ents.
• Considering the needs of travelers with
physical limitations and disabilities when
improving accessibility and the transporta-
tion infrastructure in the Barents.
Formalities
• Simplifying the visa regime between Rus-
sia and the Schengen area of the Barents,
arranging faster and less expensive visa
application procedures, introducing short-
term visas (e.g. a visa valid for 72 hours).
• Working towards a visa-free agreement for
representatives of regional organizations
engaged in cross-border cooperation in the
Barents.
• Diminishing the bureaucracy of customs
regulations in the Barents.
17
Signicance
The relevance of product development for the
strategic planning of tourism destinations is
usually highlighted in most tourism strategies
and action plans. Both the attractiveness and
competitiveness of touristic places are based
on the ability of private and public organiza-
tions to collaboratively develop economically,
socially and ecologically sustainable tourism
products. The term product development refers
here to both the development of new and ex-
isting products. Accordingly, tourism products
are understood not only in terms of natural or
man-made attractions, hotels, resorts, restau-
rants, activities, festival and events but also in
terms of meaningful experiences. In particular,
experimentalism, storytelling, meaning and
value co-creation and the rise of social media
have changed and are changing the way tour-
ism products are produced and consumed.
In the Barents Region, which can be cate-
gorized as a peripheral destination, product
development represents a central instrument
for promoting economic development, envi-
ronmental quality and social wellbeing. In-
deed, while product development has a direct
impact on protability, competitiveness, em-
ployment and tourist expenditure, it can also
contribute to preserving traditional industries,
local heritage and the natural environment of
this northern European region. Due to the stra-
tegic nature of product development, it is clear
that the development of tourism products can-
not be done in isolation from – or without the
engagement of – the main tourism stakehold-
ers of the Barents.
As the global economy grows and more
choices become available to tourists, the level
of uncertainty and complexity characterizing
the tourism industry continues to increase. Not
only economic crises but also environmental
degradation, climate change and loss of tradi-
tional ways of life are among the major chal-
lenges that can bring signicant monetary and
non-monetary losses for any tourism destina-
tion. From this perspective, it is important that
product development is used in the Barents
Region as a proactive and forward-looking
strategy that enables tourism organizations
to develop an understanding of contemporary
trends and up-coming changes before they oc-
cur. A good understanding of the past, present
and future is needed to develop both compet-
itive and sustainable tourism products that
can be positioned and maintained in a global
marketplace.
Current Circumstances
There is an extensive variety of attractive and
competitive tourism products and services
18
Action Area 4: Product Development
across the Barents Region. The strong mar-
ket positions achieved by Finnish Lapland,
Swedish Lapland and Northern Norway clear-
ly demonstrate that the Barents as a tourism
destination has maintained sustained growth
over the last decades.
• A high level of quality and safety prevails
among tourism products and services of-
fered in the Finnish, Norwegian and Swed-
ish municipalities of the Barents Region.
• A wide variety of major international and
local events hosted throughout Barents
municipalities on a regular basis.
• A vast diversity of tourism offerings, resorts,
destinations, attractions and other facilities
for both leisure and business travelers.
• Historical heritage, cultural diversity and
natural resources have to a certain degree
been used as core attributes of tourism of-
fering.
• A large variety of different forms of tourism
(e.g. nature-based, experience-based, ad-
venture, and work-related tourism).
• Highly developed winter tourism in Finland
and Sweden.
• Highly developed summer tourism in Nor-
way.
• Existing cross-border tourism products across
the different national borders of the Barents.
• Initiatives aiming to develop year-round
tourism in different municipalities of the
Barents.
• Currently implemented Finnish foresight
tourism projects with direct implications
for product development.
• Product development collaboration be-
tween tourism educational institutions and
tourism organizations in the Finnish, Swed-
ish and Norwegian municipalities of the
Barents.
Challenges and Development Needs
Despite the achievements made in terms of
product development, there are still some mu-
nicipalities in the Barents where tourism prod-
ucts are nonexistent or in need of enhancing
existent products. There are also commonly
shared product development gaps across the
different municipalities of the Barents that
need to be addressed.
• Absence of a common vision and goals guid-
ing product development in the Barents.
• Absence of cultural tourism and heritage
tourism products; meetings industry tour-
ism still at an underdeveloped stage.
• Lack of private and public resources target-
ing tourism product development.
• Lack of harmonized quality and safety stand-
ards needed to support cross-border tourism
product development in the Barents.
• Large variation in the level of quality and
safety of tourism offerings in the Russian
municipalities of the Barents.
19
There is an extensive variety of attractive and competitive tourism products
and services across the Barents Region.
• Lack of differentiation among the tourism
products offered by the different municipal-
ities of the Barents.
• Lack of consistency in the planning, im-
plementation and commercialization of
cross-border tourism products
• Different levels of product development
expertise across the different countries of
the Barents.
• Different work cultures, business customs
and practices among tourism stakeholders
in the Barents; different ways of under-
standing key tourism concepts (e.g. hospi-
tality, sustainability, branding, nature-based,
experiences).
• Different legal and environmental regula-
tions across the Barents countries under-
mining cross-border tourism product devel-
opment initiatives.
Recommendations for Implementation
There is still much that can be done to en-
hance the competitiveness, attractiveness and
sustainability of tourism products and services
in the Barents Region.
Unique selling proposition
• Dening a common vision and goal for
product development within and between
destinations in the Barents.
• Developing cross-border thematic tourism
products for the Barents.
• Supporting the development of alternative
tourism products such as cultural, heritage
and meetings industry tourism offerings.
• Promoting the further development of
existing tourism offerings such as na-
ture-based, experience-based, adventure
and work-related tourism products.
• Working toward year-round tourism by de-
veloping new products and promoting co-
operation between the different municipal-
ities of the Barents.
• Promoting the differentiation and unique-
ness of tourism offerings among tourism
destinations situated in the Barents.
Expertise
• Promoting product development expertise
through joint educational tourism pro-
grams in the Barents.
• Expanding tourism foresight expertise devel-
oped in Finnish Lapland across the Barents.
Preconditions
• Allocating public funding for (cross-border)
tourism product development purposes.
• Supporting the creation of public-private
partnerships and networks for cross-border
tourism product development and innova-
tion in the Barents.
• Working towards standardized quality and
safety certications for the Barents Region.
• Working towards more harmonized legal
and environmental regulations that fa-
cilitate the development of cross-border
tourism offerings and ensure the respon-
sible use of natural resources within the
Barents.
20
Signicance
The perceptions and feelings held by people
about a place have become an essential issue
that needs to be considered in the marketing
strategy of tourism destinations. The ability to
make a place special and unique for both local
inhabitants and travelers is a key precondi-
tion for successfully positioning a destination
within a globally competitive tourism market.
Indeed, the meanings and values attached to a
destination (e.g. village, town and country) and
its people are critical differentiation elements.
The branding of transnational geographical
areas, which has become popular in Europe
(e.g. the Adriatic Sea, the Baltic Sea and the
Balkans), reveals the importance of developing
a commonly shared identity and sense of place
that is visible to both local inhabitants and
potential visitors. Especially in such transna-
tional destinations, the creation of a common
place identity has become indispensable for
achieving a certain level of differentiation and
representing a value proposition that evokes
lifestyle statements, social belonging, personal
values, emotional relationships and beliefs.
Outstanding accommodation, attractions,
services, facilities and accessibility are no
longer differentiators in today’s global mar-
ketplace, unless they are connected to the so-
cio-cultural context of the place. Critical to the
creation of a transnational destination such
as the Barents Region is the identication of
the place values and meanings, the translation
of those into a suitably emotionally appeal-
ing personality and the targeted and efcient
delivery of that message to people living in it
and visiting it. That does not mean, however,
that it is easy to build a robust common place
identity for a region like the Barents. It takes
time to work towards commonly shared values
and meanings.
Working towards a common place identity
for a destination that includes different na-
tional borders requires strong political com-
mitment and a vision founded on intensive
stakeholder engagement. Many stakeholder
groups may have vested interests in the pro-
motion of local place identities (many of which
may be in conict with the interest of others)
and much work may be needed on dening
how these interests overlap.
Current Circumstances
The Barents region is extremely rich in history,
heritage and culture and offers a vast diversity
of colorful towns, villages and landscapes.
• A strong sense of national (Finnish, Norwe-
gian, Russian and Swedish) and numerous
regional identities within the national bor-
ders of the countries comprising the Barents.
• Rich heritage of indigenous peoples, includ-
ing the Sámi, the Nenets and the Vepsians,
21
Action Area 5: Place Identity
and the minority group of the Komi people.
• Similar place images prevail among the
member areas of the Barents Region (e.g.
polar nights, midnight sun, Sámi culture,
northern lights, untouched nature, remote-
ness).
• Traditional livelihoods such as agriculture,
shing, hunting and reindeer husbandry
are existent and to some extent protected
across the different municipalities of the
Barents.
• Sámi Council and Finnish, Norwegian and
Swedish Sámi Parliaments dealing with
Sámi affairs. Ongoing attempts to create a
similar political institution in Russia.
• Existing indigenous people associations in
the Russian municipalities of the Barents.
• Annual Sámi Parliamentary Conference
gathering all national Sámi parliaments,
representatives from the Sámi Council and
the Russian Sámi associations.
• Interregional cooperation in border region
upper secondary schools (e.g. Tornio-Hap-
aranda and Salla-Kandalaksha).
• A wide range of museums preserving and
disseminating information on cultural herit-
age at the local and national level as well as
the Barents Euro-Arctic Region in general.
• Strong tourism destination brands in north-
ern Finland (Lapland), Sweden (Swedish
Lapland) and Norway (Northern Norway),
which to some degree make use of the cul-
ture and heritage of the place.
Challenges and Development Needs
Despite the vast variety of strong local iden-
tities and destination brands, the Barents
Region lacks a common identity and image
among locals and visitors.
• Unawareness of the Barents as a socio-cul-
tural geographical area among local inhab-
itants and visitors.
• Different understandings of the Barents
tend to prevail among the inhabitants of
and visitors to this northern European re-
gion.
• The word Barents has negative connota-
tions as far as the general public is con-
cerned. It is associated not with tourism
and cultural heritage but with an image of
post-Soviet politics, exploitation of natural
resources and nuclear contamination.
• Lack of a common regional identity and a
It takes time to work towards commonly shared values and meanings.
22
sense of belonging to the Barents Region.
• Cultural differences and prejudices about
neighboring countries still represent an ob-
stacle to mutual understanding and work-
ing towards shared values.
• Geopolitical borderlines (e.g. the EU and
non-EU countries, Euro zone and non-Eu-
ro zone, Scandinavia and Russia, NATO and
non-NATO countries, the Nordic common-
wealth and Russia, the Sámi region) con-
tribute to creating subdivisions within the
Barents Region.
• Increased competition among the tourism
industry of the Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
and Russian municipalities of the Barents
contribute to emphasizing differences – at
the expenses of commonalities – in order to
make their places unique and more attrac-
tive to the visitors.
• Resistance to positioning existing regional
brands under a Barents brand.
Recommendations for Implementation
To enhance public awareness of the Barents
Region at the local, national and international
level, tourism stakeholders need to put efforts
in working towards a commonly shared place
identity and image.
Identity
• Working towards a common regional iden-
tity in the Barents that is based on strong
shared values and a clear sense of belong-
ing. This should be done by promoting co-
operation and respecting the diversity of
cultural identities within the region.
• Assuring the protection of cultural heritage,
indigenous peoples, languages and tradi-
tional livelihoods across the Barents.
• Introducing education about the Barents
and its society in the curriculum of primary
and secondary schools situated in the mu-
nicipalities of the Barents.
• Supporting teacher and student exchange
programs at the level of secondary education.
• Supporting interregional upper secondary
schools and other similar primary/second-
ary educational programs situated in mu-
nicipalities along the national borders of
the Barents.
• Building and promoting mutual under-
standing and place identity through
cross-border cultural events and festivals
targeted at local inhabitants.
Image
• Creating policy roundtables, consisting of
members of local governments, tourism de-
velopment agencies, tourism companies and
local communities to facilitate dialogues
towards common agreements on how local
brands can achieve benets and synergies
through closer cooperation.
• Developing collaboration among the local
destination brands to help them promote
global visibility and compete more effective-
ly against other regions that are putting ef-
fort on branding themselves (e.g. the Adriatic
Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Balkans).
• Working towards a common strategy to im-
prove the image of the Barents at the local,
regional, national and international level.
• Fostering collaboration and dialogue among
tourism organizations by organizing joint
workshops and meetings focusing on the
promotion of tourism destinations situated
in the Barents Region.
23
Moving forward
The Action Plan is a dynamic and exible document designed to respond to the challenges and
opportunities faced by tourism stakeholders in the Barents Region. Designed in close collaboration
with the industry, development organizations, educational and research institutions, the Action
Plan provides a framework for taking concrete measures to develop the Barents Region into one of
the most attractive, competitive and sustainable destinations in the world. In fact, the Action Plan
draws attention to key areas that need to be included in future initiatives aiming to enhance the
tourism industry of this northern European region.
The Joint Working Group on Tourism (JWGT), as the interregional body for the tourism industry,
is a key supporter of the Barents Tourism Action Plan. Many tourism stakeholders from different
municipalities from the Barents Region have also showed being optimistic and fully commitment
towards initiatives that aim to follow the recommendations elaborated in the plan. By ofcially
committing to embrace the Action Plan in its daily work, the JWGT together with other key Barents
tourism organization will play a crucial role in bring the Action Plan into concrete actions planned,
developed and implemented along projects, programs and other development efforts.
The Action Plan can also be seen as a political document that endorses the importance of tour-
ism in the Barents Region. As the Kirkenes Declaration did in 1993, the Action Plan aims to bring
again into the spotlight the role of the tourism industry in promoting the economic, social and en-
vironmental sustainability of the societies living in this part of Europe. Tourism is seen not only as a
very important industry but also as a social force for enhancing human wellbeing and development.
As the Action Plan shows the Barents region counts with crucial strengths and opportunities that
offer excellent conditions for developing the Barents into a groundbreaking tourism destination. At
the same time, the Action Plan also helps to identify major weaknesses and possible threats that
might hinder the Barents from reaching its full potential as a destination in the future. Strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats are nicely presented in Figure 1. It will be the task of tour-
ism public and private organizations in the different municipalities of the Barents region to work
together to effectively use these strength and opportunities, improve weaknesses and limitations
and avoid imminent threats.
The JWGT in cooperation with key Barents tourism organizations and educational and research
institutions will play a key role in working towards measurement principles and criteria for moni-
toring and assessing the success of the Action Plan in the years to come.
24
Swot Analysis of the Barents Tourism Development
Strengths
1. Exotic arctic climate, rich natural
diversity and cultural heritage
2. Strong cooperation with political
institutions and parallel industries
3. Tourism actors with high expertise
in the international markets
4. International networks formed
by development and educational
organizations
5. Good level of tourism education
and development initiatives
Weaknesses
1. Unknown tourism destination and
lack of common identity
2. Conicts with parallel industries
regarding the use of land and
natural resources
3. High reliance on public support for
promoting business development
and networks
4. Complex custom and visa procedures
5. Lack of post-project continuity and
sustainability
Threats
1. Tourism is not regarded as
a signicant industry
2. National, regional and local
tourism strategies omit the rele-
vance of cross-border cooperation
3. Lack of public (EU and national)
project funding
4. Lack of communication among
destinations and tourism actors
5. Environmental disasters
Opportunities
1. High commitment of the JWGT to
promote cross-border cooperation
2. Already existing cross-border tour-
ism products
3. Activation of joint tourism
education and research
4. Wide range of funding for tourism
research and development
5. Simplication of visa procedures
Figure 1.
25
26
References
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Glossary
Appendix 1 & 2
Glossary
Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC)
The Barents Euro-Arctic Council is a forum for intergovernmental cooperation on issues concerning
the Barents Region. The BEAC meets at Foreign Ministers’ level in the chairmanship country at the
end of the term of ofce. The chairmanship rotates every second year, between Norway, Finland,
Russia and Sweden.
Barents Regional Council (BEAC)
The Barents Regional Council was established in 1993 by the signing of the Kirkenes Declaration;
the regional representatives, together with the indigenous peoples signed a co-operation protocol
that established the Regional Council for the Barents Euro-Arctic Region (the BEAR) with the same
objectives as the BEAC - to support and promote cooperation and development in the Barents
Region. The Barents Regional Council unites 13 member counties and a representative of the in-
digenous peoples in the northernmost parts of Finland, Norway and Sweden and Northwest Russia.
BART – Public-private partnership in Barents Tourism
An EU funded project that aims to improve the development of tourism industry in the Barents Re-
gion. A specic objective is the creation and initiation of development mechanisms in a long-term
public-private partnership for the tourism industry on all stakeholder levels.
Cross-Border Region
A cross-border region is a territorial entity that is made up of several local or regional authorities
that are co-located yet belong to different nation states.
Joint Working Group Tourism (JWGT)
The Joint Working Group on Tourism was established to develop tourism business in the BEAR
and to promote ecologically, socially and culturally sustainable tourism. In practice this means
promoting multilateral co-operation and joint projects, networking and exchanging information
and best practices.
28
Kolarctic ENPI CBC
The programme Kolarctic ENPI CBC is one of the ENPI nancing instruments of the European Un-
ion. The ENPI programmes are implemented on the external borders of the EU. Kolarctic ENPI CBC
works by granting nancing to projects. The minimum of one participant from the Russian pro-
gramme area and one participant from the Finnish or Swedish programme area is required.
Small and medium size enterprise (SME)
SMEs break down into micro, small and medium size organisations and are categorised by the EU as:
Micro – Businesses with fewer than 10 employees or with a turnover of under €2 million;
Small – Businesses with fewer than 50 employees or with a turnover of under €10 million; and
Medium – Businesses with fewer than 250 employees or with a turnover of under €50 million.
Sustainable Tourism
Sustainable tourism development meets the needs of present tourists and host regions while pro-
tecting and enhancing opportunities for the future. It is envisaged as leading to management of all
resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fullled while maintaining
cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems.
Public-Private Partnership (PPP)
The term public-private partnership is used to describe a public service or private business venture
which is funded and operated through a partnership of a government and one or more private
companies.
Tourism Stakeholder
A tourism stakeholder is any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement
of a tourism organization’s or destination’s objectives.
29
30
BART -
PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP
IN BARENTS TOURISM
Introduction
Today tourism as an industry plays an important role in the
economy of each country of the Barents region and its importance
is increasing every day. BART project activities reinforce the cross-
border cooperation of Barents region’s tourism stakeholders (edu-
cational organizations, regional authorities, businesses and busi-
ness support organization). The project is joining together tourism
stakeholders from the northern parts of Finland, Sweden and Nor-
way as well as Murmansk region and Arkhangelsk region.
Overall objective
Contributing to the regional and economic development
of the Barents region
Specific objective
Creation and initiation of development mechanisms in long term
public-private partnership for the tourism industry on
all stakeholders levels
Activities and results
• Current tourism development work
(strategies and projects) is mapped
• Existing tourism business knowledge
among stakeholder is mapped
• Stakeholders’ needs for knowledge and
tourism research and training are assessed
• A research and training Action plan for tourism
development in public-private partnership
cooperation is created
• International core working team seminars are
organized and results of the work so far are disseminated;
Research and development cooperation in public-
private partnership is activated
• A Tourism Information Center in Monchegorsk is
established and monitored during the project.
Funding
• Kolartic ENPI CBC programme
2007-2013, economic and social
development.
• Total budget is 921 525 €.
• Project implementation time
24 months
Contact
Project Manager MARI VÄHÄKUOPUS
EMAIL mari.vahakuopus@ramk.fi
MOBILE +358 20 798 5790 / +358 40 137 3139
The Multidimensional Tourism Institute
Rovaniemi University of Applied Sciences
PROJECT WEBSITE http://matkailu.luc.fi/Hankkeet/BART/en/
Project Partners
• LEAD PARTNER Rovaniemi University of Applied Sciences
• PARTNERS IN FINLAND University of Lapland, Regional Council of Lapland.
• IN RUSSIA Murmansk State Humanities University, Murmansk State Technical University,
Ministry of Economic Development of Murmansk Region, Monchegorsk Town Authorities, Ministry of Youth Aairs,
Sport and Tourism of Arkhangelsk Region and Northern Arctic Federal University
• IN SWEDEN Luleå University of Technology
• IN NORWAY Barents Institute
PHOTO Mari Vähäkuopus
PHOTO Arto Vitikka
PHOTO Peter Prokosch
PHOTO Arto Vitikka
PHOTO Peter Prokosch
PHOTO Arto Liiti
Appendix 1
31
Committee of Senior Officials of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council
Barents Regional Committee
Mandate for the Joint Working Group on Tourism 2013-
2017
Introduction
The Barents Euro-Arctic Region has great potential to be even more attractive destination for
international tourism. The significance of tourism as a source of livelihood has grown
considerably during the past decades. The tourism industry has a significant employment effect
especially on youth and women. This is very important especially in sparsely populated areas,
tourism is sometimes the only one bringing income.
The attractive but fragile arctic environment, natural phenomena and cultural diversity are the
key factors that attract tourists to the Barents region. The tourism business needs to be
developed in sustainable way; ecological, economic, social, cultural and political, and
therefore maintain these tourism resources. Sustainability is especially important when facing
the challenges caused by climate change, which can affect as well promote tourism industry
considerably.
Competition in the tourism business is getting tougher. The major improvements needed are
related to the availability level of transportation and visa handling procedures between Russia
and Nordic countries. Today´s and tomorrow’s visitors require fast and flexible solutions.
Access to fast east-west communications and smooth visa handling are necessary.
The development of tourism in Barents area is still in various stages. Through cooperation,
learning and increasing knowhow exchange can we develop together tourism industry in
Barents and build a strong tourism region.
Objectives and tasks
The Joint Working Group on Tourism develops multilateral and interdisciplinary
cooperation in the field of tourism in the Barents Region. The objectives and tasks of
the Working Group will be:
to influence preconditions for tourism development in the BEAR when improving traffic
connection
to identify and define authentic common values in order to build common identity in
tourism development
to co-operate in the fields of tourism education and research in order to achieve common
criteria in quality, safety and sustainability
to promote proactive development and realization of high quality joint
products and thematic product families
to promote synergies between parallel industries to ensure
competitiveness of tourism industry
Appendix 2
6200467895269
ISBN 978-952-6620-04-6
