Bothnian Coastal Route launched in Europe

Luleå The Swedish-Finnish tourism project Bothnian Coastal Route is being launched at Northern Europe's largest travel fair and will be presented with guided tours around the Bay of Bothnia for tour operators and journalists.

In 2024, the project will participate in 8-10 European events aimed at tour operators. The first is the Matka Workshop Day in Helsinki this January.

In connection with the Matka fair, a tour for six tour operators will be organized around the northern part of the Gulf of Bothnia with visits to Luleå, Haparanda, Tornio, Kemi and Oulu. Later, a press trip for seven travel media will be organized around the southern part of the Gulf of Bothnia with visits to Skellefteå, Umeå, Vaasa, Kokkola and Kalajoki.

In connection with the travel fair in Helsinki, the project launches a new web-based tool for B2B travel planning. The tool is designed to help European tour operators discover and customize trips with selected destinations in the region. The tool provides detailed information on local tourism services and service providers, with trips also displayed on Google Maps.

"European tour operators can familiarize themselves with ready-made trips and modify them to suit their needs by filtering the services and products available in the region," says Erja Back of the tourism organization Visit Umeå.

The Bothnian Coastal Route project aims to create a common destination on the "to-do list" of European travelers in the future. Funded by the EU's Interreg Aurora, the project involves 13 destinations along the coastal route around the Gulf of Bothnia and across the Kvarken, the strait that separates the Gulf of Bothnia from the southern Bothnian Sea.

Partners in the project are the Kvarken Council EGTC (main responsible and coordinating beneficiary), City of Kalajoki, Luleå Business Region AB, City of Oulu/Business Oulu, Vasaregionens Utveckling Ab VASEK, Visit Skellefteå AB and Visit Umeå AB.

The project is three years long and started in January 2023. The total budget is EUR 2.7 million, of which EUR 1.8 million is EU funding through the Interregional Aurora program. Other funding comes from Finnish national and Swedish regional co-financing, from the Nordic Council of Ministers and from municipal and private co-financing.

The regional and local funders are Interreg Aurora, Lapland Regional Council, Region Västerbotten, Kvarken Council EGTC, Umeå Municipality, Vasaregionens Utveckling Ab VASEK, City of Kalajoki, Luleå Business Region AB, City of Oulu/BusinessOulu, Visit Skellefteå AB, City of Vaasa, Karleby Turism AB, Municipality of Haparanda - Haparanda/Torneå, Bothnian Arc rf, City of Jakobstad, Municipality of Piteå and Kemin Matkailu Oy. Wasaline (NLC Ferry Ab) participates in the project as a co-financier and acts as a link at sea with its ferry, Aurora Botnia.

Lennart Håkansson

editor@northswedenbusiness.com