Development of tourism and sport services, networks and SMEs

Research and development in Activity Tourism

Our subject experts in activity tourism regularly collaborate with industry and other universities and educational institutions to deliver commercially relevant research and development projects. Our collaborative projects focus on meeting immediate objectives and future opportunities.

In activity tourism we currently focus on five core themes

Smart Tourism and Sport Services – Rapidly developing technology is offering opportunities to create new services both in tourism and in sport. In this theme we combine existing new technological solutions with development ideas from sport and tourism services.		Cross - Border Tourism Services – The Finnish-Russian border is an active tourism region in terms of cross-border shopping tourism and in leisure tourism. In this operational environment a deep understanding of cultural, social and economic issues are essential for companies. We collaborate with a large international network in this theme.
Developing Competitiveness of Tourism and Sport SMEs – We aim to help SMEs’ capacity to grow nationally and internationally in order to support community development. Promotion of service innovation and creating new networks are in main foci in this theme.		Physical Activity and Health Enhancement – We focus on training experts of health promotion for different age groups. In this theme we concentrate on using and developing methods of health coaching.
Developing Operational Environment of Outdoor Activities – Innovative and creative development of outdoor activities and their facilities for both recreational and tourism uses is one our main themes.

 

Wide partner and project networks

Our collaborative projects boast wide networks consisting of a variety of organizations from all over Finland and other countries including Holland, Scotland, Japan and Russia. Dynamic networks offer a fruitful platform for the further collaborative development of common issues and ideas. We share advice on collaborative research projects and funding of the themes (European regional funds, European Social Fund, the Karelia ENPI CBC Programme).

With over 20 experts we are helping companies of all sizes to keep pace with changing demands, and to develop competitive advantage. The activity tourism innovation and research team works with you, in line with your needs, to develop innovative research project ideas and to engage with university resources.

Publications in Activity Tourism

Järviluoma, Jari (2013). Russian Tourism in the Kainuu Region 2013 (in Finnish), Kajaani UAS
Järviluoma, Jari (2014). Situation Analysis of Finnish Wildlife Tourism Operators (abstract in English), Kajaani UAS

Contact for collaboration and joint projects

We are actively seeking collaboration on international research and development projects in the field of tourism, sports and leisure.

For inquiries and proposals, please contact us.

Adventure Tourism in Vocational Education and Training (ADVENT) is a 3-year Erasmus+ project with partners from Iceland and Scotland. The main objective of the project is to develop new and innovative initiatives in adventure tourism education that target both of the key target groups: adult practitioners working in adventure tourism SMEs and young tourism students. 

 

Development of Sustainable Tourism in the Rural Azerbaijan creates new, good-quality and accessible travel products corresponding to the needs of customers from Azerbaijan and abroad. The project also promotes economic development and supports women's role in rural tourism.

 

Completed in 2017:

The TTRAIN (Tourism Train the Trainers) is a 2-year Erasmus+ project that aims at developing a comprehensive learning model to improve training of employees in the tourism sector. The learning model takes into account the specific requirements and situations in each partner country – Austria, Finland, Iceland and Italy – and can be adopted in other European countries.

 

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