Socioecological tools for the planning of
tourist destinations in Kainuu – VAAKA

All information on one map – new tools for tourism development

Nature-based tourism and recreation are among the most important uses of forests. The increasing awareness of the non-economic benefits of forests, such as biodiversity and recreation, has challenged the land-use planning of tourism areas. Authorities need new means to use and benefit from existing ecological information and knowledge of people's value, in land-use planning. There is a need for a new operations model and new tools for collecting experiential knowledge from different stakeholders and translating this information into practice.

The ”Socioecological tools for the planning of tourist destinations in Kainuu VAAKA” project is an ERDF funded project aiming to develop a new operations model based on geographical information for land-use planning. The goal of the operations model is to increase the social acceptability, ecological sustainability and attractiveness of nature-based tourism in Kainuu. The project's pilot areas are Paljakka and Ukkohalla tourism resorts, both located close to nature protection areas. The growing tourism industry requires a change in the current land-use plan and local authorities face the challenge of managing the different business and tourism uses in the area.