Project “TOURAGE – Developing Senior Tourism in Remote Region” kick-off conference was held from March 19 to March 22 in North Karelia, Finland. During the event 12 regional partners from 10 countries visited several tourist sites in North Karelia and jointly discussed the activities in order to effectively promote senior tourism in the European countries.
The kick-off conference for the TOURAGE project was held from March 19 to March 22 in North Karelia, Finland. During the kick-off event partners examined the situation in the field of tourism in the partner regions, as well as participated in the “Perspectives on Ageing… High-level Conference on Health and Long-term Care” held in city of Joensuu to network and disseminate the project. One of the key activity of the kick-off event was the study visits on the good practices of North Karelia Region.
On the day of study visits TOURAGE project partners visited Nevalan Perinnetila farm, where they were introduced to Wellness Tourism and Green Care services. Afterwards all the partners visited the Koli National Park to experience accessible tourism in nature destinations and accessible transport solutions. At the end of the day partners had the opportunity to spend time in Herranniemi Pension House to learn about Karelia a la Carte network and the use of GPS technology in tourism services.
Study visits on the good practices are an important phase of the project. Identification and analysis of good practices provides an opportunity to evaluate the necessary aspects of senior tourism development, as well as to share experiences within the partner regions for solving various issues. At the end of the project all the examples of good practices will be collected to serve them as part of the indicators for the successful senior tourism development in rural areas. The full-scale model of senior tourism development will be composed of 5 parts – analysis of the supply and demand sides of senior tourism and regional analysis on demographic change and tourism.
The next visit of the good practices and a working group meeting will take place in Vidzeme Planning Region, Latvia in June 2012.
About the project:
TOURAGE is a new project financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and made possible by INTERREG IVC programme. It is one of the 82 approved applications among the 355 proposals of the 4th call of INTERREG IVC programme. It involves 12 partners from Bulgaria, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic and Spain. The Lead Partner of the project is Regional Council of North Karelia (Finland). More information about the project: http://www.vidzeme.lv/en/projects/developing_senior_tourism_in_remote_regions_tourage/
Project “Tourage” partners in Koli National Park in North-Karelia, Finland
Contact person:
Mara Poikane, Project Communication Officer
Phone: +37164219027 Mobile: +37126454562
e-mail: mara.poikane@vidzeme.lv
