Anja Tuohino

Lake Wellness — a practical example of a new service development (NSD) concept in tourism industries

Eastern Finland is an area that is rich in lakes, aquatic environments and pure nature. Unfortunately, this rich potential is scarcely utilized in well-being and wellness tourism product development. To answer this, the purpose of this article is to discuss if the experiential environment of the lakes and lake landscape can act as a potential resource for the core content of a ‘Lake Wellness’ experience product. This article introduces the well-being and wellness concepts in general, and further defines the Lake Wellness concept in a Finnish context. The main aim of the article is to present the product content and design of a new Lake Wellness experience.

The Transformation of a Neutral Lake Landscape into a Meaningful Experience – Interpreting Tourist Photos

The purpose of this article is to present the mental images of the Finnish lakeland held by potential Italian and German tourists. Image analysis was used in order to find the attributes tourists connect to pictures of lake landscape and to their own mental images of the places shown. The attributes found were classified under categories through which the touristic potential of the lake could be approached. The mental images evoked by the pictures emerging in the present study are individual and cultural at the same time. Although the individual nature of the mental images became prominent in the analysis, there were identifiable similarities in them. From the marketing point of view, each picture proved to have a special function in a given country. The respondents approached the pictures both as outside observers and as participating actors. The transformation of a neutral lake landscape into a meaningful experience depended on the mental images evoked by both the aesthetic content of the picture and its internal elements. The neutral lake landscape was turned into a meaningful place through the experiences and sensations the respondents attached to the pictures.

The Challenge of Networking Analysis of Innovation Potential in Small and Medium-Sized Tourism Enterprises

Small and medium-sized tourism enterprises (SMTEs) face the challenges of renewing business models to maintain competitiveness in the global economy. SMTE networking and product innovations are typical responses to these challenges. SMTE innovation processes and networking dynamics were analysed in the Saimaa Holiday network in the Savonlinna region of Finland. The Finnish Nationally Networked Centre of Expertise for Tourism (CET) networking model was used for the analysis. It was confirmed that innovation in SMTE networks was a synthetic process consisting of product, process and resource innovation. The network and its links to the university increased innovation potential and creativity in product innovation. Problem areas included business process development and ICT utilization.

Local stakeholders' views about destination management: who are leading tourism development?

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to study how the local stakeholders of three different tourism destinations consider who is responsible for the development of a tourism destination (if identifiable) and why. Design/methodology/approach – This study takes a multiple case study approach. Three different destinations are compared. A qualitative research method was chosen. The data are based on the interviews of tourism and wellbeing professionals (tourism entrepreneurs, experts and regional developers). Findings – The interview results suggest that destination leadership seems to be context-dependent. Competition, co-operation and coopetition all occur in different forms in different regions. Various kinds of co-operation are distinguishable between stakeholders of case regions, and the level of leadership among actors varies in the regions; one region is strongly managed by marketing company, while on other the co-operative store chain is apparently dominant. The roles of local educational institutes ...

Lake-Destination Image Attributes: Content Analysis of Text and Pictures

Abstract Lake tourism is a growing academic sub-field of tourism studies with an emerging body of literature. However, little research attention has been given to lake-destinations’ projected or perceived tourism images. Specifically, there has been a scarcity of literature investigating the variables involved in the formation of a lake-destination image. Therefore, this study aims to explore the main attributes that might potentially influence this type of destination, and simultaneously, contribute to conceptualizing and defining lake tourism as recent research area. An explorative study was then conducted in order to generate a set of image variables through the use of textual and photographic data. The results will contribute to characterize potential lake-destinations and to develop a final list of variables specifically related to this type of destination.

Activity-based market segmentation of rural well-being tourists: Comparing online information search

Providing well-being and wellness services are growing trends in tourism. Well-being tourism has considerable potential as well with respect to tourism in rural areas. The objective of this article is to study well-being tourists as a heterogeneous market segment via activity-based segmentation in rural areas. Their online information search behaviour is compared to that of other market segments to ensure that the various segments can be targeted online and to elaborate upon the information search behaviour of various activity segments. Using cluster analysis, three different rural tourist segments can be identified in Finland based on their well-being activities. The results show the possibilities for activity-based segmentation in understanding the preferences for well-being services. The study demonstrates that the various rural well-being activity segments differ from each other based on socio-demographics and in how they use the Internet to search for information, book their holidays and write online reviews. All of these differences have managerial implications when it comes to developing rural well-being products, and they also demonstrate the possibilities for activity segmentation in rural well-being tourism.

Tourism value chains revisited and applied to rural well-being tourism

ABSTRACT The tourism value chain is a popular and informative topic both in research and in the practice of destination planning and management. This article delivers a critical review of the conceptualizations of value chains in tourism. Two different approaches are identified. First, destination logic addresses the consumption steps and processes of the tourists and comprises the various needs for products and services. Second, supply chain logic, which, from an enterprise perspective, takes into consideration the composition of products and services with supplies from across business sectors, thus recognizes wider contributions to the economics of tourism. With reference to rural well-being tourism, the study outlines strategic alleys within these two logics. In the context of rural well-being tourism, gains for destinations can be achieved from both logics, but local rural areas may increase advantages of tourism with a profounder embracement of supply chain logic.

Robust Innovation Anchors in Rural Wellbeing Tourism

Worldwide, tourism is the third largest economic activity in direct earnings after petroleum and automobile industries, and by far the largest one if indirect earnings are also taken into consideration. Taking into account the profound economic impact the tourism and hospitality industries can have on regions and cities around the world, further research in this area is critical. Global Dynamics in Travel, Tourism, and Hospitality takes a holistic approach to tourism and hospitality operations, education, and research. Highlighting the latest research in the field, real-world examples of how these industries are shaping economic development as well as future outlooks and opportunities for growth, this publication is an essential reference source for researchers, professionals, and graduate-level students.

On the way to sustainable (well-being) tourism destination?: the case of Savonlinna town in Finland

The purpose of the study is to test if the model of a sustainable wellness destination developed by Sheldon and Park, adapted from Ritchie and Crouch, could be used while defining the Savonlinna town in Eastern Finland in the context of well-being/wellness tourism. The data for this article are based on interviews conducted in the region during 2009 and 2010. There was much discussion on Savonlinnas assets for well-being tourism. The overall finding is that the status of Savonlinna as a sustainable well-being tourism destination was more in the minds of the interviewees than on a tangible, practical level. The well-being segment was still seen to be limited and fragmentary.