Partner introduction

Turku University of Applied Sciences – Lead partner for Tour Rural Baltic 

About us 

Turku University of Applied Sciences (Turku UAS) is a community of 15,000 students and professionals in Southwest Finland. Beyond education, we actively develop research and innovation across a wide range of fields, including tourism and sustainable mobility. TourRBaltic is a perfect opportunity to bring these two important themes together. 

Meet the team 

Heidi Heikkilä – Project Manager has spent the past five years working at the intersection of cycling tourism and sustainable mobility across multiple projects, such as Bike across the Baltic (BAB) and More comprehensive services and cycling networks trough cooperation (KAPU). Before that, she built a solid foundation in international tourism working with a travel agency. In TourRBaltic, Heidi leads the project and keeps the whole partnership moving in the right direction. 

Annika Kunnasvirta – Communications Manager brings over 15 years of experience in sustainable and inclusive mobility at Turku UAS. Annika’s expertise with accessibility in managing projects like INCLUDES will strengthen the inclusive dimension of TourRBaltic, making sure that sustainable rural tourism works for everyone, not just the few. 

Sophia Rehn – Financial Manager oversees the project’s financial administration, ensuring smooth operations across all five partner countries throughout the project lifetime. Brings solid expertise in different funded projects, including financial management, reporting, and working with different funding programmes and requirements. Sophia has a background in tourism, having both studied and worked in the field, which makes the thematic focus of TourRBaltic especially close to her heart. 

The team will be extended with other professionals according to the needs of the project in different phases.

Our focus area: Pori region 

In Finland, TourRBaltic focuses on the Pori region in Satakunta — a destination where sandy dunes, beach activities, coastal cycling routes and stunning nature scenery come together. It is exactly the kind of place that shows both the potential and the responsibility of rural tourism. The local activities in Satakunta are coordinated by our second Finnish partner, Satakunta University of Applied Sciences. They will tell more about the region in their introduction. 

TourRBaltic paves the way for more equal experiences 

Turku UAS coordinates the entire TourRBaltic project and leads the capacity building and knowledge transfer work across the Baltic Sea Region with active communication and dissemination efforts, organizing events and webinars and participating in events to bring our message forward. Our key contribution is the Green Rural Paths Toolkit, a practical resource that will collect the methods, good practices and lessons learned throughout the project, and make them freely available to destinations and authorities across the region. 

We are genuinely excited to lead a project that brings together two themes that belong together: sustainability in tourism and accessibility for all. Better mobility conditions and more accessible routes and services benefit both locals and visitors, which supports also regenerative approach to tourism. Raising awareness of this approach across the Baltic Sea Region, especially in rural areas that are more vulnerable to the pressures of overtourism, is something we are happy to take forward. 

“We are looking forward to meeting the DMOs, entrepreneurs and communities working with tourism and co-developing with them solutions that help rural destinations become more sustainable and better places to live and visit.”
— Heidi Heikkilä, Project Manager

Satakunta University of Applied Sciences & Center for Tourism Business Development

About us

The Center for Tourism Business Development operates at the Satakunta University of Applied Sciences. The Center’s activities are based on the actual needs of the tourism enterprises in the region – making them also the main target group of the Center. In addition, we work in close cooperation with regional, national and international partners.

Meet the Team

Juhana Aalto – Project Manager

Juhana has a history of more than ten years of tourism-development projects behind him, from sustainable tourism and attracting investors to bicycle tourism and route development in Satakunta region. Combining theme in his previous projects has been the branding aspect in the tourism industry, including social brands and local inclusion. He also brings local knowledge of the Satakunta-region as well as active networks in rural Satakunta and surrounding areas.

Our focus area: Pori region

In Finland, TourRBaltic focuses on the Pori region in Satakunta. Pori is located on Finland’s west coast and offers a diverse tourism destination combining urban culture, nature, and seaside experiences. Pori is known for its lively cultural scene, events, and historic center, while the wider area also reflects a long industrial history, particularly through the historic Noormarkku, which provides an interesting glimpse into Finland’s industrial and architectural heritage. Just outside the city, Yyteri is one of Finland’s best-known coastal destinations, famous for its long sandy beach, dunes, and beautiful natural surroundings. The area provides excellent opportunities for swimming, walking, cycling, birdwatching, and other outdoor activities. Together, Pori and Yyteri provide a versatile destination where visitors can combine a city break with a memorable experience in Finland’s coastal nature.

Outside the city of Pori, Satakunta region however faces the familiar challenges in rural tourism: logistics, small operators and seasonality. All these affect the sustainability of the tourism industry in the region. TourRBaltic tackles these issues by focusing on already recognized tourist routes and points of interest, that can be developed further to create appealing experiences for different types of visitors. The aim is to attract visitors to use sustainable means to explore the destination and take into account the varying mobility needs of future visitors. The project will also engage with the local stakeholders to ponder future visions about the destination – and how to achieve the desired future.

TourRBaltic will especially focus on established bicycle network from Luvia through Pori and Yyteri to Ahlainen we will follow Eurovelo 10 -route. From Ahlainen to Noormarkku we will take the Selkämeren elämysreitti. These routes are well established and locally well-known products that combine rural tourism hubs to Pori, which is an important local hub with great variety of services and is quite easily accessible by public transport.

How SAMK contributes to TourRBaltic

Satakunta University of Applied Sciences offers regional expertise in Satakunta, the focus area in Finland. Our Center for Tourism Business Development has long-standing experience in active tourism and SME engagement also in rural areas. Furthermore, we have had various projects in the past where promoting active and accessible mobility to locals and visitors has been central. We also have versatile experience on sustainability communication and producing route information.

Programme Manual Online

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