From Lab to Landmarks. A Cross-border Initiative for Science, Discovery and Tourism (Interreg Small Scale project)

The Interreg Aurora funded small-scale project "From labs to landmarks" (7/2023-1/2024) established a cross-border network of partners who will contribute to developing culture- and science-based digital content for existing nature trails and other destinations in the region.

During the project we conducted a feasibility study for cross-border digital science project that included an online survey for travelers in the region mapping their needs and interests towards different topics and digital tools. Interestingly, we found that although travelers who have no experience on digital content sharing tools are skeptical towards them, those travelers who have experimented with digital tools are happy to use them again. Our feasibility study includes several interesting issues and further questions that are of general interest to people interested in digital tools, platforms and content sharing for tourism. We also arranged a webinar to actors in the region where we went through our findings.

The sub-arctic Scandinavia draws increasing numbers of visitors every year, and it is ever more important to provide services for the visitors who have an interest towards the local communities and nature in the destination. The objective is to provide visitors with more knowledge, understanding, and respect for the nature and communities they visit, simultaneously enabling community participation planning of tourism development. The approach will strengthen sustainable destination development and empower residents in the region to influence local tourism development.