The goals of the Snowmobile tourism in Kainuu project were achieved — and even exceeded. Fluent served as a partner in the project, providing a real-time platform for snowmobile trails through Fluent Outdoors.
The project, which began in autumn 2023, concluded at the end of June. Fluent was involved as a partner throughout the entire project.
Co-funded by the EU, the primary objective of the initiative was to boost snowmobile tourism across the Kainuu region and to highlight the diverse snowmobiling opportunities the area offers. This included developing tourism content and targeted marketing strategies.
According to project lead Marjo Karttunen, the project goals were met — and in some areas, even surpassed.
“As a result of the project, snowmobile-related services and products in Kainuu are now well presented and easy to find. Additionally, visitor tracking along the routes has been improved, enabling more targeted marketing and more efficient trail maintenance”, says Karttunen.
Visitor counters from Fluent provided insights on trail usage
As part of the project, all snowmobile trails in the Kainuu region were brought onto a single platform at www.finlandoutdoors.fi. The site shows all areas in Finland covered by Fluent Outdoors. Later, a dedicated platform for Kainuu was also launched: Kainuu Outdoors.
In addition to snowmobile trails, the platform includes services located along the routes, such as fuel stations, accommodations, and restaurants.
Last winter season, snowmobile trail traffic increased by approximately 11 percent compared to the previous winter.
Another goal of the project was to promote the idea of a unified permit system across the entire Kainuu region and to explore the future of snowmobiling.
“The project resulted in a regional joint permit that was introduced for the 2024–2025 season. Sales began as a pilot in the City of Kajaani’s online store, and it started off very well. Later, the sales were transferred to an online store maintained by the City of Kuhmo before the project ended. All permits for Kainuu can now be purchased from the City of Kuhmo’s online store”, Karttunen explains.
Fluent provided visitor counters along Kainuu’s snowmobile trails, which produced concrete data on which trails were most popular and which ones remained relatively unknown to the broader public. This made it possible to better target marketing efforts and offered valuable support for future development actions.
“Last winter season, snowmobile trail traffic increased by approximately 11 percent compared to the previous winter”, Karttunen says.
International Interest in Snowmobile Tourism
In the 2023–2024 season, the project culminated in a snowmobile tour around Kainuu. A group of snowmobilers, led by well-known rider Joni Maununen, completed a roughly 500-kilometer journey through the region while reporting along the way. Their route could be followed in real time through Fluent Outdoors.
As a project partner, Fluent also marketed Kainuu’s snowmobile trails both in Finland and abroad. Through search engine advertising targeted at Central Europe—especially German-speaking regions—around 100,000 people interested in snowmobiling and Northern European travel were reached. This demonstrated clear demand for winter tourism and snow-related activities.
Fluent’s support was particularly important when it came to marketing the snowmobile trails internationally.
Short social media videos showcasing Kainuu’s snowmobile trails also received tens of thousands of views.
According to Karttunen, the project provided valuable feedback on what’s working well in Kainuu’s snowmobile tourism—and where there’s still room for improvement.
“Fluent’s support was particularly important when it came to marketing the snowmobile trails internationally. We also received excellent support and fast responses to everything related to the Fluent Outdoors platform”, Karttunen concludes.