Data-driven tourism development – Nivala uses data to support decision-making
A tourism impact study conducted in Nivala provided valuable insights that support the development and marketing of tourism in the region.
How can the real impact of tourism and leisure services be measured? What do people actually do in a municipality, how long do they stay, and where do they spend money during their visit?
These questions were explored in a tourism impact study carried out in Nivala in cooperation with Fluent Outdoors and Salmi Platform.
During the six-month study period, the survey examined topics such as:
- spending habits of visitors and local residents
- environmental impacts of tourism
- reasons for visits and visited destinations
- usage of various sports, nature, and cultural sites
- visitor satisfaction as well as the attractiveness and retention power of the Nivala region
The survey received approximately 400 responses in total. Around 60 percent of the responses came through the Fluent Outdoors platform, where the survey was displayed to users. Users were directed to the platform, for example, through QR codes placed along nature destinations. Approximately 40 percent of the responses were collected via social media.
Nivala uses Fluent Outdoors to showcase the region’s sports, outdoor recreation, and tourism destinations, making the platform a natural channel for reaching both local users and visitors.
Concrete Data to Support Decision-Making
The study provided detailed information about how people move around the municipality and what kind of impact tourism has on the region. The survey platform automatically tailored questions depending on whether the respondent was a local resident or a visitor.
The results revealed, for example:
- how long visitors stayed in Nivala
- which services and activities visitors spent money on
- the reasons for visiting the municipality
- what types of user groups different destinations attracted
The study also showed that nature destinations and sports facilities were an essential part of visitors’ activities in Nivala. Among sports facilities, the swimming hall was the most popular, while the library was the most visited cultural destination. Among nature destinations, Sikoranta proved highly popular despite being a relatively new attraction.
The study clearly showed that the sports facilities that have been built truly meet a need.
The study also gave the City of Nivala an opportunity to evaluate the impact of previous investments — for example, whether visitors were finding destinations that had undergone development measures and what kind of feedback those destinations received. Usage and user experiences related to sports and cultural facilities were monitored separately, helping the city assess future development needs and service quality.
“It was great to see that visitors had discovered the nature destinations. We were especially pleased to notice that the Uikko sports center and the new multi-purpose hall had high usage rates. The study clearly showed that the sports facilities that have been built truly meet a need”, say Janna Korpi, Cultural Producer, and Riikka Järvikuona, Marketing and Communications Specialist for the City of Nivala.
“It was useful for us to see separate research results for sports and cultural destinations. The study also enabled monitoring of destinations that normally do not have visitor tracking, and it was good to discover that these locations also attract visitors”, Korpi and Järvikuona continue.
The study also enabled monitoring of destinations that normally do not have visitor tracking.
Data Also Reveals the Impact of Events
The same model can also be used to evaluate the impact of events. The study framework makes it possible to analyze visitor profiles, spending, length of stay, and regional impacts related to events.
Visitor data helps municipalities and cities make decisions based on facts rather than assumptions. According to Janna Korpi and Riikka Järvikuona, the study results confirmed many existing assumptions related to tourism and events that had previously not been measured.
“We discovered that only a small number of visitors use accommodation services in Nivala because most of them stay with relatives”, Korpi and Järvikuona explain.
“It was also nice to see that for some visitors, the main reason for visiting was the story-driven nature destination created through the NÄKYVÄ+ project. It’s great that the local attraction Crazyland has gained visibility. Usually, it is quite difficult to monitor the impact and visitor numbers of events.”
Wille Markkanen, CEO of Salmi Platform, points out that tourism and events are usually closely connected, which means that the data collected through surveys is partly shared between both areas.
“That is natural, because a significant part of an event’s impact comes specifically from attracting visitors to the municipality”, Markkanen says.
“It therefore makes sense to collect as much comparable data as possible from these areas, and the best situation is when both sets of information are available simultaneously.”
Visitors Are Highly Satisfied with the Region
According to the study, overall satisfaction with Nivala was very high. Around 90 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with their visit and would gladly return.
Local attitudes toward tourism were also mainly positive. More than 80 percent of respondents felt that tourism does not cause harm to the municipality.
If research clearly shows that tourists are satisfied with the destinations, then municipalities should absolutely promote them proudly and loudly to the world.
However, one interesting finding emerged regarding willingness to recommend the destination: while locals viewed tourism positively, visitors recommended Nivala significantly more actively than local residents themselves. This may indicate that locals tend to view their hometown modestly — often assuming that things are always better elsewhere.
“The traditional Finnish modesty and the mindset that the grass is always greener on the other side often simply aren’t true. If research clearly shows that tourists are satisfied with the destinations, then municipalities should absolutely promote them proudly and loudly to the world”, says Mikko Hassinen, Chief Commercial Officer at Fluent.
Data Helps Develop Tourism Systematically
The cooperation between Fluent Outdoors and Salmi Platform offers municipalities and cities an opportunity to collect practical data on how local services are used and what kind of impact they have.
When the use of sports, nature, and tourism services can be analyzed through data, development work can become more long-term, strategic, and well justified.
The City of Nivala intends to use the research findings particularly in marketing activities. According to Janna Korpi and Riikka Järvikuona, the results help target marketing efforts more accurately.
“In addition, we want to remind local residents about the strengths of our city. According to the study, we truly can be proud of our hometown and the services it offers. There’s no reason to hide our strengths—we now have every reason to stand tall and recommend Nivala to others as well!”
Ask more about conducting a tourism impact study:
Mikko Hassinen
mikko.hassinen@fluentprogress.fi
+358 50 374 8326