The Tourism Potential in the Archipelagos
Significant Economic Potential
The archipelago areas offer visitors recreational and experiential values, as well as important natural and cultural-historical values.
In 2023, the Nordic Archipelago Cooperation continued its investigation into the economic potential of tourism. The new report covers the entire operational area, i.e., from the eastern Gulf of Finland–Åland and from Uppsala down to Kalmar County. The figures show significant economic effects for the NSS area in Sweden, Åland, and Finland, with 32 million visits and €1.7 billion in turnover per year.
The data is based on a study that is the first of its kind for the NSS archipelago and coastal areas in southern Finland, Åland, and in Sweden from Uppsala to Kalmar County. The number of visits is based on mobile phone positioning data, and the visits are divided into commercial and non-commercial visits. The study shows a great potential, among other things, for tourism in extending the season.
Employment corresponds to 22,000 full-time equivalents
The Nordic Archipelago Cooperation, together with WSP, has conducted a comprehensive analysis of the number of visits, divided into commercial visits—such as overnight stays in hotels and guest harbors—and non-commercial visits, which are overnight stays in private holiday homes. The report covers both the number of visits and the economic value for the tourism industry linked to these visits, and the results are strikingly clear:
The importance and potential of tourism are crystal clear. The industry employs 22,000 full-time equivalents and generates €250 million in tax revenue per year*. The purpose of the Nordic Archipelago Cooperation with this study is, among other things, to demonstrate the sector’s impact and potential. In many parts of the archipelago, most visits currently occur during a short part of the summer, but the industry has long worked towards a longer season. The challenges are well known, but now we show in black and white, with numbers, what it would mean if September were booked as fully as August.
“An equal number of visits in September as in August would, all else being equal, result in an increased turnover of €55 million for the tourism industry and an employment effect corresponding to over 9,000 full-time jobs for one month,” says Joakim Franklin, responsible for the study.
A 1.5-month longer season would double turnover.
Even entrepreneurs in the Åboland archipelago, like Lassi Määttä, note that a season extended by 1.5 months would double turnover. According to Lassi, a two-week longer season would result in a 30–50% increase.
This issue is important from several perspectives. The tourism industry provides numerous jobs, and a longer season can promote settlement in the archipelago, similar to how many ski resorts have developed, with Åre often cited as an example. However, the large seasonal variations also put pressure on the environment, infrastructure, and, to some extent, social sustainability. Several projects are currently underway involving companies in the Baltic Sea region to create conditions for a longer tourist season. The report also highlights the size of the tourism industry and can serve as a basis for national-level funding and investment support programs.
Calculations are based on the income method using a model developed by the Åland Statistics and Research Bureau and further refined by WSP. In Åland, extensive visitor surveys have mapped consumption behavior, making this analysis the most reliable material on consumption patterns in archipelago conditions. The figures show an average of visits and societal benefits for 2021 and 2022. Foreign visitors are handled separately in mobile data analyses. Therefore, the presented visitor numbers refer to domestic visitors—Finnish visitors in Finland and Swedish visitors in Sweden.
Rapporter: Besöksmängder i Östersjöns skärgård
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PPT Östersjöskärgårdens besökare 231201 (.pdf)
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Rapport Östersjöskärgårdens besökare 231201 (.pdf)
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Economic values and societal benefits of the tourism industry 231201_EN (.pdf)
Within tourism, there is a growing discussion of managing through knowledge. Strategic management uses existing data for development and decision-making in tourism. However, statistical data are incomplete; for example, smaller accommodation providers are often missing, and in some regions, they represent a significant portion of the accommodation capacity. Day visitors are also absent from statistics, even though they have a significant impact on tourism income.
The Nordic Archipelago Cooperation has conducted a study on visitor numbers in the Åboland archipelago as well as the Åland municipalities of Brändö, Kumlinge, Sottunga, and Kökar.
Using mobile data, i.e., information about the geographic location of mobile phones and the time spent, provides a tool to measure visitor flows. This is a pilot project, and the Nordic Archipelago Cooperation is at the forefront of using this method in archipelago conditions. Both the technology and the use of data will continue to be developed.
According to Antti Honkanen, Director of the Institute for Tourism Research and Development at the University of Lapland:
“To compensate for missing data, various methods have been developed. In recent years, the use of mobile data has grown in popularity. Like all methods, mobile data have limitations. However, mobile data provide reliable information on changes in visitor numbers and comparative material for the popularity of different locations. Similar data are difficult to obtain by other methods.
It can be said that despite some limitations, the data on the Åboland archipelago constitute the first study based on geographic positions and provide a comprehensive understanding of visitor numbers, temporal distribution, and most visited areas.
To use the data in strategic planning, regular surveys are required. This allows development needs to be captured effectively and the future of tourism to be predicted. Considering the enormous tourism potential of the archipelagos, there is a pressing need for information for strategic development.”
The more visitors are willing to spend time and money to reach the archipelago, the higher the value of the archipelago can be considered. Therefore, the number of visitors is an important measure of the archipelago’s attractiveness.
Comparing data for 2019 and 2020 clearly shows the effects of the pandemic. The number of visitors increased during both low and high season. Visitors also spent more time in the archipelago; 1.5 million visitors stayed overnight, and the high season was extended in 2020. The increase between years is largely due to more overnight visitors. The number of overnight visitors from January to September increased by 13%, reflecting that more people chose to stay in their holiday homes during the pandemic.
The highest number of visitors was on Midsummer Day, with 45,000 visitors, more than half of whom stayed overnight.
Visitor numbers have primarily increased in areas close to the mainland. Locations further out in the archipelago generally show smaller increases, stable numbers, or, in some cases, a decrease in visitors.
At the same time, information about visitors’ places of residence is available, whereas foreign visitors are not included in the analysis, nor those using mobile operators other than TeliaSonera.
Visitor data are not exact; the data have been interpreted conservatively but provide indicative information. Continuing similar monitoring will yield more reliable material. Both the methodology, technology, and analysis will be further developed.