Porvoo is part of the national Coastal & Rural Gems project

The Coastal and Rural Gems project aims to strengthen the competitiveness of tourism businesses in coastal and rural areas by developing new tourism products and service packages that connect multiple destinations and regions.

The Coastal and Rural Gems project aims to enhance the competitiveness of tourism businesses in Finland’s coastal and rural regions by developing shared tourism products and fostering cooperation across regional boundaries. The project brings together tourism businesses, municipalities, and development organisations from various coastal areas to engage in joint development efforts.

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For international visitors, administrative boundaries are of little importance. What matters is an attractive and accessible visitor experience. By working together across regions and developing new tourism products and routes through the project, we can offer more compelling reasons to visit Finland and stay longer. At the same time, we are increasing the visibility and recognition of Porvoo and the wider coastal region in international markets.

Sari Myllynen, Head of Tourism Development

11 Coastal and Rural Areas Join Forces

The project operates within the Coast & Archipelago region, one of Visit Finland’s four main tourism areas alongside Lapland, Lakeland, and the Helsinki Region.

The project brings together 11 municipalities and development organizations from different parts of Finland with close ties to coastal and archipelago destinations. The collaboration spans a wide geographical area along Finland’s coastline, stretching from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Gulf of Finland.

Lead Partner: Yrityssalo Oy, Tiina Backman, tiina.backman@yrityssalo.fi

Concrete Actions

As part of the project, networking events, benchmarking activities, and service design workshops will be organised to develop new tourism products and route concepts that connect multiple destinations and regions. Through pilot projects, participating businesses will also strengthen their capabilities in using customer insights and applying digital tools, including artificial intelligence (AI), in their operations.

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The project creates opportunities to position the experiences offered by Porvoo, the archipelago, and the surrounding countryside as part of a larger coastal tourism destination in Finland. At the same time, local businesses will be able to forge new partnerships, enhance their capabilities, and increase their visibility in international markets.

Katri Nikiforow, Specialist in Tourism and Events

Expected Results

Strengthen the competitiveness of tourism businesses in coastal and rural areas.
Develop new tourism products and touring routes that connect multiple destinations and regions.
Increase cooperation and partnerships between businesses and regions.
Enhance businesses’ capabilities in product development, service design, and customer insight.
Improve businesses’ readiness to leverage digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI).
Create a model for tourism development that extends across regional boundaries.

Funding from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development

An important step forward in the development of Finland’s coastal and rural areas was taken when the national joint project Coastal and Rural Gems was awarded funding from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. The project is one of six national development projects selected for funding in 2026.

The funding call attracted a total of 52 high-quality project proposals. Following the evaluation process, 10 proposals advanced to the final preparation stage, of which six were ultimately selected for funding. Coastal and Rural Gems was among the projects chosen.

The project represents an exceptionally extensive cooperation initiative. A joint tourism development project involving multiple municipalities across Finland’s coastal and archipelago regions has not previously been implemented on a comparable scale. The project area covers seven regions and falls within the jurisdiction of six Regional Vitality Centres.

Project period: 1 September 2026 – 30 June 2028
Total budget: €463,307

For more information, please contact

Katri Nikiforow

Specialist in tourism & events

katri.nikiforow@porvoo.fi LinkedIn

Sari Myllynen

Head of tourism development

Sari.Myllynen@porvoo.fi LinkedIn