Vision for sustainable tourism in the coastal region of Satakunta published

ICZM draft from the vision for sustainable tourism development in the Satakunta coastal region has been published on 19 April 2018 on the website of the Regional Council of Satakunta. Coastal and marine tourism is one of the major fields, in which significant growth is expected in Finland. Increase of tourism activities and recreational use of environmental areas can however have significant impacts to the environment unless the requirements of different environmental features and human interests are not jointly considered as a part of the coastal zone management.

Clear waters of the Bothnian Sea and marine landscapes are the major assets for tourism development in Satakunta. To maintain the quality of the environment, it is however important to identify conflicts between different land use interests and to mitigate the impacts of various human activities (including tourism and recreation themselves) to the current state of the Bothnian Sea and its attractiveness as a tourism destination.

In the prepared vision, we assess the current state of tourism in the coastal region of Satakunta and identify the features that are the most relevant for tourism and recreation. In addition, potential factors, how current and proposed human activities affect the general accessibility and land use along the shoreline, are identified. Using this analyses, total of 20 objectives are defined, with which sustainable tourism activities and attractiveness of the Satakunta coastline as tourism destination can be enhanced as a part of land use planning and environmental management.

Draft vision is presented, discussed and evaluated with local stakeholders between May-September 2018. In addition to public presentation and different stakeholder group meetings, interactive web-based survey is conducted to collect addition data on the preferences of both local people and tourists considering the valuable sight and sceneries in the planning area. The final version of the plan will be published by the mid-November 2018, after the feedback from the draft has been analyzed.