Rural Tourismin Finland: Tourists' Expectation of Landscape and Environment

In many rural regions in Finland, the key development areas are forestry and tourism. However, there is little information on the landscape preferences of rural tourists or the attractivity of commercial forests. Main research questions are: What is the demand on the services of rural tourism? How significant is the quality of landscape in rural tourism? What special features are appreciated in forested landscapes? The data collected in a mail survey in 1997 show that the quality of landscape is an important attraction factor for rural tourism. In general, tourists appreciate old forests with heavy timber, an abundance of deciduous trees, and relatively good visibility. The outdoor use of these areas is concentrated to lakeside forests and to minor roads and paths, where visual landscape management should also concentrate. Furthermore, the results suggest that adjustments to present forest management aiming at timber production practises are needed in these areas.