Carpooling to the Karelian villages
The accessibility of North Karelia's magnificent nature destinations and businesses without a car is poor, and particularly poor during the busy summer season. Traveling alone or in pairs with your own car is unsustainable from the perspective of responsible tourism.
What can be done? The REISSUKYYTI online application allows travelers and locals to share rides with each other.
The destinations include national parks (Koli, Kolovesi, Patvinsuo, Petkeljärvi, and Tiilikkajärvi), municipalities, and tourism businesses and events located in sparsely populated rural areas.
Click and try it for yourself
:Reissukyyti is featured in promotional videos. The first video features traveler Kaisa, regional manager Markus Hirvonen, and association chair Anton Sutinen. The second video features Fillarimummo Rauni Hietanen and Anton. Rauni is now Reissumummo!
Benefits
Increase ride sharing among tourism entrepreneursa
Matkailuyrittäjät voivat tehdä yhteistyötä, kun asiakkaita haetaan esimerkiksi juna-asemalta.
Promotes ride sharing among travelers
The Reissukyyti platform also helps travelers share rides either from home or at their destination.
Reduce fuel costs for your own car
Carpooling reduces fuel costs and makes it possible to live and travel in sparsely populated areas.
Sustainable business model for the service
The municipalities and companies are responsible for the maintenance and communication costs of the Reissukyyti service..
Let's make Reissukyyti well known
Let's work together to raise awareness of the service and share our experiences to help develop it. Test it and share your experiences!
Development of travel services
Reissukyyti was developed through a project that encouraged tourists and local residents to use and develop the Reissukyyti service in collaboration with municipalities, associations, and tourism companies. Important partners included Pohjois-Karjalan Kylät ry (North Karelia Villages Association) and Metsähallitus (Finnish Forest Administration).
TRANSPORTATION NEEDS SURVEY AND QUESTIONS
The current modes of transport and possibilities for national parks and companies participating in the project were investigated. A survey was conducted on needs and wishes.
ACTIVATION OF TOURISM COMPANIES
Responsible tourism entrepreneurs operating in sparsely populated areas were invited to participate in the project. The service was developed and tested in collaboration with the companies.
ACTIVATING LOCALS
Local residents were informed about the project's objectives and encouraged to participate in developing the service. Regional tourism evenings were organized.
DEVELOPING THE BUSINESS MODEL
During the project, the costs of maintaining, developing, and communicating the Reissukyyti service were calculated. A cost-effective model for financing the operation was developed.
ACTIVATING TOURISTS AND SURVEYS
We investigated how much carpooling is already used in tourism. We conducted surveys in social media groups about needs and wishes regarding the Reissukyyti service.
SCALING THE SERVICE
Get in touch with us!
The project was implemented by Pohjois-Karjalan Matkailu ry. An important partner was CoReorient Oy, whose idea for developing carpooling gave rise to the project and which owns the application. The development work continues in close cooperation, and CoReorient Oy is currently developing the application together with Xamk University of Applied Sciences.
Anton on Pohjois-Karjalan Matkailu ry:n puheenjohtaja.
Anton Sutinen
hankevastaava
p. 050 305 1120
anton.sutinen@gmail.com
Marja toimi hankkeen projektipäällikkönä.
Marja Tiittanen
projektipäällikkö
p. 050 598 3290
marja.tiittanen@pohjoiskarjalaan.fi
Project funding
The Government had set up a parliamentary working group on sparsely populated areas (HAMA) to improve opportunities in sparsely populated areas of Finland. The working group has allocated €3 million in support for nature, food, fishing and hunting tourism projects in HAMA areas, emphasizing the guidelines of Finland's Tourism Strategy 2022-2028 and Finland's Food Tourism Strategy 2020-2023, as well as Visit Finland's food tourism product recommendations.
As the state aid authority, the Lapland ELY Center granted a subsidy to the North Karelia Tourism Association's Kimppakyydillä Karjalan kunnaille (Carpooling to Karelian villages) project. The project was implemented between December 1, 2022, and October 15, 2023.
Below is a link to the Lapland ELY Centre website, which provides information on funding and a map showing sparsely populated areas:
