Summary

The winter in northern Sweden is dark and cold. This is often viewed as something negative and these elements are often overlooked when a place is to be marketed. However, these elements could be turned into a unique selling point.

This project helped to change that view and show that darkness and cold have positive effects on humans. The association called Föreningen för Mörkets och Kylans Glada Vänner (The happy friends of darkness and coldness), used RDP support to gather evidence, and put together research from different sources on the topic. This information was presented in a handbook that can be used by local tourist enterprises. 

Results

The project resulted in the production of a handbook, called ‘A traveller’s guide for winter climate’ which is published on their new website. 

The project contacted the tourist enterprises ‘Visit Skellefteå’ and ‘Swedish Lapland’ who have showed great interest in the book. The enterprises are thinking about translating it into English and Chinese. They also aim to visually improve it, by working on the design and adding pictures, to make it more attractive for tourists. 

The handbook is raising awareness of the potential advantages of cold and darkness. This knowledge provides the tourist sector with a unique selling point. 

The project has kick started a new way of marketing northern areas through the promotion of cold and darkness.