• sharpen the focus of communications about the Taikayöntie route and improve the route’s visibility and discoverability.
• strengthen the vitality and attractiveness of the Taikayöntie area.
• ensure the future of the Taikayöntie route as an attractive rural tourism and residential area by engaging local stakeholders and committing them to its development.

Activities

Project activities included:

• establishing a network of operators along the Taikayöntie route, including entrepreneurs, local residents, associations, organisations and municipal representatives. The network met several times during the project to discuss the development of the route. The project resulted in the establishment of a Taikayöntie tourism association, which continues the development work carried out by the project and takes care of the marketing and communication of the route.
• collecting and communicating information about the Taikayöntie route. A new and fresh visual identity was created to attract potential visitors (an illustrated map of the Taikayöntie route, with the colour purple representing the mystical nature of the route). Taikayöntie means ‘magic night road’ in Finnish. The visual identity was used in several communication materials. A website was created for the route in Finnish and English, and various communication materials were produced (e.g. brochure, postcard, exhibition wall, roll-up banner and pop-up table). During the project, the project manager wrote several articles and press releases about the route for national and local media. Taikayöntie was represented at various exhibitions and events, gaining national visibility.
• supporting the development of the region's vitality and attractiveness. This included disseminating information and activating people, as well as organising functional, open events and/or campaigns: information events for Taikayöntie operators (including collecting and storytelling about the route’s attractions); digital distribution and visibility channels; and travel packages and connecting with the Visit Finland DataHub database. In addition, the project encouraged the organisation of open events such as the Tour de Taikayöntie cycling event; a local food tour; and Taikayöntie Day and the Taikayöntie Epiphany Bonfires.
• planning further development and maintenance of Taikayöntie; drawing up a municipal cooperation agreement on the development, marketing and communication of Taikayöntie; and assisting in the establishment of a Taikayöntie tourism association. The association continues to develop Taikayöntie for tourism and assist in the marketing and communication of the route.

• A network of operators was created, which continues to operate in the form of the Taikayöntie tourism association. The municipalities of the Taikayöntie route signed a development cooperation agreement.
• The Taikayöntie route now has its own website in Finnish and English that shows what's going on in the region. Another significant achievement is that information from Visit Finland DataHub, a very important database in the Finnish tourism sector, is imported to the website. This means that the content of the website is automatically updated from the database.
• The visibility of Taikayöntie has been increased through various communication actions (15 pieces of communication material produced; participation in 15 events; 324 project bulletins; 32 articles, publications and media releases; 47 media hits).
• The project has boosted the vitality of the tourist route through communication measures, a new visual identity, the organisation of community events and campaigns, and the organisation of information events to enhance the skills of those involved. Taikayöntie also received new road signs.
• The success of the project was reflected in it being awarded the LEADER Joutsenten reitti project of the year 2023.

Key lessons

• Projects aimed at increasing the attractiveness and visibility of a region often give rise to needs and measures that cannot be assessed at the project application stage. In the case of Taikayöntie, one such example was the integration of the Visit Finland DataHub into the website. The replacement of the Taikayöntie signs was also a larger process than anticipated, requiring more resources than had been allocated for the project. It is advisable to allow flexibility in the implementation of similar projects, as there will always be a need for activities that could not be taken into account at the application stage.
• It is interesting to note that the operators involved in Taikayöntie clearly considered the development of the route as a tourist destination to be important. More operators than expected participated in the project events. It can be said that the project increased community spirit in the area.