We had already collaborated with Ruka Kuusamo in 2022, particularly on the development of a gravel biking concept. The destination, traditionally heavily reliant on winter tourism, was looking for ways to strengthen its summer tourism and attract guests year-round. Gravel biking proved to be one of the products with the greatest development potential.
Product development in Ruka-Kuusamo
How about discovering the land of the happiest inhabitants by gravel? In Ruka-Kuusamo, Finland, we developed a marketing strategy based on a gravel route concept, including branding, personas, channels, a roadmap, and integrated key stakeholders into the development process. By the way: The vastness of Finland may seem remote at first glance. In fact, Ruka-Kuusamo is just a few hours' flight from Zurich.
After a gravel network with over 900 kilometers of routes had been developed, the next question arose:
- How do we market this offer?
- How can we differentiate ourselves from our competitors?
- And how can we attract potential guests to a region near the Arctic Circle?
The answer can essentially be reduced to three points:
- Understand who the target groups are and what they are looking for.
- Understanding what the destination itself has to offer and developing gravel products that reflect the region's identity.
- Plan marketing measures in line with the goals and opportunities of the destination.
The starting point was the definition of the target groups that should be addressed with this offer, as well as the development of the positioning of Ruka Kuusamo as a gravel destination.
This is not a purely scientific process, but a process in which the human factor plays a central role.
The goal is to lay the foundations for fully realizing a region's potential in a specific thematic area. It's about developing a shared vision.
This vision was based on an analysis of the destination and its competitors, as well as on an intensive dialogue with the client and the tourism service providers involved in the bike offering.
This exchange was facilitated by two on-site workshops. The overarching goal is to create added value and improve the quality of life in the region.
Therefore, all parties involved must understand what is to be achieved, how this will be implemented, and why this path is being chosen.
Once the strategic guidelines were defined, we focused on brand development and planning marketing activities for the next three years. The implementation of the marketing plan then began with the launch of an initial marketing campaign, with the goal of raising awareness of this new offering within the gravel bike community.
ALLEGRA Conclusion:
The project in Ruka-Kuusamo is an excellent example of how a destination originally heavily focused on winter sports can diversify its offerings and generate year-round tourist demand through gravel biking.
Ask VANESA
Hardly anyone at ALLEGRA is as deeply involved with this topic as our tourism and mobility expert, Vanesa Gorgal. Together with our teams in Switzerland and the Nordic countries, she supports destinations in developing genuine tourist experiences from the potential of gravel roads. Her work demonstrates how gravel roads can become successful destinations.
Would you like to learn more about how we arrived at these findings and what opportunities they present for destinations? Then we look forward to a personal exchange.
The journey continues…
…towards developing a successful gravel destination. Take a look at Step 1: Potential analysis using Graubünden as an example and Step 2: Concept development using Northwest Iceland as an example.
Potential analysis for Graubünden
Inspiration close to home is worthwhile. With its rich cultural heritage, stunning landscapes, and history shaped by significant agricultural use, Graubünden offers ideal conditions for unforgettable gravel riding experiences. It's no wonder that we, as part of Graubünden Bike, have taken a closer look at the potential of gravel tourism.
Concept development in Iceland
Few countries offer as much untapped gravel potential as Iceland.
Iceland is currently experiencing a boom in popularity. However, these tourist flows are not evenly distributed, but rather concentrated in certain seasons and hotspots. One of the challenges lies in better managing these flows and distributing the added value accordingly.
With precisely this goal in mind, we conducted a cycling and mountain biking analysis in the Northwest Island region. This analysis, which is crucial for gaining a comprehensive understanding of the situation, yielded initial insights that can then be incorporated into a concrete business model and an action plan.
