Project: Västerbotten Sweden

Project Period: January 1, 2023 – April 30, 2026

The project aims to connect, elevate, and showcase tourism businesses in Västerbotten with a focus on export. Under the shared destination brand Västerbotten Sweden, the project strives to help more companies offer quality-assured, sustainable experiences and services to international guests. This will be achieved through capacity-building initiatives to improve export readiness, product development, marketing efforts, and the creation of a digital platform.

The project also includes efforts for participating destination organizations to become certified as sustainable destinations according to the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s criteria (or equivalent), while building internal capacity and knowledge to ensure long-term, sustainable export.

The project is a collaborative initiative between Gold of Lapland and:

  • Visit Umeå

  • Visit Skellefteå

  • Region Västerbotten Turism

Project Activity Areas

Export Readiness

  • Define Västerbotten Sweden criteria and support businesses in meeting them

  • Network building and relationship development

  • Train export coaches

  • Develop templates, manuals, legal guidelines, and terminology

  • Promote international hospitality and provide e-learning resources

Product Development and Sales Channels

  • Product development, pricing, and season extension

  • Themed offers, clusters, and product manuals

  • Sales and distribution channels

  • Sustainable transport solutions

  • Attract charter initiatives and direct flights

Digitalization of Västerbotten Sweden

  • Needs and impact analysis

  • Sustainability-integrated communication plan

  • Public landing page for Västerbotten Sweden

  • Coordination method for internal and external communication

  • Business coaching in digital maturity

Target Markets and Marketing Activities

  • Situation analysis

  • Activities for international travel agents

  • Market development efforts

  • Communication and marketing campaigns

  • Data and statistics tracking

Sustainability Certification

  • Explore available certification methods

  • Initiate and complete certification processes

External Evaluation
Due to the scope of the project, an external evaluator will follow and assess the progress.

Budget and Funding

The project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund for Upper Norrland, Region Västerbotten, and contributions from the project partners.

Additional funders and collaborators:

  • Norsjö Municipality

  • Malå Municipality

  • Lycksele Municipality

  • Åsele Municipality

  • Vilhelmina Municipality

  • Dorotea Municipality

  • Sorsele Municipality

  • Storuman Municipality

  • Skellefteå Municipality

  • Umeå Municipality

Total project budget: SEK 30 million over the project period.