Enhancement of Regional Sport Tourism network management : case Rauha-Ukonniemi

The sports tourism industry, consisting of all the people, places, and things that support, impact, or are impacted by sports tourism, is one of the fastest-growing sectors in tourism. Regional Sports Tourism (RTS) Network means geographically connected actors who interact to provide a regional sports tourism customer experience. Imatra Base Camp Oy, a subsidiary of the City of Imatra, commissioned the research. The study aimed to determine how the local sports tourism network management should be developed. The regional sports tourism is focused on the Rauha-Ukonniemi area, crossing the cities of Lappeenranta and Imatra, where the research was delineated. Imatra Base Camp Oy is responsible for the sales, marketing, and development of sports tourism offerings in Imatra. The company will use the research to evaluate and develop these actions related to sports tourism. The qualitative research was conducted through eleven semi-structured, recorded expert interviews with the area's judgmentally selected sports tourism industry stakeholders. Nine interviews were conducted online, two at the respondent's office. Transcribed interviews were further analyzed by coding and categorizing them into themes from the theoretical framework and the research questions. The analysis aimed to find if the network has a common view on the topic or if there are apparent differences in the opinions of different stakeholder groups. The results showed that sports tourism is essential for all stakeholder organizations, and the public sector's role is crucial in creating operating conditions for sports tourism. Despite that operating conditions have been well built, the stakeholders recognize that area is facing multiple challenges, and the cooperation between actors is low, unorganized, and lacking strategy. Increased, organized, and coordinated cooperation with a defined strategy and goals were seen as ways to enhance the future of sports tourism in the area. The research presents a five-step road map to develop the Rauha-Ukonniemi sports tourism network based on the results and literature. Shared vision from both cities, a coordinative central actor with an adequate mandate and an organized RST network, were listed as cornerstones of development