www.laurea.fi Foresight for Borders model predicts the seasonal amount of borders traffic in Finland Laura Tarkkanen Laurea University of Applied Sciences 9th of June, 2016
2 Structure Introduction Traffic and tourism from Russia to Finland The study The key factors Foresight for Borders model Conclusions
3 Introduction Finland is the external border of Schengen area The 1 340 kilometers of border with Russia the longest stretch between the Schengen Area and Russia St. Petersburg, a city of 5 million inhabitants lies only 200 km from the Finnish border
4 Introduction The citizens of Russia Federation need to have a visa when entering the Schengen area The movement of people across borders in the European Union is controlled by regulation: The border checks ensure that the people and their mean of transportation and the object in their possession may enter the territory of the Member State or out of there. The border check at is carried out to the person who is arriving or leaving at the external border of the Schengen area (Schengen Borders Code 2006/562).
5 Traffic and tourism from Russia to Finland Increasing volumes of border traffic in the Eastern border through the 2000s Increasing number of the Russian citizens travelling to the European Union The numbers can be measured by: the number of border checks carried out at the border crossing points The number of Schengen visas issued to the Russians In 2000, 5.5 million border crossings, 313 000 visas issued by the Finnish consulates In 2013, 13 million border crossings, 1.5 million visas issued by the Finnish consulates, 78 % were Russians
7 Traffic and tourism from Russia to Finland The Russians are identified to be tourists or same-day visitors In 2014: 3 812 200 Russian tourists 44 % of all foreign travellers 63 % were same-day visitors Over 80 % of Russian tourists live in St. Petersburg or its nearby areas Winter is a popular Russian tourist season Nearly a quarter in January Top 3 months, the proportion of total overnight stays in the year: January 23 % August 12 % July 11 % (Visit Finland, 2014)
(picture: Yle) Laura Tarkkanen www.laurea.fi 8
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11 The study theme interview Theme interview To find out travellers experiences of the Finnish-Russian border and tourism in Finland 149 interviews during ten days Individual, pair and group interviews Interviews were made in Russian language Interviews were conducted in Finland and Russia
12 The study - analysis The research data were analysed and classified by affinity diagram An Affinity Diagram is a tool to generate groupings of data based on their natural relationship through brainstorming or by analyzing verbal data gathered through survey, interviews or feedback results (Foster, 2010) Affinity diagram enables to create an inductive analysis of individual observations and considerations to be formed to the general categories and themes
13 The study - analysis
14 The key factors The factors which influence on travelling in Finnish- Russian border: tourists travel motives the limitations of the travelling travel documents the capacity of border crossing points travellers choices and future impact
15 Findings - Foresight for Borders model delivers a clear visual presentation the research was conducted to foresee the indicators affecting the Finnish-Russian border and tourism visualization on a map of Finland and the border crossing points
16 Foresight for Borders model the traffic-light related arrows reflect to the number of border crossings Reduction, balanced or growth additional value to crossborder traffic by giving a foresight to the indicators the numbers of people crossing the border can be seen against the capacity of the border crossing point research development
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19 The Foresight for Borders model The benefits of the model: The user-friendliness Adaptability To be updated automatically based on the certain calendar dates traffic-peaks The flexibility allows the determination to the each border station, another countries etc.
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21 Conclusions No significant differences in between the interviews conducted in Finland or Russia The operations of the border stations were perceived organized and the border guards actions as professional The majority of the negative experiences were related to lack of available information the unfamiliarity of the authorities regulatory functions The Foresight for Borders model can be utilized in a field of tourism to offer better and faster service to the tourists in the Eastern border in order to smoother the travelling No queues!
22 Conclusions to be continued research development practise? Thank you!