“The Light in the Dark” project is creating exciting season-extending experiences

Project No. C034

Light in the Dark is an Interreg Baltic Sea Region project aimed at developing innovative experiences to extend and create new seasons beyond the traditional summer season. The Challenge Inventory survey is conducted in all participating countries: Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. It is aimed at SME’s in the Northern Baltic Sea region and explores the interest of small and medium-sized businesses in expanding their operations beyond the traditional summer season as well as the challenges they face regarding seasonal variations in tourist flows. The University of Applied Sciences Åland, Finland, is responsible for the survey, and data collection through this questionnaire will take place in March 2024. The survey also seeks ideas and solutions to extend the season. In addition to the survey, interviews with entrepreneurs are also being conducted.

Link to the survey here:

Survey for entrepreneurs

The project also conducts comprehensive market research not only in the participating countries but also in Poland, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. The interest of potential visitors in the Northern Baltic Sea region, their willingness to travel beyond the summer season, and their preferences for various nature activities are mapped out.

By using the new knowledge from these tailored surveys, the project can identify customer needs and the resources and perceived challenges of local entrepreneurs. This enables the development of in-demand experiential packages. The project also includes joint international workshops for entrepreneurs in the fall of 2024, where they collaboratively create new and exciting experiences for new seasons. These experiential packages will then be tested by real customer groups and marketed to various customer segments and target markets.

More information about the Light in the Dark project and the survey can be found on the project website – https://interreg-baltic.eu/project-posts/visitor-analysis-in-key-markets-goes-live/

Project manager:
Anna Elizabete Upsava
+371 26369876
anna.upsava@kurzemesregions.lv