Mid Sweden University

The Slow Adventure in Northern Territories (SAINT)1 project was designed to improve the promotion of slow adventure activities, extend the marketing reach of SMEs that deliver slow adventure experiences, and advance the development of a trans-national slow adventure brand. SAINT was a three-year effort (2015-2018) that was co-financed by the EU Northern Periphery and Arctic Programme and included 11 different partners located in 7 countries of Northern Europe (Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Norway, Scotland, and Sweden). The project draws directly from Semple and Varley’s (2015) concept of slow adventure, which is partially rooted in Nordic concepts of sustainable outdoor recreation (e.g., friluftsliv). The core pillars of the slow adventure brand include such elements of sustainable tourism as human-powered slow journeys, inspiring connectedness with nature, wildlife watching opportunities, nature interpretation, local, wild or slow food as well as the honing of outdoor skills. These core pillars (or themes) were highly relevant to SMEs involved in the SAINT project and constituted the essence of slow adventure as a product concept.

In our contribution we introduce the SAINT project and the slow adventure concept, followed by reporting on the empirical component of the project, which included a survey among the providers, as well as implementation case studies in each of the participating countries. Results from the survey and case studies provide insight into the ways that SME ́s form clusters in order to market and deliver a full range of slow adventure experiences, and ultimately, build the slow adventure brand. We conclude by discussing the implications of these marketing and cluster activities within the Nordic tourism context. Our paper is based on the chapter contribution to an upcoming book by Cassinger, C., Lucarelli, A. & Gyimóthy, Sz. (Eds.). The Nordic Wave in Place Branding. Edward Elgar.