Geopark Indalsälven, together with the Geological Survey of Sweden (SGU), Jämtland Härjedalen Turism and Tröndelag Reiseliv AS, has now received funding for a three-year project to strengthen geotourism in our respective areas.
Swedish and Norwegian nature is full of places that could attract visitors just because of the geology that's already there. The problem for the tourism industry is that there's not enough easy-to-find info about places with interesting geology.
‘The project will highlight geological sites in the region and, through these, increase knowledge of geology within the tourism industry and promote geological experiences for the whole family,’ says Linda Wickström, state geologist and project manager at SGU.
The project is called Geotourism in Mitten and includes documentation of geologically interesting sites, as well as packaging and marketing of the sites as tourist destinations. Great importance is also placed on increasing knowledge about the Sami perspective at the geological visitor destinations.
The project will run from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2027. The budget for the entire project over the three years is €1,056,630, or just over SEK 10 million. Swedish funding comes from the EU programme Interreg Sweden-Norway and Region Jämtland Härjedalen.
‘We are delighted to have received funding for the project, which will create new opportunities for Geopark Indalsälven,’ says Carina Landin, operations manager at Geopark Indalsälven.
A central part of the project will be the cross-border map viewer Geologically Interesting Places, which was developed jointly by SGU and NGU in a previous Interreg project. During the project, it will be updated with new geologically interesting places in Jämtland Härjedalen.
At least ten geologically interesting sites will be transformed into packaged geotourism experiences in Jämtland Härjedalen and Tröndelag.
Projektpartners
Sveriges geologiska undersökning
Reiseliv AS
Text: Bearbetning av text från SGU – Sveriges geologiska undersökning
Photo: Roger Strandberg