The Future Prospects of Prehistorical Tourist Attractions in Finland

: Maija Mäki

: 2013

: http://www.ethnosry.org/symposium2013/abstracts-2/(external)

In this symposium I set to examine the methodology and main objectives of my postgraduate study. The purpose of the research is to produce scenarios of Finnish prehistorical tourism using the methodology of futures studies. The study is inherently cross-disciplinary: the methods are based in futures studies but the perspectives are from museological tradition, archaeology and tourism research. I believe that futures studies connected to the ethnological research tradition can create completely new, exciting viewpoints to the field of prehistorical tourism research in Finland.

The prehistorical tourism is still a new field in Finland especially as a business area. Actors in that field are mainly small organizations and enthusiasts, which to my research means that the future of the field is fuzzy and difficult to perceive. The following cases are discussed: 1) UNESCO World Heritage Site in Lappi Sammallahdenmäki, 2) RIRA stone age center in Suomusjärvi, which was open only for a short period of time, and 3) the shortly cancelled public excavations in Laitila that suffered from financial problems of National Board of Antiquities.

Futures studies provide a toolkit that helps me grasp the essence and future of prehistorical tourism. My research is characteristically proactive and future oriented. The study both produces knowledge of how prehistorical relics become tourism attractions and finds practical business strategies for the organisations working in this field in the future. In the Symposium I plan to present my premises, methods, and research questions in detail.