Resorts, second home owners and distance: a case study in northern Finland

Abstract

One of the most important factors for the site selection of a second home is the space-time dimension. For example, the popularity of second home tourism in the hinterland of population centres is based on the short distance between second homes and the permanent residence of second home owners. In the case of peripheral resorts, however, the main reason for a large number of second homes is the attractiveness of the area associated with a high level of touristic elements. The study examines the municipalities of residence of the second home owners in four large resorts – Levi, Ruka, Saariselkä and Ylläs – in northern Finland. After analysing the geographical distribution of the owners with maps and diagrams the aim of the paper is to present a distance model for the resorts located in a northern periphery from the viewpoint of the regions of destination. Generally speaking, the model resembles a U-letter. In this respect, the resorts have three zones – day trip, weekend and vacation – and each of them has their own characteristics based on accessibility and regional structure, the number and structure of population (potential owners) and land ownership. In the planning context, the proposed model can be utilised as a tool for the marketing of resorts as a second home environment as well as for analysing and comparing the overall attractiveness of resorts.

Keywords

• northern Finland
• second home tourism
• distance analysis
• resorts
• second home owners
• distance zones