Strategic sustainable long-term destination development

Since 2010, the destination had developed significantly, with the number of guest nights almost doubling, especially in winter. The destination had gone from 380,000 guest nights in 2008 to almost 700,000 guest nights in 2020. Guest expectations had also changed significantly in both summer and winter, with new travel needs and patterns continuously evolving.

The purpose of the project
In such an expansive phase as the destination was in, it was incredibly important that we found common ways forward to achieve the most responsible and sustainable destination development possible, both ecologically, socially, and economically. We were clearly facing a number of challenges.

Our ambition had been to gather opinions and knowledge on a broad front, so that we could work together to shape the mountain destination of the future. In the project, we had developed a knowledge base that could be useful to all interested stakeholders, including ourselves, so that we could prioritize initiatives that would have a long-term sustainable effect, enabling us all to enjoy our natural environment for many generations to come.

The goal of the process was also to meet the expectations of the financier, Region JH, regarding documentation for RUS and S3, and to lead to an established and revised strategy for the entire destination.

Destination Vemdalen, and the company YouTurn were behind the report. Students at Karlstad University also helped out by compiling some of the material and conducting interviews with guests at the destination. KLYO read all the material and produced a summary analysis.

Data collection
was carried out through workshops, in-depth interviews, and surveys. Our goal was to have as broad participation as possible, so we invited locals, entrepreneurs, associations, Sami people, landowners, cottage owners, and guests to participate in the work. The company Nordanalys conducted a market survey among the guests we did not have at the time. In total, over 1,500 people participated in the process.

On September 29, anyone interested was invited to a final presentation of the project at Klövsjöfjäll Hotell och Konferens. Three different times were offered, as well as the option to participate via video link. Over 90 people took part. There was also a workshop where participants were able to help lay the foundations for the future vision. See the entire workshop here:

The project was launched in the fall of 2019 and the final report was submitted in November 2020.

You can read the final report and appendices here:

Final report SHLD Vemdalen October 2020
Appendix 3 In-depth interviews with guests Karlstad University
Appendix 4 Market survey
Appendix 5 Guest survey
Appendix 6 Landowner survey

The total budget was SEK 600,000. Härjedalen Municipality contributed SEK 100,000 in co-financing, Berg Municipality contributed SEK 50,000, and Region Jämtland Härjedalen contributed SEK 300,000.

Do you have questions about the project? Email info@vemdalen.se