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Abstract
Innovations are considered crucial in boosting the growth of regions. Similarly, tourism is an important regional development tool, especially in areas with no industrial potential. Research on tourism innovation has been scarce until very recent years and the local economic impacts of innovation in tourism studies remain unexplored. This study addresses the innovative ICT application, a mobile game, and its significance as a tourist attraction in Pielinen Museum in Lieksa, a peripheral town in Eastern Finland. Pielinen Museum has a substantial effect on Lieksa municipality economy and the average visitor expenditure is substantially higher than expected based on previous studies on other local attractions. We conclude, however, the game is not known by the general public to attract visitors. From the museum's point of view, the innovation will not have extensive influence as a standalone, one time effort. It needs better integration into the museum's general public image and continuous support and updating for both contents and technique. Extensive networking with existing regional visitor attractions for increasing the publicity without excessive costs is highly advisable.
Acknowledgements
This work is a part of project 127213 funded by the Academy of Finland. An earlier version of this paper with preliminary results was presented in the 4th International Conference for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Regional Development held in Ohrid, Macedonia in May 2011. The authors thank the city of Lieksa, especially the Director of Education and Cultural Service Jarkko Määttänen, Director Liisa Eskelinen and the staff of the Pielinen Museum, for their support. The authors are grateful to Daisy Silvennoinen for language editing and to the Editors and anonymous referees for comments improving the paper.