Nord+ 2018 Intensive course: Rural development in the era of green and silver economy The Ignalina District Municipality Rural tourism and its benefits for the aging population Authors: Deimante Dragūnaitė Halla Kristjánsdóttir Patrick Joan Thomson Laurent Bollia Supervisors: Donatas Burneika Thorbjörg K. Kjartansdóttir Zaiga Krisjane Ilkka Pyy Garri Raagmaa Vilnius, 2018 Abstract The aim of our study is focus on the nowadays problematics of aging population in rural and peripheric areas. Indeed, the globalization has created new trends in term of migration local development which brought the peripheric regions to stay on the border of the global market. There is a need to understand and highlight the issues faced in the Ignalina region by both the tourism sector and the elderly population. This paper will analyse the relation between elderly population and the tourism activities. Furthermore, it will describe the role of both local governments and local businesses towards the regional development. It supposes that the elderly population should be involved in the touristic activities, as the Ignalina region has great possibilities to develop tourism for the inactive tourist such as activities that offer relaxation. Table of Contents 1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Case Study Area ................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Research questions and hypothesis .................................................................................... 3 2 Theoretical background ............................................................................................................ 4 2.1 Rural tourism ..................................................................................................................... 4 2.2 Rural tourism in Lithuania ................................................................................................. 5 2.3 Tourism for the elderly ...................................................................................................... 6 4 Data Analysis & discussion ...................................................................................................... 9 4.1 How is the changing population structure affecting everyday life in the region? ............. 9 4.2 What kind of tourism activities can be offered to the elderly and what is currently available in the Ignalina municipality? .................................................................................. 11 4.3 What are the main concerns about local tourism sector in the area? ............................... 12 5 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 14 References ................................................................................................................................. 15 1 Introduction 1.1 Case Study Area Since ancient times, the Ignalina District municipality which situates in the eastern part of Lithuania has been famous for its picturesque localities (fig. 1). One of the highest peaks in Lithuania is located here – the Būdakalnis and Nevaišiai hill. The land of Ignalina is adorned by over 200 lakes, several tens of rivers and ponds. One third of the area is covered by forests. The largest park of Aukštaitija National park, fourteen regional parks and various reserves are found in the territory of the district. Ignalina is well known as the winter sports’ capital of Lithuania since various winter sports’ competitions are organized in the municipality. In the town and its suburbs various bicycle sport competitions take place. The future of the Ignalina District municipality is associated with the tourism development. With every year, tourism and sports related activities continue to grow in the district and attractive projects are established which improve the living environment of the local people which make the land of Ignalina even more attractive for tourists (Ignalina District Municipality, 2017a). Figure 1 Location of the Ignalina municipality (author: Patrick Joan Thomson, 2018) The Ignalina region was populated during the Stone Age, with remnants from early camps discovered throughout the countryside. When Lithuania was under Russian rule in the 19th century, the Russian emperor ordered a railway line built from St. Petersburg to Warsaw via Vilnius. Ignalina became an important railway station in the 1860's, which triggered a dynamic development of the region. During World War I, Germany required that another railway line be built from Ignalina towards the front line. The greater part of the territory belonged to Poland after the war, with a small section given to Belarus. In 1939 the Vilnius region was captured by 1 Soviet troops. Following World War II, Ignalina saw a rapid growth, especially after 1950 when the town became the district centre (Ignalina District Municipality, 2017b). Ignalina and the District encompass over 200 lakes, such as Gavys, Gavaitis, Delinis, Gulbinis, Agarinis, Siekstys (with the Lithuanian Winter Sports Center beside it), Darzinele, Viksvojas, Paviksvojas, Krakinis, Ziezulinis, Ilgys, Meksrinis, Peledinis, Paplovinis, Palaukinis (nearby is an ancient Jewish cemetery). The majority of these lakes are linked with rivers. Small roads and trails connect the lakes and nearby forests. Several different environmental regions make Ignalina very interesting to people wanting to observe various fauna and flora. Aukstaitija National Park, established in 1974 as the first in Lithuania, comprises 21,100 ha. with primarily forests and 102 lakes. The Park provides activities all year round in its nature and recreational center with headquarters located just 3 km from Ignalina (Ignalina District Municipality, 2017b). The Ignalina municipality is rich with picturesque landscapes which the local government assures is actively kept in proper condition. The government is also seeking a resort status for the city which is why they have invested in different sport grounds, hiking trails around the lakes, which are mainly focused on tourists, lots of beaches and places to swim. To reduce seasonality of tourism they built winter sports complex where lots of people come to train (Ignalina District Municipality, 2017c). Age group of 20-60 makes up almost half of the population and age group 60 and older is the second largest in the region. Social assistance in Ignalina is organized by the Support Department of the Ignalina District Municipality. One of the main focuses revolves around taking good care of low-income families. Social workers and care council of the district help the social department in the area as well. There is a strong cooperation with the public organizations of the district. Friendship relations and exchange of experience is implemented in various small-scale projects (Ignalina District Municipality, 2017d). Figure 2 shows average wages in Lithuania range from 560.7 euros per month to 726.5 euros in the capital. Figure 2 Average wages in Lithuania in 2016 (euros) There are about 260 working enterprises in the Ignalina municipality. 68% of which are small enterprises, 22% of which are medium-sized and 10% of which are large enterprises. A variety of EU structural funds are used to boost the economy. Ignalina uses gas to power the town, because of its relatively inexpensive and secure methods. It’s also supported by the businesses in the region. The region has rich pure clay deposits, which can be used in various ways. There is a branch of a international company in Ignalina as well, where furniture is being 2 manufactured. JSC “Romnesa” has purchased the necessary equipment for business development in tourism field: some kayaks, canoes, diving equipment, bicycles, a movable sauna, some bathing vats. This enterprise hires the stock, related with tourism and intermediates providing the tourism services, using the mark of “Ignaturas”. The most effectively working building and construction companies are: JSC “Ignalinos statyba” and JSC “Meleksas”. A company that works in wood manufacturing field is JSC “Ignolitos mediena”, in stew fishery field – JSC “Birvetos tvenkiniai” (Ignalina District Municipality, 2017d). 1.2 Research questions and hypothesis The Ignalina region is a rural area where the natural elements such as lakes and forests occupy the biggest part of the territory. The region and rural localities knew how to benefit from those characteristics, indeed touristic activities have rapidly grown around lakes, beaches and forests. However, Ignalina is affected by a wider European problematic: the aging population. In fact, elderly people represent a big part of the population, but even more, this trend is increasing, the share of people above 65 is growing and the emigration of young people to Vilnius and abroad makes it worse. The main objective of our study is to analyse those problematics through the scope of regional development. If we take in consideration that the main features of the region are an old population, great natural resources and a growing rural tourism sector, our study is guided by the question: How can the growing ecotourism sector benefit elderly people around the Ignalina area? To narrow our research, we divided the research question into three sub-questions. The first one focuses on the relation between population and its general impacts on the region: