Tourism resort users' participation in planning: Testing the public participation geographic information system method in Levi, Finnish Lapland

It is a challenging task to get tourists involved in tourism planning. In addition, it is often believed that local authorities and tourism companies have an adequate understanding of what tourists prefer or need and how local people's interests can be integrated in tourism planning. Regardless, the tourism business is simply dependent on tourists - whether they want to come to a resort again or not. This article examines how the method of internet-based public participatory geographic information system (PPGIS) serves in gathering tourists' and locals' views about their favourite places at the Levi tourism resort in northern Finland. By using the PPGIS method it was not only possible to find clusters of favourite places, but also several single places of interest. The study revealed technical challenges in using PPGIS software. The quality and usability of the information and the method are discussed in relation to tourism planning.