Analysing the Impact of a National Tourism Organization on Tourism Industry

This study explores the role of National Tourism Organizations (NTOs), specifically focusing on Visit Finland, and their impact on the tourism industry in Finland. By utilizing hyperlink network analysis, the research investigates the influence of management activities over marketing efforts, a commonly underexplored area in tourism research. The study simulates the removal of Visit Finland from Finland’s tourism destination network, analysing the resulting changes in collaboration, knowledge transfer, and innovation capacity within the network. The results reveal that Visit Finland is not only a key marketing organization but also a crucial facilitator of regional cooperation, significantly enhancing the connectivity and efficiency of the Finnish tourism ecosystem. The research highlights the critical leadership role NTOs play in tourism networks, supporting destination management and stakeholder collaboration across regions. The findings suggest that without Visit Finland, the Finnish tourism network would experience significant reductions in information flow, innovation capabilities, and overall network efficiency. This study contributes methodologically by employing network simulation techniques and underscores the importance of continued support and financing for NTOs in fostering a resilient and competitive tourism industry. This study is limited by focusing on Finland as the case study destination and by the network analysis methodology as it only analyses website links and thus provides only one perspective into collaboration happening in the real world.