1990s. The need became apparent in the autumn of 2001 to develop the tourism routes between Finland and the Republic of Karelia in a holistic manner. The goal of the Northern Route to Karelia project was to develop tourism between the Province of Oulu and the northern parts of the Republic of Karelia. The route was to begin in Oulu and travel via Kainuu, Kostomuksha, Kalevala and the Kemi regions to the Solovetski Islands and back. In particular, culture and nature tourism was to be emphasised. First, a route description was to be created for the route, along with all of the preconditions and requirements it would create for service providers. This information would be used to get an understanding of the training needs of the companies as well as plan and provide short- and long-term training accordingly. Precision training would be provided if necessary. The goals of the project also included developing the educational system and assessing training requirements, clarifying necessary expertise levels, increasing cooperation between officials and uniting the project activities of various actors where the target group themes are shared in addition to increasing and standardising interest with international travel agents.