The Digi+Carbonless 2.0 project brought together local shop owners in Hanko for three workshops held in April–May 2026 to develop the local tourist experience, tourism ecosystem, and new sustainable experiments.
The workshops gathered over 30 participants, providing a strong voice for Hanko’s local retailers. Representatives from Visit Hanko and the City of Hanko also participated, enabling new forms of communication and dialogue.
The starting point for the workshops was the recognition that physical retail stores and their entrepreneurs are a significant part of Hanko’s tourism experience and attractiveness. From a visitor’s perspective, an appealing city is not formed only by accommodation, restaurants, and attractions, but also by local shopping opportunities, unique encounters, and services throughout the city. However, local shop owners have not previously fully recognized their role within the tourism ecosystem. Collaboration between retailers and their connections with tourism operators are also still developing. The atmosphere in the workshops was enthusiastic: participants saw great potential in jointly developing Hanko’s shopping and visitor experience to be more engaging and sustainable.
Bringing local shop owners into Hanko’s tourism ecosystem
The workshops are part of the Digi+Carbonless 2.0 project’s goal to strengthen regional ecosystem work and to develop ideas and experiments that promote circular economy and sustainable customer experiences. The aim of the collaboration is to bring together different actors, identify new cooperation opportunities, and build operating models that support the region’s vitality in the long term. The workshops were facilitated by Päivi Penttilä, an expert in the Digi+Carbonless 2.0 project.
The first workshop examined the significance of Hanko’s brick-and-mortar shops, particularly from the customer’s perspective. Participants mapped the customer journey in Hanko and discussed what kinds of encounters, services, and experiences create a good shopping and tourism experience. Discussions highlighted topics such as opening hours, competition faced by local shops from e-commerce and large retail chains, and how small local businesses are considered in city development. Participants also ideated interesting routes and ways to make shopping areas across Hanko more visible to both tourists and local customers.
Peer learning from Porvoo and shared experiments for summer 2026
The second workshop featured guest speaker Päivi Dietrich, who serves as Chair of both the Old Porvoo Merchants Association and Porvoo City Center Association. Her dual role brought a valuable perspective on how cooperation among retailers and broader city center development can be built in parallel.
The visit brought together actors from different tourism regions in Uusimaa and provided an excellent opportunity for peer learning and networking. Experiences from Porvoo sparked active discussion, as many of the challenges faced by local shop owners are similar regardless of location.
The discussions reinforced the view that collaboration is a key means of increasing regional attractiveness and creating a positive shopping experience for customers. While a single store can provide excellent service, an appealing shopping area and vibrant city are created through cooperation among actors.
Collaboration among local shop owners was seen as offering opportunities to build a shared sustainable customer experience similar to that of shopping centers—through common practices, events, annual planning, marketing, and recommendations. In Hanko, this is grounded in local character, unique shops, and linking together shopping areas across the city in a way that is attractive to customers.
From customer experience to concrete experiments
The workshop also explored concrete, innovative experiments to enhance sustainable customer experience, extend visitor stays, and bring Hanko’s local shop owners closer together. A key development focus identified was improving the customer experience. A customer survey is planned for summer 2026 to gather insights into customer experiences and needs, and to better understand how Hanko’s retail offering can be made more attractive and easier to discover.
Additionally, there is a goal to support the integration of retail offerings into Hanko’s tourism offering through a digital map, physical signage, and a postcard-style map. This pilot will connect shopping areas across Hanko, encourage customers to explore the city more broadly, increase the duration of visits, and provide a concrete tool for recommending interesting shops.
The workshop also discussed shared events related to sustainability and circular economy. One idea that emerged was the “Discovery Sunday” concept in July, which would bring retailers together around an event focused on sustainable consumption, circular economy, and the joy of discovery. The concept includes a flea market organized by consumers, alongside participation from local retailers with their own stalls, products, or event content. This circular economy-focused event series aims to enliven the area, strengthen the shared visibility of local retailers, and promote sustainable consumption.
From Enthusiasm to a New Collaboration Model
In the third workshop, plans for the summer 2026 experiments were further developed in concrete terms. Participants were enthusiastic and committed to joint development. Discussions also began on what kind of collaboration model could support cooperation among Hanko’s retailers and their connection to tourism actors in the future.
During the workshop process, it became clear that there is significant untapped potential in cooperation among local shop owners. When businesses across Hanko, tourism operators, and city representatives stay connected, information flows more effectively and opportunities for joint development can be identified more quickly.
Feedback collected from the workshops emphasized open discussion, shared exchange of ideas, and practical, hands-on work. Participants appreciated the opportunity to share perspectives, identify common development needs, and co-create new ideas. The quality of the participant group and the professional, inspiring facilitation of the workshops were also highlighted positively.
The Digi+Carbonless 2.0 project will continue supporting ecosystem work and experiments in workshops held in autumn 2026. The goal remains to strengthen collaboration among local shop owners as part of the tourism ecosystem.
The English translation of this article was prepared with the assistance of AI tool (Copilot).