Lounaistieto, the regional geoinformation and open data network in Southwest Finland, develops and maintains regional data services and supports municipalities, public organisations and research partners in producing high quality, interoperable datasets. Within this initiative, Lounaistieto leads data enrichment, municipal collaboration and the development of sustainable practices for recreational data management.

The ongoing Digiretki project aims to improve the quality, accessibility and interoperability of recreational data in Southwest Finland. Its core objectives include integrating the regional recreational database with two national information services, Luontoon.fi map service and the Lipas system, and strengthening municipalities’ ability to produce and maintain accurate, up to date datasets. The work also supports nature tourism companies in enhancing their digital visibility through Visit Finland’s DataHub database.

The initiative advances open data availability and interoperability by redesigning the regional Virma data model to align with national standards and by implementing a technical transfer solution that allows enriched Virma data, including site descriptions, images, accessibility information and area based features, to flow automatically into the Lipas system. This ensures nationally compatible and openly accessible datasets and strengthens the foundation for coherent outdoor recreation information across Finland. Municipal engagement, data quality assessments and hands on training further improve the region’s capacity for producing interoperable open data.

The project also connects directly to open source software development. The renewed Virma data model and associated documentation are openly published through Lounaistieto’s GitHub, enabling other regions and organisations to adopt, adapt and extend the technical solution. By following open source principles, the initiative promotes transparency, reusability and collaborative development and reinforces the broader mission to build sustainable, interoperable and openly available digital infrastructure for outdoor recreation, municipal service provision and nature tourism innovation.

In the presentation, we will introduce the project’s outcomes and provide an overview of Lounaistieto’s work.