Developing the Curriculum Content of Coastal and Maritime Tourism: Stakeholders' Perspective of the Sector-Specific Skills and Knowledge in Finland

Investing in people is a prerequisite for sustainable growth and competitiveness in coastal and maritime tourism. Therefore, the development of coastal and maritime tourism curricula should be stimulated in higher education institutions. The aim of this article is to increase understanding of the development needs of the content of the curriculum in coastal and maritime tourism in Finland from the stakeholders' perspective. The data were collected by semistructured interviews from 25 different tourism stakeholders affected by the decisions on curricula. In addition, the most relevant and recent national, regional, and local reports and strategies were reviewed. All the data were analyzed with qualitative content analysis, which resulted in three categories describing the necessary curriculum content: 1) sustainable development of coastal and maritime tourism, 2) identification and use of coastal and marine resources, and 3) blue experience design. The results suggest that to meet the evolving needs of the stakeholders and to equip the graduates with sector-specific skills and knowledge, a themed curriculum in coastal and maritime tourism is needed.