A lecture is a great start to a rural development or destination development project, or when you want to show the benefits of working together! Fjärdhundraland has built a destination from zero to 150 members in ten years, starting with a Leader project. Now you can book one of Mats Thorburn's popular lectures on topics such as how it was done - with practical experiences and lessons learned from successful work.
Fjärdhundraland was awarded Sweden's biggest award in the hospitality industry in 2019. Swedish Tourism Award and has experienced strong growth in recent years, both in terms of the number of members and visitors. The association was started on the basis of a Leader project, and is a good example of how projects can live on and create development and growth. We are happy to share our lessons learned!
The lectures have consistently received good ratings from participants, and are based on Fjärdhundraland's experience combined with adaptation to your wishes and conditions. The lecture can be held in Swedish or English.
Sound interesting? Contact Mats, tel 0701-73 93 99, for a proposal on how to set up and cost. You can also come to us in Fjärdhundraland and combine lectures and study visits.
Examples of topics
For destinations, tourism managers, authorities and project owners
- Rural development in cooperation
- Driving collaboration and cooperation
- Starting and driving development
- Building sustainable projects
- Developing destinations and places together
- Developing a place brand
- Rural development in a connected world
- Sustainability in collaboration
- The successful Leader project
- Corona successes and setbacks
For visiting companies
- Marketing for micro-enterprises
- Marketing together
- Branding
- E-commerce for micro-enterprises
- Better profitability through cooperation
- Sustainability in practice
- Working to get more competitors
All lectures can be held physically or digitally, and can be complemented by a workshop. The content is adapted to the wishes and needs of the client and participants. There are also good opportunities to link the lectures to the government's tourism strategy or local policy documents.
The lectures are held by Mats Thorburn, who was chairman of Fjärdhundraland 2014-2021 and has been involved from the start. Today he is vice president of the association in addition to his work as an e-retailer and consultant in digital marketing.
The lectures are engaging and entertaining, with many practical examples. The visuals are also designed to inspire - no lengthy text, but many photographs and keywords that summarize and highlight the important points.
Giving lectures and meeting dedicated people in different parts of the country is great fun! I share my experiences, but often learn just as much from those I meet. Together we create engagement, which hopefully lasts longer than just short-term inspiration.
Mats Thorburn
What do clients think?
We got a tip about Mats Thorburn as a lecturer and that tip really hit the mark. It was the perfect starting point of inspiration, reality and a bit of spirit for us to take part in the middle of our LEADER project "to develop the hospitality industry".
It was extremely rewarding to hear Fjärdhundraland's development journey for those of us working in the rural tourism industry. How they had done to get started and what they continue to do to make it work, grow and become bigger. Despite their successes, the talk felt unpretentious, genuine and down to earth. The enthusiasm generated in the lecture hall was palpable and I think it was actually the time the train was leaving that forced us to stop talking to each other. It felt genuine and we really want to thank Mats for the impression he made, together you can come a long way and it is above all so much more fun when you are more.
Sandra Oskarsson, Business Coordinator Lekeberg Municipality, Project Manager LEADER project: Developing the tourism industry in Lekeberg municipality
Mats has been an appreciated lecturer at LRF Mälardalen's (Lantbrukarnas riksförbund) business training courses for food producers. The theme has been how to start and develop sustainable collaboration and cooperation and there has also been a lot about branding. Mats is a very inspiring and committed lecturer and has been highly rated by the participants. With his great experience in the field, he has given many good practical examples, which was greatly appreciated.
Helena Isaksson, Regional Manager Business Development and School Contact, LRF Mälardalen.
Mats has had a digital seminar on our program "Sustainable Entrepreneurship" where we have small businesses as participants. The theme was how a small-scale entrepreneur with a strong interest in sustainability can develop socially and economically. How to build collaborations and networks on differences and how to highlight that you are odd in a positive way in branding. The talk was popular with the participants both because of recognition with many of the small businesses in Fjärdhundraland but also the way Mats tells and presents his experiences of building Fjärdhundraland.
Jenny Kangas, Project Manager Sustainable Entrepreneurship, Upplandsbygd Locally Led Development.
Does it sound interesting? Contact Mats, tel 0701-73 93 99, .
