The subject of this thesis is establishing a profitable tourism company.

The purpose was to research for the commissioners what are the most important things affecting the profitability of a tourism company. The research problems were for example to find the most ideal location to start a company and what kind of tourism interests tourists today. In the interview the commissioners limited the wanted areas to Lahti and Vääksy area, Hanko, Tammisaari, Turku and Naantali.

The method of this thesis was a case study since only this one case was researched and the goal was to answer the questions how and what kind. Tourism statistics, literature and the Internet were used as research material in addition to the commissioners open interview.

A research made by the Finnish Tourist Board and Taloustutkimus Oy regarding the number of tourists visiting destinations during the year 2007 was studied for this thesis. The final conclusions about the best location for a tourism company were made based on this research. The thesis also discusses the most important things to be considered when establishing a tourism company, for example the importance of marketing and determination of prices.

From the research made by the Finnish Tourist Board and Taloustutkimus Oy it can be concluded that the Turku area is the most suitable for establishing a tourism company. The favorite tourist destinations of Finnish people were spas and the biggest tourist groups were families with children and people travelling in groups. The company should concentrate their marketing on a specific segment, for example families, so the marketing could be targeted to make the most profit.