This thesis delivers an extensive study of the connection between heavy metal music, festivals, and music travelers with regard to the tourism opportunities it creates. This subject is of keen interest to the author as there seemed to be a substantial amount of people being notably impacted by heavy metal and festival culture. So, the intention behind conducting this study is to get a better understanding of music tourism, festival culture, heavy metal audience, how frequently they travel to festivals, how meaningful festivals are to them, how far they travel for the festival, and most importantly, how they perceive Finland as a focal point for heavy metal music and festival tourism.

The research was carried out through on-site interviews and online questionnaires with heavy metal fans from all around the world. An in-depth interview with Helsinki Death Fest organizer, Mr. Ilkka Johannes Laaksonen, was also conducted for a better understanding of the music festival scene in Finland. The main intention of the survey is to examine the contribution that heavy metal music and festivals make to tourism in Finland. The research also intends to evaluate the decision making and buying behaviors of worldwide heavy metal audiences about Finnish metal festivals.