Stricter checks coming for tour operators in Northern Finland
Finland’s state forest management agency, Metsähallitus, has announced that it will carry out a period of heightened inspections of tourism firms at popular outdoor recreational areas.
The enhanced supervision effort — aiming to clarify good practices to operators and prevent unauthorised tourism activities — will begin in March, according to a press release on Monday.
Metsähallitus noted that tourism firms that bring customers to protected areas need to have signed cooperation agreements with the forest management agency. However, some operators are not yet familiar with those rules, while others do not comply, it said.
According to the agency, tour operators that use hiking trails, rest areas or other facilities in areas that are managed by Metsähallitus, need to pay annual usage fees, based on the number of customers they have. The agency noted that the usage fees are based on law.
Focus on hiking and outdoor activity destinations
Metsähallitus said that as of the end of last year, the agency had more than 700 tourism entrepreneurs on the books. About two-thirds of those entrepreneurs take clients on paid excursions to areas managed by the agency. The remaining tour providers offer other types of services — for example restaurant and accommodation guidance — near national parks and hiking trails.
Those kinds of outdoor activities firms are growing the most in tourism centres of Northern Finland, according to the agency’s senior tourism specialist Katja Blomberg.
The agency is organising targeted monitoring visits at the country’s most popular hiking and outdoor activity destinations, in collaboration with local wilderness and game officials.
The first days of the heightened monitoring effort will take place in March in the areas of Northern Finland and Finnish Lapland, it said.
The agency wants to ensure that tour operators are following the rules and have obtained the proper permits. Firms that want to operate at such locations need to have signed the agreement and paid fees in order to bring groups to the locations. The firms will not be able to operate in those areas if they do not comply with the rules, according to Metsähallitus.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Indigenous tourism in Canada gets $35M a year in push to rebuild the industry, Eye on the Arctic
Finland: Many tourism firms in Finnish Lapland violate labour laws, say union and hospitality association, Yle News
Greenland: New Copenhagen-Kangerlussuaq flight aims to boost Greenland tourism, Eye on the Arctic
Iceland: Iceland moving ahead on better ways to manage tourism & safeguard protected areas, Eye on the Arctic
Norway: Arctic Norwegian town fears flight cuts could chill winter tourism boom, The Independent Barents Observer
Sweden: Reindeer herding affected by increased tourism in Swedish mountains, Radio Sweden
