TOURISM TECHNICAL REPORT
MEETING IN KAJAANI (KAINUU, FINLAND)
8th – 12th JUNE
FONDELF PROJECT
Mª Esther Pascual Cabillas
We arrived to Kajaani on Friday evening, June the 8th, where a bus was waiting for us and took us to Vartius (Kuhmo), to a lovely place called Wild brown bear. There, we met Ari Meriruoko, the tourism expert in Finland, Simo Yli-Lonttine, an expert in fishing, Jukka Nyrönen, the manager of a Development Centre, Sergei Tarhov, the person in charge of the Strict Nature Reserve Kostomukshski in Russia and Ari Sääski, the owner of the rural hotel, who welcomed us. In our group there were seven people, Sol Galdo and Rubén Lois from Galicia (Spain), Isabelle Gardon and Denis Guibert from Jura (France) and Patricia Mora, Antonio Abreu and Mª Esther Pascual from Extremadura (Spain). Isabelle Gardon and Patricia Mora belong to the International Steering Committee group and the rest of us to the Tourism group.
On Saturday morning (June the 9th) we met the last two people in our group: Per Älhgren and Mats Nilsson, the tourism experts from Sweeden, and then we started the seminar.
Ari Meriruoko (from Kajaani, Finland) was the first to speak about the tourism in Kainuu. He said that it is an under-developed area because people go to the south to study, above all to Helsinki, and then they stay there. What attracts tourism the most in Finland are: nature (the forests are valuable and interesting), good food, good services, the big cities in the south and exotic elements. These exotic elements are amusement parks, a delphinarium, spas, cultural activities, the wide variety of festivals they have: tango, opera, jazz, folk, etc. Also, in Lapland they have the Sami culture, the Arctic atmosphere and Santa Claus.
Most of the customers in Finland come from Germany (7 590 000), Sweden (3 509 000), Netherlands (1 930 000) and Great Britain (1 850 000). In the year 2000, Kainuu had 350 000 visitors. And in the late five years they have succeeded in the marketing in Russia and there have been 15 000 Russian tourists.
The total accommodation capacity in Kainuu is 7 939 beds: 22 hotels (2 330 beds), 791 cabins (3 747 beds) and others (1 862 beds); and the occupation rate is 44% for the hotels and 33% for the others. The jobs the tourism generates in Kainuu are 1 100 and the incomes are 105 million euros.
The leisure time activities and the rural tourism are some of the biggest attractions in Kainuu at the moment: skiing, hiking, fishing, hunting, water activities, farm holidays, etc. But the tourists are demanding new things: active holidays, extreme activities (climbing, night with bears, etc.), eco-tourism, local culture (the national Finnish original literature was read there), short trips and high quality (good food and accommodation).
Finally, Ari spoke about the labels of quality; he said that it is very difficult to have a high quality because it is very expensive to bring the people who must examine it and very hard to get it.
Then Sergei Tarhov (from Kostamus, Russia) spoke about the eco-tourism in Kostamus and Karelia areas. He explained that the Finnish-Russian Nature Reserve Friendship Park was established on the basis of an agreement between the Governments of Finland and the Soviet Union in 1989, even though the legal status was received in 1990. This Nature Reserve appeared to be the first international reserve both in Russia and in Finland.
Nowadays there are more than one hundred Nature Reserves in Russia, but there are only 15 zapovedniks, and the Nature Reserve Friendship Park in which he is working (which is also a zapovednik), received a national prize last year for being the best. A zapovednik is a high level reserve, a protected area and a national park (eco-tourism), where all human activities are forbidden. It is a special ecology way for tourism (they have an enormous lake, a beautiful river, wonderful pine forests, etc.) and up to this moment there are not any hotels, though one is now being built.
Sabrina, a French young girl from Limoges who is working as a wilderness guide in Wild brown bear, made a short speech to say that she was looking for a place to visit where she could practise English and learn about ecology and eco-tourism. There is much advertising and promotion from Kainuu in France and that is the reason why she decided to go there.
Ari Sääski (from Kajaani, Finland) spoke about the environmental aspects in tourism in Vartius (specifically in Wild brown bear). He started saying that everything in his hotel is recovered from other hotels in Kuhmo (windows, tables, bathrooms, etc.) and they are building a smoke sauna next to the river. They try to make food with local materials, for example mushrooms or berries, and they also recycle everything and classify the rubbish. They are advertising now: they are on internet, they have made videos and tapes, but they are not using brochures.
He also said that there are seven bears with their names in Vartius because that is an environmentally friendly place for bears. They have different signs for nature, to help the tourists find their way or understand anything. Clients can enjoy an environmentally friendly tourism and can do moose or swan watching and bird watching in cabins or hides (woodpeckers, great grey owls, etc.), but they do not want the clients to know where the nests are because they could take the eggs.
The next participant was Denis Guibert (from Jura, France), who spoke about what they are doing in Jura. They have wood cabins scattered in the forest around a hotel with the possibility to hire them separately or within the hotel. The investors are private because they want to develop an eco-tourism and enhance the image of a private tourism (not too touristic) and because they are trying to reinforce the idea of a protected area and to preserve nature. He also said that they want to work with tourism directly and not only with public organizations.
Then he summarized some of the points in his programme. There must be links between the products they are selling and the landscape; they want to create an ethical code; they want to develop some training for eco-interpreters, new ecological accommodation, local people respect for the environment and green routes for bicycles. Now they are developing a public plan of advertising and an ecological marketing.
Jukka Nyrönen (from Kajaani, Finland) just said a few words about fishing. The aims of the Luva waterway for eco-tourism are: to exchange experience with other partners, to create a new culture of fishers and water owners and to create possibilities of fishing tourism (they have borrowed the idea of eco-rapid fishing places from the Jura).
Finally Sol Galdo (from Galicia, Spain) handed a very complete report where she lists the actions carried out during the period 12/08/00 to 11/02/01, the tourism actions developed by the tourism group since the second six monthly report, their county plan of sustainable tourism and several newspaper articles, brochures and pictures of the actions mentioned in the report.
After lunch we went to Hyrynsalmi where we did some hiking to visit the fishing facilities in the river Luva. We could see that everything is very well signposted (there are explanations about the flora and the fauna you can find there and the posts are made of a good quality wood), the paths are always clean and in some places the land is covered with wood to prevent the people from sinking. We also had the opportunity for doing some fishing, but even though there were two young men showing us how to do it, none of us could fish anything. The fishing facilities are good, there is a hut where the fishermen can hide when it starts raining (which must be quite often), there is a box full of logs to start a fire in case it gets colder (apparently the fishermen bring in some more logs when they see there are few left, and so there is no need to pay a person to do that), there is a rubbish box, etc.
In our way to the fishing facilities we could see a smoke sauna (but only from the outside because it was closed), but what shocked me the most was when they showed us a hut where anyone can fill in a form, put the money in a box and get a fishing license in a minute. It is as simple and fast as that.
Then we went back to the hotel from where we were taken to small log cabins to spend the famous "night with bears". It is a very interesting activity. There are long glasses in front of the seats so that you can see everything and microphones through which you can listen to every little sound made by the animals; we saw swans swimming in the lake and saw and listened to woodpeckers, ravens, even mosquitoes and finally two small bears, Tina and Tommy, appeared in front of us. They were playing and eating for a while, but then a bigger black bear came and they went out running. At that time, as everybody surely knows, Sole and I had to leave the cabin, but I was told that the rest of the group saw the biggest bear later.
In Talarrubias, one of the villages in La Siberia, there is a Nature Centre where people can see pictures of the animals in the area and listen to tapes with the sounds of these animals, but there is an enormous difference between that and the "night with bears", because this one is real. That is the reason why I think this activity is an excellent opportunity, because it allows you to get really close to those animals and see them move, play, eat, make their noises and run away.
On Sunday morning (June the 10th), after our breakfast, we said good bye to our friends in Wild brown bear. A bus took us to Kuhmo, to a log cabin factory called Oy Timber Frame, where we met Anna Rakemaa (the forestry expert in Finland) who worked as a translator for us. The manager showed us the factory and explained the way they work; the different ways of cutting the wood because the quality of the timber depends on that (when cutting the wood in two pieces, the heart must be at the end of the cutting to get the best quality; if the heart is in the middle it can crackle); the way they prepare the timber in order to make every specific part of the cabin (the wall, the roof, the floor, etc. They make a kind of guide or draught numbering every piece of timber); the different techniques they are trying to improve the quality, strength and flexibility of the timber (the best is used for bathrooms or saunas because it tolerates the humidity and the expansion better than the rest); and the machines they use. Finally, we asked him specific questions about different kinds of cabins and prices, and went away.
We went to Katinkulta holiday club where we met the rest of the group: the people from the International Steering Committee group and from the Forestry group, and had lunch together.
After lunch we went to Matka-Vuokatti Oy Travel Booknet Ltd., the biggest and most important travel agency in Vuokatti where a nice lady welcomed us and gave us a speech about the way they are running the business (she also showed us the computer programme they are using to make reservations). They are a travel booknet and work mostly in winter time because most of the people in Finland and Russia and also in other European countries choose this place to practise ski jump (they have one of the best ski courses in the world), downhill skiing, cross country skiing, snowboarding, etc. (another reason is because they are the only ones who create artificial snow two or three weeks before it starts snowing). But they also have quite a lot of people in summer time because they offer other leisure time activities such as: hiking, fishing, horse riding and they also have a snowboard tunnel all year long (all these activities can be guided or not).
All these activities are only a supplementary service they offer, because the main business is the renting of accommodation. They offer all kinds of places: cottages, hotels, apartments, log cabins, farms, etc. But they also offer programmes in which the accommodation and the activities are included (the customers can even choose the activities and the type of accommodation they prefer. As the lady in the agency told us: "We offer tailor-made programmes".).
Then we went to Kuusela Safari Oy, a leisure time activity centre also in Vuokatti, where we were told about the activities they offer: snowmobile safaris in winter time and land-rover (four wheel cars) safaris the rest of the year, timber trekking, photographic hunting, canoeing, fishing, horse riding, hiking trips, snowshoe hiking, etc. They also offer the client the possibility of a forest service, that is to say, of serving lunch and dinner in the forest, or also a more exotic version of this: an atmospheric dinner in a Lappish hut. Besides they organize city adventures, which are really team works (climbing, horse racing, etc.). Another service they offer is the renting of all the necessary equipment to practise any of these sports or activities.
They work mostly with companies which sometimes bring in groups, because particular clients are not enough to make benefits. But the most important part of their job, as the young man working there explained to us, is introducing the local nature to all their clients most of which are Finnish, but there are many coming from Russia, and other European countries.
Later we met the whole group again (ISC and Forestry) in Katinkulta holiday club, where the manager did a very interesting presentation of the holiday centre. He told us that it is the most high-class holiday centre in Finland with a fantastic hotel, a tropical spa, some fitness and sports facilities, a wide variety of restaurants, conference rooms, a massage, hair and beauty salon, a golf course, holiday bungalows, it is surrounded by beautiful lakes and it has the ski facilities very near. But they also offer a long list of indoors and outdoors activities such as: tennis, squash, bowling alley, supervised chidren´s centre, aerobics, movies, fishing, canoeing, ice golfing, dogsled safaris and a long etc.
When the presentation was over, we were taken to a small tour to know Vuokatti a little bit better. And then to a charming place called Loma Rinteelä (a farm with tourism facilities), where we were offered a delicious dinner with their traditional cooking: rye home baked bread, mushroom soup, above all an exquisite salmon (it was hold to a special piece of wood and then roasted in front of a fire) and finally a delicious cake.
When the dinner was finished, the owner, a nice lady, showed us the log cabins and facilities. All the log cabins were big enough for four or five people and had a kitchen, a living room, a bedroom, a bathroom and a sauna. There were swings for the children and it was close to the lake, so that fishing or riding a paddleboat were some of the easiest things to practise there. But they also offered other activities: ski, snowmobile routes, horse riding, picking up mushrooms and berries, hunting, smoke sauna, etc.
Finally we went to a cottage village in the lake Syväjärvi to spend the rest of the "night" and sleep there. First the log cabins were distributed (most of the log cabins we have visited have the same distribution, size, facilities and are made with the same kind of timber) and then we went to a bigger cabin where there were a living room (with a fireplace) and a sauna. We had a sauna there and some of us even dared swim in the lake after the sauna, which is typical in Finland in summer time.
On Monday morning (June the 11th) we went to Kainuu Nature Centre where we could listen to several speeches:
Later we could visit the Tönölä Nature Centre where Eeva Heikkinen explained to us the way they work. There are two kinds of expositions: the permanent one, which is based on the local flora and fauna, and another one which is changed almost weekly. Apparently most of the people who visit the centre are students, so these changing expositions are basically adapted to them. The teachers inform them of the subjects the children are studying at school, they choose a subject and prepare the exposition. She told us that they never write anything next to the pictures or posters because they think it would distract the children. They want the children to just look and try to identify the object (plant, animal or whatever it be) (it is a new technique and it may work. Perhaps we could try). Then they always insert tricks or games or riddles so that the children can really get involved.
It was an interesting place to visit, at least for me, because in the camping site in Talarrubias (La Siberia in Extremadura) we already have a Nature Centre as I have said before. Now, in a first stage, we are making it bigger: at the moment the building is already finished and now we have to full it up and make it work. And later on there will be a new stage in which it will be even more extended. It is not run in the same way, because in Talarrubias there is not a person permanently working in the place and there are not many people going there often (most of the people who visit the Centre are those who stay at the camping site), but, anyway, I think we could get some good ideas.
Then we had a little time to relax: we were taken to the Kuhmo Arts Centre. First we watched a video based on the attractions of the area in the Pajakka Hall, and then we visited the Lentua Hall, a really amazing place for concert, theatre and congress use (but we were told that it has also been used for ballet, dance, meetings, congresses and even weddings) with a capacity for over 650 seats and wooden panelling made of pine from Kainuu. It was opened in 1993.
Later we had lunch in the forest. Ari was explaining that they do not put rubbish bins in the forest because they are trying to educate the people so that they collect their own rubbish and put it in an only rubbish bin situated on the way out. He told us that they are being successful. We could also try to do the same thing in La Siberia.
We were taken to a capercaillie lekking site to talk about recreation use and old growth forest, and we were given some practical examples of planning in the forest at the Sininen polku recreation forest area. In this last place, a local journalist interviewed Johan Mannheimer, Denis Guibert, Ari Meriruoko and me. She was writing for a newspaper called Kainuun Sanomat, and we talked about Fondelf project and about the tourism actions we are taking in our areas (in my case, La Siberia).
Then we went to Kalevala Hotel, where we were going to have a delicious dinner. But before having dinner a local group entertained us with typical songs and even an amusing dance in which they invited some people from the group to dance with them. Some presents were offered, people thanked the good organization of the meeting and it was declared officially finished. It was our last night together (at least for some of us, because the rest were going to continue the trip in Russia).
On Tuesday and Wednesday (June the 12th and the 13th) we were supposed to be on holiday, but the Finnish organization´s zeal was so big that we went on working. First we visited the Nature Reserve Friendship Park in Kostamus, in the Russian Karelian side, and Sergei Tarhov gave us a talk about the way it is run, the number of Nature Reserves in Russia, and he told us that the Reserve deals mainly with research and protection of biodiversity, environmental education and ecological tourism.
Then we visited a log cabin factory and Sergei Rjaposov, the owner, showed us the place. Later we visited a Tourist village, mainly visited by fishermen as the owner told us, and finally we had a company presentation of the Hotel Fregatt. It is a tourist complex with a hotel and some bungalows scattered in the proximities of the hotel.
I think it has been a very interesting and complete meeting. I must thank and congratulate the Finnish group for several reasons. First of all the organization has been really good; the coach has always been ready and on time, there has never been the least problem with the hotel reservations or the restaurants and when we have gone to a factory, an agency or wherever the people were always waiting for us and ready.
When I say complete I mean we have visited every kind of places and in a great amount (I do not know if somebody has asked to see something specific and it has not been possible, but I feel satisfied). We have enjoyed several leisure time activities such as "night with bears", saunas (some of them even followed by swimming in the lake), fishing, skiing in the snowboard tunnel, Finnish folklore, etc. We have visited several log cabin factories, several tourist villages, a Nature centre, a leisure time activity centre, a travel agency, a holiday club, an Arts centre. They have been so kind and hospitable that some of them have even showed us their own homes so that we can see the log cabin construction and the heating systems.
Finally, I must say these meetings are a good opportunity to exchange experiences, ideas and opinions. Of course we are always in touch through e-mail, but when you are face to face with somebody you do not just ask for specific questions, you speak of what you are doing or trying to do and ask the others about their experiences and what they think.