Winter activity holiday in Finnish Lapland

Community
The common objective of North East Finland, including the area around Syote, is to develop from nationally well-known tourist resorts into an internationally attractive outdoor tourist region.

Tourism is the most vital industry in the area and gives work to about 1000 people generating an annual total tourist income of over 104 million. Tourism has a positive impact both socially and economically on people living in these remote areas. Local authorities, tourism organizations and tourism providers all work together in various fields, continuously developing programmes which will ensure that tourism in the region is managed sensibly and impacts positively on local communities and the environment. The philosophy in the region is to ensure that tourism providers use, to the greatest extent possible, local providers, be it for hotels, activities or employment and visitors are positively encouraged to try locally produced food and drink.

Iso Syote is officially a small ski resort, we are however glad to be able to offer an alternative source of income to the local suppliers through our multi activity programmes. As ski companies flounder in difficult economic conditions this becomes more important to the local economy.

Environment
The cabins which we utilize in the area are all built from sustainable timber sources and the food served in the restaurant is sourced locally wherever possible.

We also include a visit to Syote Nature Centre which means that guests get to learn about the local environment, the flora and fauna as well as what is being done to preserve and protect it.

We also include a visit to a reindeer herder so that guests can experience first hand the Sámi culture and way of life which is so important to this area. We always encourage guests to learn some of the local language and to interact with the local people when they can. We hope that this will encourage better cultural understanding and provide a deeper insight into the destination for our clients.

Where activities such as snowmobiling may have a minor impact on the environment, such pastimes are carefully managed and are part of every day life in these parts. Trails are clearly defined and managed with tourists only allowed to drive snowmobiles under the close supervision of fully qualified instructors.