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The town of Kiruna is well known in many circles. If you speak to a geography teacher about the city they will probably say they use it as a case study because of the Iron mine located there. If you ask anyone involved in tourism they will likely say the ICEHOTEL.
Kiruna’s economy until around 20 years ago was solely dependent on the Iron Ore mine which dominated employment. With the decline of the mine tourism leapt to the foreground as a way of helping the local people and the economy as well as allowing responsible showcasing of the environment. With this hotels appeared and the magnificent ICEHOTEL was created.
Camp Ripan has the best of both worlds and is situated on the outskirts of Kiruna on the cusp of the wild landscape. Camp Ripan has managed to combine a huge respect for nature with some delightful accommodation as well as providing a great deal of employment for local people. The hotel staff, the activity guides, the management team are primarily all local people. The restaurant features local produce and the chef has a passion for showcasing it.
Camp Ripan has also been awarded the Natures’ Best award by the Ecotourism Society of Sweden. They have been required to demonstrate their strict environmental and social policies and to carry out full environmental audits of their operations.
Camp Ripan adheres to the following basic principals:
1. Respect the limitations of the destination – minimise the negative impacts on local nature and culture.
2. Support the local economy.
3. Make all the operators activities environmentally sustainable.
4. Contribute actively to nature and cultural conservation.
5. Promote knowledge and respect and the joy of discovery.
6. Quality and safety all the way.
It is also important to us that our guests get to learn about the traditions and culture of the region and Camp Ripan share this need. Guests are encouraged to learn some basic phrases in Swedish and many excursions involve meeting with local reindeer herders or tasting local foods.
The founder of this company started as a family summer operator over 10 years ago. When he started adding a few Lapland holidays he was amazed at how popular they were and, avoiding the ski resorts, he set up more snow holidays in privately-owned accommodations in the wilderness. Today, these places are filled every winter with people living the dream - going on husky safaris across frozen lakes and cooking on log fires beneath the glorious Northern Lights. Many visitors book these holidays as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity but find themselves returning again and again, unable to resist the magnificent snowscapes.
Listen to the podcast below:
We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same holiday can have different views!
