Responsible tourism in Finland
Our Finland Holidays
Finland Northern Lights holiday, Wilderness Auroras
Winter activities & Aurora hunting in Finland
Winter cottage holiday in Finnish Lapland
Log fires, lakeside trails & a range of winter activities
Northern Lights family holiday, tailor made
A mix of Lapland family activities and a relaxing spa hotel
Finland wildlife short break
Bear, wolverine and elk widlife short break in Finland
Northern Lights activity break in Finland, Arctic Hills
Experience the wilderness by car, snowmobile, skies, huskies
Finland hiking holiday
A hut-to-hut hiking journey along Finland's eastern border
Finland winter activity holiday & Northern Lights
Discover this Finnish winter activity wilderness week
Husky safari in Finland
Sled with huskies through spectacular Finnish scenery
Cross-country skiing holiday in Finland, Russian border
Guided hut-to-hut cross-country skiing holiday in Finland
Lapland holiday, husky safari & log cottage
Luxurious log suite,northern lights & overnight husky safari
Northern Lights short break in Nellim, Finland
Short Northern Lights break in Finland.
Finnish family winter adventure holiday
See the Northern Lights in Finland
Scandinavia small group tour
Soak up a little Scandinavian minimalism
Family winter activity holiday in Finland
A combination of activities, cottages & snowy landscapes
Wild Taiga self drive holiday in Finland, Finnish NP
Self guided driving tour in Finland's Wild Taiga wilderness
Winter holiday in Finnish Lapland, tailor made
Combine unbeatable comfort with winter adventure
Family winter adventure in Finland
Great range of activities in Lapland's winter wilderness.
Self drive family holiday in Finland
A self-drive holiday for families Finland
Cross-country skiing holiday in Finland
Fun, relaxing cross-country skiing for beginners and pros.
Lapland New Year holiday, Northern Lights
New Year celebrations, Tromsø & the Northern Lights Route
Winter tailor-made holiday in Finland
Adventure in Finnish Lapland, huskies, northern lights & more
Northern Lights holiday in Finnish Lapland, Harriniva
Hunt for the Northern Lights in Finnish Lapland
Luxury wilderness Northern Lights holiday, Finland
Nangu Northern Lights Activity Holiday
Snowshoeing holiday in Finland
A great snowshoe tour in the new Hossa National Park.
Wild Taiga wildlife holiday in Finland
Special Taiga mammals of Finland
Christmas in Finland, log cabin stay
Log cabin week in Lapland over Christmas
Northern Lights short break, Finnish Lapland
Unique aurora tour with huskys, snowshoeing and snowmobiling
Finland snowshoeing holiday
Explore this stunning setting of Oulanka National Park
Winter adventure in Finland
Experiences which stay with you
Christmas winter activity holiday, Finland
Multiactivity week in beautiful Hossa National Park
People & culture
Indigenous Sámi
The indigenous Sámi people live in Finland, as well as Norway, Russia and Sweden. Together these homelands are called Sápmi. The act establishing the Finnish Sámi Parliament or Saamelaiskäräjät was passed in 1973 and was a significant start to recognising the important cultural heritage of this region’s indigenous people. One example of this has been the protection of the Sámi languages, of which there are three in Finland: North Sámi, Skolt Sámi and Inari Sámi.The Sámi people are also keeping their culture alive and well by sharing it with tourists to Finland and as this is now a key player in generating income for their communities, so do seek them out. Although tourism in Sámi areas was originally introduced by Finns, there has been a positive movement for Sámi and Finns to work together in creating sustainable, small scale and culturally aware products over the last few years and the success of this cooperation is something that tourism providers are very proud of. For example, the Siida Visitor Centre consists of a Sámi museum, and a National Park's visitor centre, managed in cooperation.
Reindeer related activities are particularly prevalent in Sámi tourism as reindeer herding is a traditional activity for the Sámi and in fact are much more uniquely Finnish than husky led trips. Indeed, reindeer herding has been an area of conflict at times, with forests being cleared by the state for logging or roads while Sámi people claim their traditional right to use them.
Connecting with nature is close to the Sámi’s heart and so guiding has become an important source of tourism income for Sámi people. However, if you can find ways as a tourist to experience the various Sámi art forms, you will really be touching the heart of their culture. For example, look out for the Duodji label on handicrafts which represent their traditional nomadic lifestyle. Or tune in their music, yoiking being the traditional Sámi form of song, which might be accompanied by the fádnonjurgganas, a 3-5 finger flute, or the rune drum which goes back to ancient shamanic practices.


Husky dogs
Finland is the place to go for husky love. And they do love their huskies. Although funnily enough, this only really took off here in the 1960’s when some clever person saw a gap in the market and now there are thought to be up to 4,000 Siberian huskies in the country. Visitors to Finland can struggle with the idea of dogs being used for work, especially cuddly dog obsessed tourists like the British. But very quickly you realise that, although these are working dogs, they are also very happy dogs.

However, as husky sledding grows in popularity, farmers are under pressure to increase the number of dogs that they have, which reduces the space for each dog, and can make things difficult during the summer months when the dogs are not working. Tour groups are getting larger, and this also impacts on Finland's forests. Here, the silence and wilderness are the big appeal; increases in the number of sledding groups, and bigger group sizes, can threaten the very thing that makes Finnish Lapland so special.
What you can do
Always ask about animal welfare policies, either from your tour operator or from the husky farm itself. Can you see where the dogs are kept? Do they look healthy?
Ensure you travel in a small group, to minimise disturbance on the environment and also to benefit smaller scale farms. If you are visiting in summer, take a walk with a husky; you are tied to the dog who can pull you along some of the uphill stretches! This is a great way for huskies to get out an exercise when there is no snow on the ground and they can't pull sleds.
"Guests need to understand that we love our dogs very much. They are not chained up or in kennels to be cruel. If we didn’t do this, they would run away, as they love to do just that. Run. And if they did run, they would kill local wildlife, something that we do not want either. Our aim is also to protect wild animals, and keep them wild."
Wildlife & environment
Hunt or hide?
Finnish people believe they are linked to wilderness. That there is a natural, symbiotic relationship between man and land. And hunting is, for many, part of that relationship, something that is hard for tourists to get to grips with. Reindeer herding is also a huge part of Finnish life, and bears and wolves kill reindeer. Hunting is a huge generator of local income, as 65 percent of Finland's land and freshwater areas are in private ownership, and the land owner owns the hunting rights on their property. Often the landowners lease these hunting rights to hunting clubs and there are over 4,000 of these in Finland alone. Although it should be noted that the majority of hunting in Finland is not for bear, but for birds, moose and deer, hunting does still take place for fur, with badger, beaver, fox, mink, muskrat, pine marten, and racoon dog all still sought for their pelts. Hunters also act as volunteers in Finland, monitoring species on behalf of conservation bodies and providing a valuable service in this regard.Bear hunting is still allowed in Finland, although it is strictly regulated. Historically, the bear was a sacred animal for Pagan Finns, and yet it was still hunted. They believed that it has the ability to reincarnate, and celebrations would take place after a hunt (and feast) to ensure that the animal would be able to find life again in the forest. The hunters buried the bones in the forest, and pinned the skull to a pine tree just to make sure. And so, sadly, for trophy hunters, the head of a bear still represents something magical and historical.
Finns are not fans of wolves, however, as there is a deep fear of them, and also they prey on hunting dogs, thus sabotaging an important and traditional way of life for many - as for the Finns, dogs are considered to be family members. So although local people are starting to understand why visitors might want to watch bears, wolves are a different matter. So hunting is complicated here and, as responsible tourists who have no idea about the culture of hunting, we won’t achieve anything by going in with our metaphorical guns ablazing on the subject. Although it is unlikely that you have found yourself on this site if trophy hunting is your thing either, it is worth recognising that there are responsible ways of doing it, such as not using meat to attract animals which you are then going to shoot, or hunting females and her cubs. Both of which are illegal, by the way.


If you are on a wildlife-watching excursion, chat with your guide about the pros and cons of hunting in these areas to gain a greater understanding of the arguments on all sides. There is a movement afoot to try and persuade landowners to give up swathes of land that are guaranteed to be hunting free. And the more we support their wildlife watching holidays and enjoy the hides for watching rather than preying, the stronger the argument for creating such gun free zones in the future.
Read this Financial Times article, and for a grim reality check on bear hunting in Scandinavia YouTube
Responsible tourism tips
“Finnish National Parks represent wild nature in the sense that no one lives there. When tourism businesses want to operate in a National Park, they agree with the Park to adhere to our Principles of Sustainable Nature Tourism. Everybody following these guidelines helps us to provide the visitors safe and memorable nature experiences”.