Responsible tourism in Finland

You can't really fault Finland. The culture is so steeped in connecting with nature it makes so many of the rest us feel as if our efforts in that direction are mere child’s play. Foraging and fishing, wolves and wilderness, bears and berries, they are just a way of life here. If there is one thing that they might be picked up on, however, it is that they are not proud enough of who they are and what they do in their everyday lives. Because for them it is just normal. Kayaking to islands in summer. Ice fishing in winter. Cross country skiing at night to catch the Northern Lights. Being respectful of wild animals. The Sauna. Skinny dipping. It’s all normal. For some tourists, however, it has become a place to feed their current trend for all things wild. Wild food, wild swimming, wild camping, wild yoga. Finland isn’t a fad though. Yes, they may have Santa, but Finland is not just for Christmas. It’s for life.

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.

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.