Northern Lights tour, Sweden, Finland & Norway

Environment

During this vacation our guests will visit two very different environments in Norway and Finland. Starting in Kirkenes, guests will enjoy the wild landscapes that surround this frontier town. The town has been built primarily on fishing and one of the main hauls in the modern day are the king crab. In this region these animals are of great economic value but they are responsibly fished in order to manage the stocks. Strict quotas are in place and treaties are enforced by the marine police. These guidelines not only manage king crab catches but they are also designed to try and ensure that there is a balance of marine life in the region.

The hotel we use in Kirkenes is operated by Thon hotels who have a well developed environmental policy which they continually develop. Their hotels in Norway are all certified using the eco-Lighthouse system and they employ a companywide energy saving campaign in conjunction with third party specialists.

At Nellim the area is truly remote and wild and the hotel owners guides here appreciate the need to maintain such pristine environments. When on safari all guides ensure that there is no trace of their visit left behind and that if they are utilising fires, they use designated sites with sustainably sourced wood. The trails for dog sledding, snowmobiling and skiing are all well managed and maintained and utilised throughout the safaris. Guides will stick to these trails in order to limit the impact on the surrounding environment and prevent any unnecessary erosion to the ground. In general however the perma frost protects the surface from any long term effects of these activities.

Throughout the vacation group sizes are limited in order to lower the impact and guides will do what they can to impart their knowledge of the local environment.

Community

Both regions visited during this vacation are well supported by the tourism industry. This has been an area of growth which has replaced more traditional industries and created jobs to enable young people to stay in tehse more rural and northern regions.

All of the businesses we work with employ local people in order and try and are owned by local people, this means that there is little leakage of the economic benefit from any tourism expenditure. They use local suppliers for produce and services where possible and help to spread the tourism multiplier effect more widely.

The regions visited are renowned for being remaining hubs of Sami culture and a cultural insight we feel is an important element of vacations to these destinations. We feel that an understanding of the local traditions is an essential element of any visit.

At Nellim, the hotel has been constructed on the site of the old village school and has revitalised and preserved some of the delightful buildings which would otherwise have fallen into disrepair.