Utilisation of the EDEN initiative for promoting local excellence

Utilisation of the EDEN initiative
for promoting local excellence
3 rd EDEN NETWORK MEETING
EAST OF EDEN Conference on Cooperation and Networking
Kuhmo 10.6.2010
Senior Specialist – Tourism

EDEN in promotion of local excellence
• Visit Finland: The Insider’s Guide:
Annu 32 ”My English friend was visiting here. The radio was on and
he asked what the topic was that was being discussed. When I told
him they are giving listeners instructions on how to behave, if you
bump into a bear when you are picking berries in the forest.
He thought I was kidding.”
In Finland you really can bump into a bear, when wandering in the
forest, even if they are pretty cautious with people.
In Finland you can pick berries or mushrooms in the forest. It is so
called everyman’s right.

EDEN in promotion of local excellence
Finland is a country full of pure and breathtaking natural surroundings,
interesting people, places and contrasts. We have about 182 000 lakes in
Finland and about 76 000 islands. Finland has about 314 000 kilometers
of coastline (about 8 times around the globe). We have a lot of forests too.
Finland is a country especially for people who are searching for something
completely different.
We are extracting almost everything from the weirdness of Finnish people
and the way, we used to live and the way, we are living now.
We live close to the nature. So e.g. the right of picking berries and
mushrooms is ensured by law. We have a law, called ”Everyman’s right”,
which gives everyone the right to wander, to pick berries or mushrooms in
the forests and the owner of the forest cannot stop you, if you stay far
enough from the houses.

EDEN in promotion of local excellence
We have habits of our own and we are proud of them.
EDEN initiative came to us in a very right moment. We had to find
something to differentiate our supply from other supplies.
That is when, we discovered our uniqueness. The first winner of the
EDEN competition in Finland was Wild Taiga.
We have just gone through the second round of the EDEN with
aquatic tourism destination and the winner is Saimaa Holiday.
Saimaa is a big lake in Finland. There tourism entrepreneurs have
gathered their resources together and offer excellent tourism supply
for tourists.

EDEN in promotion of local excellence
In Saimaa lake, there lives also one of the most dangered spece,
called Saima ringed seal.
Seal is unique in the whole of Europe. It is a relic, which stuck in lake
basin of Saimaa during the Ice Age.
So, we are using our animal species bears and seals in doing
tourism.
WHY?
Because, they represent the nature in Finland, with which Finnish
people have used to live!

EDEN in promotion of local excellence
In tourism promotion we use the reality, in which Finns are living,
because we belive, that tourists are interested in real things, which
are true.
That is valid also for tourism product development – we are
developing tourism products, which lean on people’s every day life.
In our opinion, that is culture!
The every day life of ordinary Finnish people around the whole
country is the most important thing in product development.