Visit Kristinestad is a sustainable travel destination.
Visit Kristinestad joined Visit Finland’s program for sustainable tourism in February 2021. In September 2022, we received Visit Finland’s Sustainable Travel Finland (STF) certification.
As a result, we became only the second STF-certified destination in Finland. We are continuously working hard to encourage as many tourism businesses as possible to join the program to obtain the STF designation. Through Visit Finland’s seven-step program, tourism operators can enhance their operations to be high-quality, sustainable, safe, fair, human rights protecting, equality promoting, and nature and local cultural heritage conserving.
At Visit Kristinestad, we already incorporate these practices, but through this program, our efforts are symbolized by an official and international designation.
We are proud to announce that five tourism businesses in our area have already received Visit Finland’s STF designation. We highlight these businesses to tourists in our area as responsible options. They are Hotel Krepelin, Eleonora Bed & Breakfast, Kilen, Restaurant Jungman, and Café Tinka.
Visit Kristinestad & Sustainable Tourism
At Visit Kristinestad, we do everything in our power to make our destination even more sustainable. Our primary task is external communication, ensuring that our partners, residents, and customers in our region are aware of the importance we place on sustainability. We regularly organize courses and training programs with sustainability themes.
The Sustainable Ostrobothnia project has been ongoing for over two years, during which sustainable tourism has become part of our daily life. Every day, travelers demand sustainable products in private, meeting, and event tourism. Since fall 2022, we have asked our partners to share their own sustainability goals and environmental certifications with us. This will provide us with information to guide our customers towards responsible actors.
Our operations are guided by three main principles:
- We consider sustainability in our own procurement and support tourism companies in our region that strive for sustainability in their operations.
- We communicate our own and our partners’ sustainability efforts and results.
- We influence the promotion of sustainability through our own network at the local, national, and international levels.