Sustainable tourism
Visit Kristinestad is a sustainable travel destination.
Visit Kristinestad joined Visit Finland's Sustainable Travel Finland programme in February 2021 and received STF certification in September 2022. At the time, we were only the second STF-certified travel destination in Finland.
The STF programme helps tourism businesses and destinations develop their operations to become high-quality, sustainable, safe and fair, while taking human rights, equality, nature and local cultural heritage into account. The programme also provides sustainability efforts with an official and internationally recognised label.
Five tourism businesses in our region have already received the STF label: Krepelin, Eleonora Bed & Breakfast, Kiili and Lebell's Merchant House. Visit Kristinestad highlights these businesses to visitors as responsible choices and encourages other local tourism operators to join the programme as well.
Visit Kristinestad and sustainable tourism
- At Visit Kristinestad, we do everything we can to build a more sustainable foundation for our destination. One of our most important tasks is external communication, ensuring that our partners, local residents and visitors know that sustainability is a priority for us. We regularly organise courses and training on topics related to sustainability.
The Sustainable Ostrobothnia project has been running for more than two years, and during this time sustainable tourism has become part of our everyday work. Every day, customers are looking for sustainable options in leisure, meeting and event travel. Since autumn 2022, we have asked our partners to tell us about their own sustainable development goals and environmental certifications. This gives us valuable information that helps us guide our customers towards responsible tourism businesses and services.
Our work is guided by three principles:
- We take sustainability into account in our own purchasing decisions and support tourism businesses in our region that are committed to operating responsibly.
- We communicate about our own sustainability efforts and achievements, as well as those of our partners.
- Through our network, we work to promote sustainability locally, nationally and internationally.