Nature tourism in Finland

[-Kielo-]

Hey everyone!

I'm half-way through a degree in ecotourism (nature-based tourism) at a university in Australia. Obviously this is a huge part of Australia's tourism industry but I was wondering what the situation is in Finland (as we are planning to move there once I graduate). Jobs in zoos, wildlife parks, botanic gardens and natural history museums are highly sought-after here but what about in Finland? Do some zoos and wildlife parks close in winter? I have lived in Finland for a year but never got the chance to visit any zoos. I have hiked through Nuuksio national park in the summer - it was stunning. And have also been up north to Lapland, so I know that Finland has something to offer tourists looking for real 'wilderness' but is there much of an industry to invest in?

[rinso]

so I know that Finland has something to offer tourists looking for real 'wilderness' but is there much of an industry to invest in?

True, but the "industry" is mostly small scale.
Finland is more or less forgotten as a holiday destination, so the volume of "nature tourists" is rather small.
And the groups that are getting more interested (Russians, Estonians), are not looking for nature, but for shopping and spa's.

[-Kielo-]

True, but the "industry" is mostly small scale.
Finland is more or less forgotten as a holiday destination, so the volume of "nature tourists" is rather small.
And the groups that are getting more interested (Russians, Estonians), are not looking for nature, but for shopping and spa's.

Yeah, I did notice that when I visited Imatra. The local swimming pool/spa had more (mostly Russian) tourists than the Imatra Falls And Finns themselves seem to generally seek sun holidays down south.

Do you think there is any need for native English-speaking tour guides? I know Finns are perfectly capable of giving tours in English but from my own experience (e.g. in Olavinlinna), the guide really seemed to struggle and it took away from the tour a little.

[EP]

Where are you going to live? Helsinki Tourist board makes nature trips to Nuuksio, and one of the languages is English. My son did those for a couple of summers, but that was ages ago. Most groups were Japanese in those days, and they were guided in English. It was nothing hard core, more like nice little strolls in the forest, but they were always full of enthusiasm.

Where ever you are going to live, contact the local tourist board and ask if they need you.

[-Kielo-]

Where are you going to live? Helsinki Tourist board makes nature trips to Nuuksio, and one of the languages is English. My son did those for a couple of summers, but that was ages ago. Most groups were Japanese in those days, and they were guided in English. It was nothing hard core, more like nice little strolls in the forest, but they were always full of enthusiasm.

Where ever you are going to live, contact the local tourist board and ask if they need you.

Thanks, that would be a good place to start looking! My husband's hometown is on the western coast but we don't know yet if we'll be living there or in the south. So do all the tour operators and other tourism businesses run through those local tourist boards? i.e. the boards can get me in contact with all the operators?

[rinso]

Tour guide (in English) is an option. But it will be a part time job and the season is short.

[-Kielo-]

Tour guide (in English) is an option. But it will be a part time job and the season is short.

Yeah, and guiding isn't my most favourite aspect of ecotourism BUT it is definitely a good place to start and get a reference from a Finnish employer to add to the CV!

Just revisiting one of the questions in my first post, are jobs such as animal/habitat keepers at zoos and parks popular/sought-after jobs in Finland? What sorts of qualifications are considered essential? Just got me wondering after I was researching the aquarium and dolphin display at Särkänniemi. I'll be doing work experience at a company this summer which takes people out to swim with and observe wild dolphins, so I wondered if experience such as this would be enough (as well as the biology course which I'm currently doing).