23 Sep Laike Saimaa: A place between water and sky
Lake Saimaa
From 24th to 28th of May our selected Transnational Assessment Team (TAT) has visited Lake Saimaa, Finland, for the first of four assessment missions that brought us to visit the DiscOver55 destinations in Finland, Slovenia, Austria and Italy.
The mission was organized with the support of the national coordinator Pellervo Kokkonen from SYKE, our Finnish partner. The goal was to achieve a better awareness and knowledge of Lake Saimaa area, to assess its potential as a destination for senior tourists and pave the way to develop suitable tourist products.
The visit involved mainly two areas representative of Lake Saimaa – Savonlinna city centre and Punkaharju Ridge recreational area.
A place between water and sky
Lake Saimaa, as its name suggests, is an area characterized by abundance of water. Its lake is the largest lake in Finland and the fourth largest natural lake in Europe.
The area of Lake Saimaa is in the south-east of the country and includes, among others, the city of Savonlinna, situated in the middle of the lake. The town is built on a chain of islands and tourism is an important source of livelihood.
Tourism here, as more generally in Finland, is primarily based on national tourists, but foreign arrivals are still significant, mainly from Russia, Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Austria.
It is also highly influenced by seasonality, with peak of visitors in summer and especially in July. Main reasons for this seasonality are weather conditions, below the zero from November to March, and hours of light. July is also when most of Finnish people have their holidays, and in this month cultural events are held, as for exapmle the famous International Opera Festival in Olavinlinna medieval castle (Savonlinna).
The typical and most widely chosen kind of accommodation is the cottage, usually a small house by the lakeshore where visitors can enjoy their holidays surrounded by nature. Typical cottages are often provided with sauna, a substantial part of Finnish culture and tradition. For Finnish people the sauna is not a luxury, but a necessity: a place to relax with friends and family, and a place for physical and mental relaxation as well.
Lake Saimaa, for its natural resources and wellbeing vocation, has long been a destination for rehabilitation holidays as well, even if cuts to the benefits from Finnish government has caused a decline in these arrivals.
In general, number of arrivals and prices of accommodation in Lake Saimaa have been declining in recent years.
Lake Saimaa visit
Our team embarked on the Finnish mission armed with the assessment criteria previously established, to evaluate the destination on the four chosen indicators: Accessibility, Safety and Healthcare, Activities and Quality.
In Lake Saima qualitative and quantitative data have been collected by the team through field surveys (interviews of selected stakeholders) and a SME survey via questionnaire.
The programme included 9 on-site visits of the main attractions of Savonlinna and Punkaharju Ridge. They were divided into four categories – natural, cultural, events and others – and they allowed the team to experience firsthand the local tourism offer and evaluate its quality.
A focus group with tourist local stakeholders, mainly private sector representatives, was held at the Spa Hotel Casino of Savonlinna, to share views on Lake Saimaa as a tourism destination and collect opinions and data on the selected indicators.
On the last day in Lake Saimaa the team met for a final meeting, where members shared impressions and ideas on the first DiscOver55 assessment tour. Notes, diaries and photos were the key elements to keep track of the events, and the starting point for the destination’s analysis and mission’s report.
One of the strengths of Lake Saimaa as destination is that it is renowned for group tourism and that allows cultural and green activities in a water landscape. It is also still quite unknown to lots of tourists, especially in southern Europe, who could be attracted to its outstanding natural landscapes.
Complete results and recommendations of the visit will be soon available to local stakeholders and tourist service providers during a capacity building event to be held between September and October to share the findings.
TAT mission visit in Tanhuvaara sports resort – inspecting facilities
Nordic walking is cool – in May on Lake Saimaa shore
Intimate lake landscapes of Lake Saimaa in Savonlinna offer relaxation for the soul and through outdoor activities improved fitness