Visit Vaasa and responsible tourism

Responsible tourism is tourism which is ecologically, economically, socio-culturally and ethically sustainable. In practice, responsibility can be seen in the tourism company in recycling and sorting waste, in energy solutions, taking the local culture in account in operation and employing locals. Responsible tourism is the common cause for the tourism industry and tourists. We at Visit Vaasa are doing our best to work for sustainable tourism.

Visit Vaasa´s work toward sustainable tourism

The development work must be sustainable for the travel industry to respond to changing demand and continue to grow in the future. Visit Vaasa participates in Visit Finland’s Sustainable Travel Finland program. The idea of the program is to provide companies and destinations a concrete toolkit for sustainable travel, which facilitates the adoption of sustainable measures and choices in the everyday operations of a region or company. Read more about the STF program here.

We want to take sustainable tourism and environmental considerations into account in all our operations and decision-making. Thus, we are committed to working for a more sustainable tourism Finland and we have signed the national principles of sustainable tourism. You can find out about the national principles of sustainable tourism here.

We are also committed to conserving natural resources, increasing positive impacts and developing our operations in a more responsible direction. In December 2022 we obtained the EcoCompass- Certificate, which is a sign that we are doing truly effective environmental actions with goals, schedules and monitoring.

The Vaasa region is a responsible travel destination.

On September 27, 2024 Visit Vaasa and the tourism industry of the Vaasa region have been awarded the Visit Finland Sustainable Travel Finland (STF) label. In practice, this means that Visit Vaasa and over 50% of the companies in the region engaged in international tourism have passed the sustainability program developed by Visit Finland and are thus proven to operate responsibly. Travelers seeking sustainable options in the Vaasa region can now be offered a wide range of experiences, events, restaurants, accommodation, and transport options.

The STF program provides businesses and travel destinations with a seven-step path to developing sustainable tourism, with each step linked to criteria that comply with international standards. Once a business or destination has completed the tasks and proven it meets the criteria set by the STF program, the STF label can be awarded. Those who receive the STF label are highlighted in Visit Finland’s international marketing and gain access to significant sales and marketing opportunities. The STF program is free for everyone.

Responsibility means concrete actions for us

Responsibility means concrete actions for us in our own operations. We strive to take into account the different aspects of sustainable development and responsibility in all areas of our operations, e.g. by the following means:

We consider responsibility in our decision-making.
We prefer recycled and environmentally friendly materials.
We reduce waste by procuring only the required amount of products and utilizing existing material.
We enable sorting in the workplace and our staff recycle.
We encourage staff to travel to the workplace by bike, on foot or by public transport where possible.
We communicate the responsibility achievements of our partners.
Through our networks, we contribute to the promotion of responsible tourism.
In our operations, we favor responsible and locally produced products and services.

Visit Vaasa’s main responsibility goals

Visit Vaasa’s goal is to encourage and develop tourism companies in our region, locals and tourists toward responsible choices. We strive to contribute to and promote sustainable tourism through our own actions, choices and decisions – We encourage, communicate, influence and choose responsibly.

We take responsibility into account in our own procurement and support tourism companies in our area that strive for responsibility in their operations.
We communicate our own and our partners’ responsibility work and achievements.
We strive to contribute to the promotion of responsibility through our own network, locally, nationally and internationally.

In addition, Visit Vaasa’s role as tourism destination organization is to provide tourists information on sustainably produced tourism services in the Vaasa region, to offer tourists responsible tourism services and packages, and to develop and maintain the Vaasa region and its image as a responsible travel destination.

Travel entrepreneur and tourism operator – participate the Sustainable Travel Finland program

Visit Vaasa is involved in Visit Finland’s Sustainable Travel Finland program, which is a key tool for actors serving international tourists. The program aims to secure the future and sustainable development of tourism and to meet changing demand.

In order for the Vaasa region to develop into a responsible travel destination, all stakeholder need to invest in the process. Tourism entrepreneurs in the Vaasa region play a significant role in the process, as responsible tourists look for responsibly produced services, products and destinations in our region.

We want to challenge all tourism operators and entrepreneurs in the Vaasa region to participate in Visit Finland’s Sustainable Travel Finland program. The STF- label benefits for both tourists and tourism companies: it helps tourists to identify responsibly produced services, and companies have access to a continuous development model, the latest information on sustainable tourism, marketing support and additional visibility in Visit Finland’s channels.