Mission Statement by Äksyt Ämmät - Green Finn Tour Operator
Äksyt Ämmät Oy is an independent, fully licensed, local Finnish tour operator, travel agency and activity commissioner. Our aim is to offer active holidays and holiday activities in Finland to small traveller groups, who wish to experience the most genuine activities run by the best local service providers. On our tours we will stay in small, family-run guesthouses and hotels eat in local restaurants and use local transport and other services as much as possible. Our tours are guided and local guides are used as often as possible.
Our extensive knowledge and life-long experience of travelling in our home country enables us to create tours providing you with real insight into Finland. We can recommend you best visiting times for each destination, to offer you only services which have been audited by us and to provide full service also outside the main tourist season. In addition to the must-see-attractions you will be offered genuine experiences with the local people in the most beautiful Finnish nature.
We respect nature and emphasize services leaving the minimum ecological footprint in the nature. We respect local residents and their culture.
General comment
Please note that our group sizes most typically vary between 1 - 15 people. To keep the costs down in an expensive but very safe and well-structured country, there is typically no tour leader following the group from another country but in each destination there will be one or more local guides and experts at your service. You will have a pre-planned schedule and instructions to be followed. Accommodation, meals, guides, activities and transportation are organized for you by local operators using local drivers. Your dedicated local contact person is a Finn and speaks both Finnish and English, German, Swedish, Italy and also some French.
Traveller’s Code of Conduct
Finland is both socially and politically one of the most stable societies in the world. Geographically it is a big country but the population is more and more polarized in cities. There are regions which suffer from higher unemployment and migration of working-age people. Äksyt Ämmät is promoting travelling nationwide and bringing guests even to the most remote areas. All the service providers must however meet four basic criteria: authenticity, professionalism, safety and convenience.
Due to the reasonably high costs of working hours and long distances especially in the wilderness, services are not always available for individual passengers outside the main tourist seasons although tourists would be mostly welcome. By organizing tours for small groups of travellers and pre-booking the services Äksyt Ämmät makes it cost-efficient for local service providers to open up their guesthouses and activities.
Water consumption is no issue in Finland as we have enough groundwater and surface water.
Nature is our most valuable asset. In Finland there is a law called Everyman’s right, which gives every local and every visitor a right to use nature for recreation and picking up berries and mushrooms. We also have 40 National Parks, which are taken care of Metsähallitus. Äksyt Ämmät has signed a co-operation contract with Metsähallitus. The objective of co-operation is ecologically sustainable tourism.
Äksyt Ämmät is a company with own guesthouse
We have physical offices at the owners’ home. We are not using paper, all our pictures, texts and publications are located on cloud servers. Website development was taken care of Äksyt Ämmät.
Event and activity organizers: our partners are local, professional event companies, which pay attention to the safety of their guests and are able to provide experienced guides communicating at the minimum in English. On request our native speaker can join the group as an interpreter and tour leader.
Accommodation: we select mainly small, family run guesthouses or cottages, or in case of larger hotel prefer non-chain locally owned establishments.
Local handicrafts: we reserve time to meet local artisans and encourage our guests to purchase locally produced products.
Food: restaurants and catering companies providing their services are using local ingredients. We include half or full pension in our tours for three reasons, to reduce pollution and littering and increase convenience of tourists as well as to promote local culinary culture. In Finland it is safe to also try game as the hunting seasons and regulations are strictly followed.
Drinking water: in Finland tap water is drinkable so we recommend our customers to take refillable water or sport bottles with them for activities.
Transportation: we use public transport such as buses or trains whenever it is feasible. When it is more practical or cost-efficient to hire a minibus, we try to always choose the optimal size for the group and make sure we are not causing extra harm to the fauna and flora. Special attention must be paid to birds in their nesting period.
Environmental Awareness: there is a waste management system in Finland of which our customers are informed if they cook their own food or move in a rented car on their own. Empty bottles are taken to the bottle collection points, where money refund is given. Also, there is a sorting system for metal, plastic, paper and board. The National Parks have their own regulations, which are well presented at all the entrances.
Cultural Sensitivity: each passenger is provided with an article about the rules and regulations of our society. Traffic and alcohol regulations are tight and must be followed. Also, the Everyman’s law and fishing regulations are shortly covered with links to extra information sources. In Finland the standard of living is high and state welfare systems works well. Medical care is well available all over the country. Tipping is not used as service fee is always included in the price as well as VAT.
Cultural Norms: there are very few norms as the society is very open. People are friendly and well-educated and are in most cases able to speak English although they can be shy and keep distance at the beginning.
Charity: preserving nature is our number one priority. We offer our guests an opportunity to visit the nature centres to learn, what we do here in order to preserve our unique nature. They can learn about projects, which are being carried out now of their visit and participate in their own way. Äksyt Ämmät Oy donates yearly a certain sum of money for nature preserve area of Raesärkät and for the conservation of Saimaa ringed sea.
Conclusion
Äksyt Ämmät is a local company that provides culturally and environmentally aware, sustainable tourism in Finland. We have the expertise to choose the most authentic activities in our destination. As we are local ourselves, we can visit and get to know each and every partner we have and discuss their policies and way of working. This not only creates trust but also enables us to offer the best possible travel experience for our guests and to bring employment to the local people not only during high season but also during the lower but nevertheless attractive seasons.
15 ACTS OF RESPONSIBILITY
1. Äksyt Ämmet compensates the trips of its flying customers from the country of departure to the airports closest to the home country of Nurme. The compensation will be directed to a suitable destination through the atmosfair.de organization, for example in 2019 "New energy for Nepal". With compensation for the flights, Äksyt Ämmet can use the 100% Klimaschutz label (100% climate support) in its marketing in Central Europe. Protect nature too!
2. Äksyt Ämmet works actively in the North Karelia Biosphere Reserve working and steering group. The biosphere region has several projects focused on climate protection, the aim of which is to map and utilize regional strengths in the development of tourism and make services easily and attractively available.
3. Äksyt Ämmet has been awarded as the top sustainable development company of 2017 by Visit Finland. In 2020, Äksyt Ämmet has also gone through the sustainable development process and achieved the Sustainable Travel Finland label. The international TourCert (CSR) certificate has been in use at Äksyi Ämm since 2011. With the help of the certificate, the company's carbon footprint is calculated in all its operations and the aim is to further develop responsible tourism.
4. Äksyt Ämmet works actively in an entrepreneur organization and various organizations in the tourism sector. We often lecture on international marketing and sustainable development. Internationally, Äksyt Ämmä is involved in the Responsible Travel and forum Anders Reisen networks.
5. Äksyt Ämmet has recycled the waste generated from the operations of Majatalo Pihlajapuu since the early years. For example, compost soil is put on the peppermint plant ground, so that every summer we get several jars of dried peppermint and chocolate mint tea for the winter. You, too, recycle the waste generated in the inn! There are paper baskets in the rooms, but the kitchen is an actual recycling center.
6. Äksyt At Ämmie's dining table, you can eat homemade jams, rolls, oat biscuits and seed crackers, as well as, of course, food that has been prepared from start to finish in the inn's home kitchen. Berry juices are also homemade and often in the summer Mannerheim's drink is made directly from the leaves of yard trees from blackcurrant or rowan leaves. The guests also get to eat the moose caught by Erä Koppelo. Freezers are full of blueberries, strawberries, lingonberries and raspberries. Tarmo supplies the perches and walleyes. Pauli brings funnel cakes and dried blackhorn mushrooms directly to the inn's door. Organic products are ordered from Heinon Tuku, and local food is also preferred. Juicy berries and apples are picked from Minna's parents' garden for apple chutney, and when there is a good potato harvest, potatoes are also dug, at least for the autumn season. The house sells beers from North Karelia's Unison Brewing Company. "Äkäinen Euko's" fine lager has become Äkäinen Euko's signature beer. The white and red wines sold in the house are organic. Souvenirs have been knitted by Jaana and Saija! The Lipposten farm on the other side of Lake Viemenjärvi produces honey.
7. We use our muscles to move as far as we can on the long distances in North Karelia. From inn to inn, the product family activates guests to ski, bike and paddle from one inn to another. We pick up guests with shared transportation from the nearest airports or railway and bus stations.
8. Please save water and electricity in our inn as well. The hostesses provide more detailed instructions in the income information. The instructions are also recorded in the room folders, where you can find more detailed house rules. Ole Hyvä products are used in the house. Ecological, wonderful and Finnish Ole Hyvä detergents gently but effectively clean both the home and the body. The mild, pleasant scents of the products come from genuine essential oils. All raw materials are 100% plant-based, biodegradable, environmentally friendly and vegan. Please reuse your towel and fabric sauna pefflets a few times. On request, we will, of course, change towels and bed linen as well as seat mats if you stay with us for a week or even two!
9. Äksyt Ämmet uses professional guides who know the customs of the house, the local nature and culture. The guides are also happy to tell stories, even without asking! Minna and Kirsi are travel guides trained by the Finnish Guide Association. You can order them along, for example, to Pielinen's tour.
10. Äksyt Ämmets offer programs for special groups. German visually impaired people from Vision Outdoor have been going on skiing and summer vacations in our inn for fifteen years. On vacations for the visually impaired, everything is done that on other vacations; skiing, snowshoeing, kayaking and hiking. Tandem bikes are also rented to guests if needed. Äksy has been organizing women's holidays for over twenty years! Everyone is welcome, from babies to grandparents. We can also have "scratching raccoons" and other furry friends. Come join the happy atmosphere!
11. At the travel agency, we act responsibly by producing products that are in line with our values. Our partners share the same world of values and responsibility as we at Äksyt Ämmät. If necessary, we help partners on the path of responsibility towards a more responsible tourism product.
12. Our office works largely digitally, so for example there is relatively little paper that can be recycled.
13. We use high-quality and durable tools in our operations. Our computers are carefully selected products chosen by professionals in accordance with sustainable development.
14. We want to further develop a strong brand of corporate responsibility. Actions in accordance with sustainable development, transparency and responsibility communication increase the customer's trust and are a guideline in our daily activities.
15. We have a work community committed to environmental actions. We are motivated and in our work we implement solutions based on environmental values. We are especially proud of our cooperation network, with which we can do responsible work for the best of tourism.
