Lahti selected among the best sustainable destinations in Europe - Lahti

Lahti selected among the best sustainable destinations in Europe

For the 13th time, travel website EuropeanBestDestinations.com has launched a competition on Europe’s best destinations in cooperation with the EDEN network (European Destinations of Excellence).

Lahti has been shortlisted as the best European travel destination together with 19 other cities. The destinations were selected because of their tourism offering and promotion of sustainable development, in particular.

According to the jury, as the European Green Capital, Lahti has shown significant and long-term commitment to sustainable development, and this, together with the region’s nature and tourism services, positively affected Lahti’s inclusion on the shortlist. In Lahti and Lakeland Finland, pure and pristine nature is present in the daily lives of residents as well as services for visitors.

–Nature in Finland and Lahti is unique, and cherishing it is our number-one motivation for environmental acts. The environmental theme has also emerged prominently in travel and tourism, and Lahti, as the European Green Capital, benefits from that immensely, says Saara Vauramo, Programme Director at Lahti’s European Green Capital project.

Sustainable travel destinations entice people to enjoy the great outdoors

In the competition, travel destinations are classified in different categories. The Lahti region is among the best sustainable destinations in Europe for outdoor sports. They attract visitors with their action-packed outdoor activities, such as cycling, skiing, swimming and hiking.

The Lahti region also competes in the Best Destinations for Nature Lovers in Europe category. Salpausselkä Geopark’s unique geological environment with its hundreds of lakes, ridges and kettle hole ponds is the perfect location for recreation and relaxation for the region’s residents as well as Finnish and international visitors.

–Just being shortlisted among 20 best destinations in Europe feels great for the entire tourism and travel industry in the region. We, of course, want to be the best in our category. The Lahti region’s objective is to become a sustainable tourism region by 2025. The European Green Capital year has increased the significance of sustainable tourism in the region even further, and it has also provided an excellent backdrop for promoting sustainable travel in the region, says Raija Forsman, Managing Director at Visit Lahti.

Salpausselkä Geopark, which highlights the special characteristics of the Lahti region’s nature, has progressed a long way in applying for a UNESCO label. The area stretching from the First Salpausselkä ridge to Lake Päijänne and its water that is clean enough to drink is Finland’s southernmost geopark destination.

–In the geopark concept, developing sustainable nature tourism is one of the key objectives, and we have been engaged in this work for several years now within the framework of Salpausselkä Geopark. As a result, the competition categories also fit the Lahti region extremely well from this perspective,” says Kati Komulainen, Executive Manager at Salpausselkä Geopark.

A Europe-wide online poll will be open from 20 January to 10 February 2022

An online poll to decide the best travel destinations will open on 20 January 2022 when the candidate cities will be launched officially. The last day to vote will be 10 February 2022. You can vote from once a week from the same IP address. The cities with the most votes will be awarded in an event organised in Brussels on 10 February 2022.

The voting takes place at https://www.europeanbestdestinations.com/european-best-destinations-2022.

Organiser of the event:
European Best Destinations is a travel website developed to promote culture and tourism in Europe. In partnership with the participating tourism offices and the EDEN Network, they promote a better understanding of the wealth, diversity and quality of European destinations. https://www.europeanbestdestinations.com/about-1/

For additional information, please contact:

Saara Vauramo
Programme Director at Lahti – European Green Capital
tel. +358 (0)44 716 1585

Raija Forsman
Managing Director, Visit Lahti – Lakeland Finland
tel. +358 (0)40 516 2803

Kati Komulainen
Executive Director, Salpausselkä Geopark
tel. +358 (0)40 579 9247