Footage fromInari Reindeer Farm (Source: Elisha Walker & Rosie Leishman)

By Elisha Walker & Rosie Leishman 

With new flight routes opening and accommodation searches skyrocketing by 360%, Finnish Lapland has become a magnet for global travellers. 

One of the most northern holiday hotspots, drawn by the allure of pristine snowy landscapes, dancing Northern Lights displays, and reindeer-drawn sled rides, visitors are fueling an Arctic tourism boom. 

The only recognised Indigenous culture in the European union, Sámi people originate from the Sápmi region, which spans northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula in Russia. The preservation of the nine Indigenous languages and the safeguarding of cultural recognition remain critical challenges to the sustainability of Sámi heritage.

In Finnish Lapland, the growing influx of tourists presents both opportunities and challenges for Sámi entrepreneurs, as they strive to balance economic benefits with cultural integrity. 

But as this winter wonderland draws millions, the Indigenous Sámi people are left grappling with the effects of an industry eager to package and sell their traditions.

“I would like to show people what life looks like nowadays. Of course, I love to tell about our history and how my ancestors lived, but our life nowadays is a bit different,”

Jan-Eerik Paadar

The farm’s efforts have drawn interest from documentary makers, but Paadar remains cautious.

“They want to show the life that my ancestors lived—that we are still living in the kota huts and only taking care of reindeer and fishing. But nowadays, we are balancing the traditional way of life with the modern way of life,” said Paadar. 

Despite embracing their Sámi heritage and culture, Paadar also emphasised the reality of normal life. 

“Of course, sometimes I’m at home, I’m laying on the couch, watching Netflix— all the kind of things that you also do.”

Sámi worker at Inari Reindeer Farm shows visitors the reindeer. Source: Rosie Leishman

There is an equilibrium between maintaining a traditional Sámi way of life and modernity according to Paadar, “our life nowadays is a bit different. We are balancing that here all the time,” he said. 

“Our diet includes plenty of reindeer meat during the wintertime. Summertime, we eat more fish and berries. But sometimes I want to have a hamburger and french fries. I don’t want to show the cliché of how it was in history,” said Paadar.

“The reindeer are like my family,”

Jan – Eerik Paadar

As Lapland’s tourism grows, so does the risk of cultural misrepresentation.

“Sámi culture has been portrayed so wrong for so long,” said Kirsi Suomi, coordinator of the Sámi Parliament’s responsible tourism guidelines.

“Sámi culture has been portrayed so wrong for so long,”

Kirsi Suomi

The initiative has faced its fair share of challenges with minimal funding, Suomi emphasised the importance of sustained support to ensure the certification’s success.

“It’s still a project-based initiative, and we rely on external funding to keep it going. We need more sustainable support to make sure it reaches its full potential,” she said.

In addition to insufficient funding, a significant challenge in developing the guidelines is their very nature—they are merely recommendations.

Ethical tourism practices rely heavily on trust, making adherence and enforcement difficult. 

Without legal strategies to encourage compliance, Suomi highlighted the difficulty of ensuring businesses follow through on respecting ethical commitments.

“Even if it were in law, there is no one enforcing these laws,” Suomi said.

“It should be a privilege to go and meet Sámi people,”

Kirsi Suomi

A positive outcome of the initiative is the response of Sámi youth. “ But what really warms my heart is that, especially young Sámi people, have started to use the guidelines as a tool.”

For the Sámi, the growth of tourism represents an opportunity to reclaim their narrative. “The goal is for Sámi culture to be maintained and passed down to future generations,” said Suomi.

The Sámi Parliament’s certification system draws heavily from the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC), according to Suomi.

Established in 2015, ITAC’s program is the world’s only Indigenous tourism certification system, setting the benchmark for culturally sensitive tourism practices across the world.

The Sámi guidelines also draw from New Zealand’s Manaakitanga guidelines, developed in the late 1990s. The principles focus on providing genuine, respectful, and enriching experiences for visitors while safeguarding Māori culture.

Discussions surrounding enhancing cultural sensitivity within the tourism industry have been on the rise recently. A recent report by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) projects that indigenous tourism will contribute US$67 billion to the global economy by 2034.

Comedic skits and television programs of the late 20th century often perpetuated harmful stereotypes about Sámi people, portraying them in ways that reinforced negative misconceptions.

In the 1980s, Finnish comedians Pirkka-Pekka Petelius and Aake Kalliala introduced caricatured Sámi characters, Naima Aslak and Soikhiapää Monacossa, who were depicted with harmful traits, often as ‘drunk,’ ‘dirty,’ or ‘uncultured.’

While these skits have drawn significant criticism for their role in spreading stereotypes about Sámi culture, the characters remain a point of reference in popular culture.

Critics, such as Suomi, have labelled the comedians “cultural identity thieves,” accusing them of fostering dangerous misconceptions about the Indigenous Sámi community.

“In Finland, there may around 80 to 100 Sámi owned businesses,” said Suomi. Therefore, with the majority of Lapland’s tourism businesses being non-Sámi, Kirsi emphasised the critical importance of fostering collaboration with Sámi entrepreneurs. 

“They want truthful knowledge to be spread through Sámi tourism because they are tired of how Sámi are depicted in stereotypes,” said Suomi. 

Strategies such as seasonal contracting and integrating Sámi-led activities into tourism offerings, ensures that Sámi culture is authentically represented and directly benefits from Lapland’s tourism economy.

Working for TimeTravels tourism company, Kyyrä works alongside The Inari Reindeer Farm to provide her clients with an authentic Sámi experience. 

“Our collaboration is how we ensure that it is respectful for Sámis as well.” 

As Kyyrä is not Sámi, collaborating with Sámi businesses such as Inari Reindeer Farm is important.  “They are also helping our guides gain more understanding about [Sámi culture] and learn,” said Kyyrä. 

Collaboration is especially important for activities with roots in Sámi culture, such as reindeer experience. But not all Lapland attractions are Sámi, therefore Kyyrä emphasises the importance of “blending.”

“Sami culture and Finnish culture here in the North are blended together.”

“I think the role of tourism is super important for people’s understanding of Sámi culture because we are responsible for spreading knowledge and information,”

Karoliina Kyyrä

In Kyyrä’s experience as a tour guide, she explains not many people visiting Lapland are aware of Sámi culture or that there are Indigenous people in the area. 

However, “I have been seeing that every year people are getting more and more interested in these topics,” said Kyyrä. 

“I feel like they want to find out information much more than beforehand,” said Kyyrä, especially as the industry shifts focus to more ethical guidelines and respectful practices.  

“Of course, there is a lot of work to do still.”

The Inari Reindeer Farm was one of the first Sámi businesses of its kind and now, in the thick of Lapland’s busiest season, Jan-Eerik Paadar has no shortage of demand for work. 

As the tourism industry in Lapland continues to thrive, Suomi and the Sámi Parliament continue to work on frameworks to promote culturally responsible Indigenous tourism in Lapland.

Suomi acknowledged, however, that implementing the certifications and guidelines will take more work, as different areas have different struggles with tourism.

“It depends on the village whether it is over-tourism or under-tourism. We need to have different strategies for each village,” said Suomi. 

Suomi hopes the certification will be implemented soon as she works towards  the first European Indigenous tourism conference in May 2025. 

Initiatives like the Responsible Tourism Guidelines and a Sámi certification are expected to help encourage more ethical practices, like Paadar’s farm, which serves as a model for responsible tourism in the region.