Finland: A sustainable Christmas

DW (English)

Tourists visiting Rovaniemi, Finland, meet an environmentally friendly Santa Claus.

Transcript

00:00 Santa Claus is real. At least in this Finnish village on the Arctic Circle.

00:07 Santa's busy reading letters, giving out presents and meeting children and adults from all over the world.

00:15 He and his winter wonderland have become one of the biggest tourist attractions in Finland.

00:28 When he's not working, Santa enjoys spending time in nature.

00:33 One of my favourite things of course in summer time is walking in the forest.

00:39 Sometimes I go with my best friend Rudolf, you know the one with the red thing.

00:45 And sometimes we are walking with the elves.

00:49 And nature is part of the magic at Santa Claus' village.

00:54 A tour on a reindeer sled or riding with huskies are very popular with the tourists.

01:01 And of course standing right on the Arctic Circle at the village,

01:06 which was first set up in the 1950s close to the town of Rovaniemi.

01:11 Things are getting more and more crowded.

01:13 Around 300,000 people visit every year to make their Christmases extra special.

01:17 I've never experienced something like that before.

01:20 Santa is really nice, he's kind. He was a beautiful man.

01:25 It's a little bit of magic into everyday life.

01:28 But flying here, staying and all those Christmas presents are having an impact on the Finnish town.

01:35 And on the environment.

01:37 They travel and tourism, of course there's no question of course it produces lots of carbon dioxide.

01:49 So many hotels here are doing what they can to minimize the impact and make tourism here more sustainable.

01:56 Juhani Ikkonen runs a hotel in town that uses only geothermal energy,

02:00 which comes from heat in the ground and has close to zero emissions.

02:04 Others use old materials instead of new.

02:07 It's also sustainable in an ecological, economical way to think about the future.

02:14 You only want to do this or some winter related business or anything that has to do with nature.

02:21 If you ruin nature, it's not going to be for long that you can do it.

02:26 You have to think about the future.

02:28 Hotels here are applying for sustainability certifications with the Finnish government

02:33 and are part of a tourism cooperative that works together to reduce emissions.

02:42 Others go the extra step to take care of Santa's trusted companions too, reindeer.

02:48 A trip on their sleigh is a highlight for many tourists,

02:52 but the animals are particularly vulnerable to climate change.

02:55 And they cannot be kept in barns, but ideally need to be in the open, outdoors, grazing.

03:00 This helps them and also the forest stay healthy.

03:03 As they graze, they prune plants and help them regrow healthier.

03:08 For indigenous reindeer herder J.P. Olunen, they are much more than just working animals.

03:13 This one is maybe the kindest reindeer in the world.

03:19 Sustainable hotels now partner only with reindeer reared by indigenous people outside the town.

03:26 It helps the animals, the forests and also native communities, the Sami, to keep their traditions.

03:35 We have about 20 reindeers.

03:38 In the morning we have morning reindeer safari and at night we have the aurora reindeer safari also.

03:46 Who is working in the evening, so he doesn't work in the morning.

03:52 Then we can keep the health of these reindeers and take care that the reindeers can rest also.

04:03 Rest is something that Santa's helpers don't get right before Christmas.

04:07 Especially those in charge of Santa's post office.

04:10 A thousand letters from about 200 countries arrive to Santa Claus every year.

04:16 Posting a letter is, compared to travelling, certainly a more ecological option.

04:21 And the post offices seem to cooperate.

04:23 They tell us if you write Santa Claus on a letter and post it from anywhere in the world, it will end up here.

04:31 Christmas is a time of joy and this Finnish town is working to keep it that way.

04:37 Santa is on board too.

04:39 If you take care of the nature, the nature will take care of you.

04:46 And also if you take care of the other people, the other people will take care of you.

04:52 And you know it is like having the Christmas feeling in your heart all the time.

05:00 (upbeat music)

05:02 (upbeat music)

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