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