Kuusamo’s advertising arouses discussion.
Fiorella Velasquez was fogged, but she’s not letting it get in the way of her vacation. Pasi Liesimaa
– Isn’t this Lapland?
This is how a Peruvian amazes Fiorella Velasquez after arriving in Ruka.
Velasquez, like many foreign tourists, fell victim to the travel company’s deception.
Ruka, located in Kuusamo, is not in the province of Lapland, but part of North Ostrobothnia. The journey to Lapland is about 30–40 kilometers by road.
“Welcome to Lapland” is also written on the wall of Kuusamo airport. So Velasquez is in awe.
– The travel agency talked about Lapland, he says.
The tourism promotion center Visit Finland does not have the right to dictate how external actors use the word.
Geographically, Ruka is not located in Lapland. Google Earth
Lapland as a concept is ambiguous. In practice, the experience experienced in Ruka corresponds to Lapland.
– I like this place. It’s so great and interesting here, Velasquez enthuses.
The Peruvian has enjoyed snowboarding and the northern lights.
– The northern lights were wonderful. That experience was like from another planet, because you would never see it in Peru. The pictures got a lot of likes on Instagram.
Feeling silly
Fiorella Velasquez shared aurora borealis photos back home in Peru. Pasi Liesimaa
Australian Leilah Ayache22, ponders why Ruka is not just marketed as Ruka.
– It could just as well have its own image, says Ayache.
Do you believe that people feel cheated if they think they are coming to Lapland?
– Yes, I believe so. If you look at the map, it shows that this is in the south of Lapland. Sounds like fishing for tourists.
Ayache was aware of Ruka’s exact location even before his trip.
If you didn’t know better and came here, would you want your money back?
– No, but I could feel a bit silly. If I didn’t know what I had come to, I would have been kind of cheated.
Leilah Ayache thinks Ruka is like being in Lapland. Pasi Liesimaa
Ayachekin still feels that Ruka fulfills foreigners’ dreams of Lapland.
– It has the same Christmasy, magical atmosphere here, he praises.
A financial issue
Tourism entrepreneur based in Kuusamo Jokke Kämäräinen I don’t see any problems with the use of the word Lapland.
– The area is old Lapland, and there is Lapland blood in my own family. The Lapps were the first inhabitants of this area together with the Karelians, Kämäräinen reminds.
The entrepreneur thinks of “Lapland” more broadly: it is nature, fells, rivers, space, cleanliness, silence and the northern lights.
– For tourists, that [Lapin raja] means nothing. This is one North and the North, what they want to come and experience.
– We should take advantage of this phenomenon and make this a real livelihood here. By the way, it’s hard to get people jobs in the north.
Welcome to Lapland, welcome at Kuusamo airport. Viljami Kalmari
So is this about money? After all, Lapland is undeniably a good advertising word.
– I don’t see it that way. But Finland’s problem in tourism sales is lack of familiarity. If somehow we can make people understand where we are, that’s important. In that way, it is a financial matter, Kämäräinen reasons.
– I never sell the name of my own company when moving around the world. We tell you that we are from Finland, and that our products are like this.