Heidi Savolainen selected as Visit Finland Sustainability Ambassador 2025

Heidi Savolainen, Managing Director of Adventure Apes Ltd., has been selected by Visit Finland as a Sustainability Ambassador (Vastuullisuuslähettiläs) 2025 on 4th of December 2024. 

Visit Finland promotes Finland as an internationally sustainable and attractive travel destination. Visit Finland is part of Business Finland, Finnish public sector organization that develops the Finnish business economy and internationalization.

Heidi describes the recent nomination as a heart-warming recognition of the ongoing work for sustainability. Responsibility and sustainability have been at the forefront of Adventure Apes' development since its founding in 2014. 

Heidi shares her thoughts on the importance of sustainability and the recent nomination in the video.

Hint: Use the CC button on the video to enable subtitles in Finnish or English.

Why has Heidi been chosen to be a Sustainability Ambassador of Finland?

Visit Finland says the reasons for choosing Heidi as a Sustainability Ambassador include her innovative approach to service development, promotion of equal and diverse tourism, positive impact on the world around her and her ability to inspire others.

"Heidi, in your world, people are equal and diversity is a richness. Where others see constraints, you see solutions."  – Liisa Kokkarinen, Visit Finland

Our motto at Adventure Apes is "nature belongs to everyone", or rather "everyone belongs to nature", because nature actually belongs to no one. That's why we have pioneered ways to provide accessible adventures for clients who need support to experiencenature. Examples of such activities include staying overnight in an igloo with children with reduced mobility or hiking in the fells (video), or activity weeks tailored to visually impaired people (article in Finnish) .

"Adventure Apes, which was founded by Heidi, is one of the few tourism companies to have taken the bold step of developing products that serve both local communities and tourists with special needs."   – Pipsa Liljedahl, Visit Finland

As an example of services that bring together different stakeholders, we are developing a Community Based Travel Activity concept, which you can read more about in our CBTA article. 

“You leave only positive traces. Whether it's the local community you enrich or the traveller you give an equal opportunity to experience. You also leave nature in a better state.”  – Hanna Muoniovaara, Visit Finland

Leaving a positive mark is also the purpose of many of our services. For example, CSR activities for international business travellers, such as baking buns and chatting with elderly people (video), help them experience Finland as a positive and safe destination for doing good. Our article CSR Activities While Traveling reveals this issue in more detail.

“Heidi, you are a source of inspiration. In the midst of all your busyness, you are always present and courageously share your story, encouraging others to build a tourism that is open to all.” – Liisa Mäkelä, Visit Finland

Inspiration and the courage to experiment often comes down to the little things, so it's always worth speaking up. Few people realise, for example, the familiar and safe Finnish public transport is in fact an exciting and unknown possibility for many international travellers. Encouraging tourists to use public transport (article) is a way of creating a truly local experience and making tourism more sustainable, step by step.

Sustainability work in Adventure Apes

It is important to us that our sustainability work is seen and heard. We have also invested in recognizing our expertise through various programmes and certificates.

Visit Finland's Sustainable Travel Finland (STF) (content in Finnish) offers companies a sustainable tourism development programme that meets international standards. Adventure Apes has been awarded the Sustainable Travel Finland label by Visit Finland since 2020. 

We have been awarded the Green Destinations Good Travel Seal, an international tourism sustainability programme.  We are also currently working on the Travel Life certificate. 

Accessible service is a matter of honour for us. We use the Finnish Association of People with Physical Disabilities’ Equal Service for All label (content in Finnish) as a sign of our desire to promote accessibility in tourism every day.

We have also recently applied to become a member of the We Speak Gay community. We still have a lot to learn about rainbow tourism and look forward to the workshop tailored to us. 

The extent of Adventure Apes’ networking and the quality of its services is demonstrated by its partnerships with the Ruka-Kuusamo Tourism Association, Posio Tourism Association and Visit Tampere Ltd, as well as the Authentic Visit Finland Experience and Authentic FinRelax Experience labels awarded to the company's services. We are also members of the internationally renowned Adventure Travel Trade Association and the Luontoakatemia (Finnish Academy of Nature).