SaimaaHoliday is a group of family owned companies that offer accommodation, lake activities and restaurant services in the heart of Saimaa lakeland. SaimaaHoliday was founded in 1999. The two main SaimaaHoliday resorts are situated in Oravi and in Rantasalmi and we arrange activities in Linnansaari and Kolovesi National parks.
SaimaaHoliday is a rewarded aquatic tourism destination. In 2010 SaimaaHoliday was a winning destination in EDEN (European Destinations of Excellence). In 2021 SaimaaHoliday received the Sustainable Travel Finland sertificate amongst one of the first companies in the Saimaa region.
Our values
1. Sustainable, long-term actions and respect nature values
2. Fellowship and cooperation
3. Exclusive and personalized customer service
4. Have fun at work
5. Be openminded and innovative
For us, environmental responsibility means concrete actions in our own operations. Weare committed to saving natural resources and increasing the positive impact on theenvironment. As a proof of this, we have been awarded the EcoCompass Certificate.
Examples of environmental actions: We have built our own waste sorting station which is used by the entire village. Our harbour and waste station is a certified by Keep the Archipelago tidy association (Pidä saaristo siistinä ry).We prefer wooden construction, the surroundings of the rental villas are unspoilt, we use carbon dioxide-free electricity and most buildings have geothermal or air source heat pumps. We also have solar panels in the main building of the harbour and in all rental villas. Every year we plant a new trees in the forest that we own.
As a pilot, we have participated in the "Vedellekävijät" corporate responsibility project, whose task is to solve the challenges related to responsible water use of small and medium-sized companies.
We share the same home waters with the Saimaa ringed seal, therefore we have developed seal friendly activities. and we follow the rules of seal-friendly tourism. In the rental office and at the reception, we share information about seals, fishing, tour etiquette and responsible hiking. We have prepared a guide for responsible water hikers and we organize environmental education for school children. Read more about responsible hiking and outdoor etiquette here
We prefer eco-friendly transportation methods such as canoeing, biking, hiking and tour skating. We have a kayaking center that has been operating since 1997, we prefer cycling in our everyday life and we welcome cyclists. Read more about services for cyclists here. We have a wide range of rental equipment for both summer and winter hiking. At the rental office, we instruct hikers on hiking etiquette and share information about responsible water hiking: respect for nature, fire-making and trash-free camping. In winter, we maintain a winter hiking trail on lake Haukivesi, the marked winter hiking trail protects the seals from being disturbed. We also prefer ridesharing, we arrange transport with our safari bus to Savonlinna/Kolovesi and regular boat to Linnansaari.
In our restaurants, we use as much local ingredients as possible, according to the season, and we especially prefer lake fish and wild food. We buy local fish directly from fishermen and further process it in our own food facility.
The vitality of our home region and respect for local culture is important to us, and we cooperate with local companies and associations, e.g. We hold joint first aid trainings and exercises with VPK. Our village store is open also during the quiet months of the year and the cafe serves as a gathering place for the local people. We want our area to be good to live in and visit now and in the future.
We are committed to developing the accessibility of our premises, services and products. You can find a summary of Oravi's accessible services here.
We respect local culture and people. In Oravi everyone is welcome, regardless of their background, gender, age, country of origin, nationality, sexual orientation, physical disability, religion, or political views. We show respect to everyone that in return shows it to us, to local people and nature.
We arecommitted to working for a more sustainable tourism in Finland and we have signed the 10 principles of sustainable tourism.
We have participated in responsibility training and gone through the STF sustainable tourism development path and we are using the Ecokompassi environmental program. We are also participationg in a Regenerative Tourism training programme 2023-2024 CE4RT- Circular Economy 4 Regenerative Tourism. The harbour in Oravi has been granted the Roope environmental certificate.
Our environmental pledge
Our operations are located in the middle of Lake Saimaa, and we want to ensure that this environment and ecosystem remain clean and vibrant. Nature is vital both for our company and for the people of Oravi. We strive to set an example of how business can be developed by respecting biodiversity.
We have implemented the Ecocompass environmental management system, which provides concrete ways of managing our environmental impact and helps us to focus on what matters most in our operations. We comply with local and global guidelines on sustainable development and responsible tourism, as well as environmental legislation and practices to the best of our knowledge and ability.
In the future, we will pay more attention to how we instruct our visitors to act sustainably and how we train our staff to set an example. We are committed to continuous environmental improvement and development. We want to be innovative in finding new ways to conserve resources and keep up with developments.
SaimaaHoliday Oravi companies
Saimaan Eräpalvelu Oravi Oy (Saimaa Wilderness Service Ltd) - lake activities since 1996
Oravin Kyläkauppa Oy - property company
Oravi Lake Center Oy - village shop and restaurant since 2013
Loma-Oravi Oy - 17 villas, built in 2003-2014
PV-group - Oravi Apartments hotel, built in 2008
