Our values have always included responsibility in both tourism and our other activities. At Hykkilän HuvilatResponsibility was already taken into account when we started planning holiday cottage rental for year-round use. We are located in Kanta-Häme in Tammela, the village of Hykkilä. The region is an old Häme countryside where that has been inhabited for centuries. We considered the appearance of the cottages in the design and material. They do not stand out from the environment, and they also comply with the relevant regulations and laws.

EASY WASTE SORTING FOR COTTAGE GUESTS

At Hykkilä cottages, sorting waste has been made easy for guests

At Hykkilän Huvilat cottages, the sorting of waste has been made easy for our guests.

Different types of waste are generated during holidays at the cottage. As early as 2006, we thought about how to deal with waste. Each cabin has its own garden building with waste sorting. We are currently sorting and recycling mixed waste, plastic, cardboard, glass, metal, and newspapers and magazines. We will tell the customers about our waste sorting practices when they come on vacation and naturally, we hope that they will follow our instructions. All this is based on the willingness of customers to sort waste. We have made it as easy as possible.

At the beginning of September, we made agreed to the #sitoumus2050 commitment to sustainable development. The aim now is to better sort and recycle waste that can still be used. Sitoumus2050 is a strategy and tool for Finland’s social commitment to sustainable development, in which public administration together with other actors promotes sustainable development in all its work and activities. The actors can commit themselves to meeting the objectives by carrying out concrete measures, changes in operating methods, and innovative experiments.

SOLAR ENERGY WITH SOLAR PANELS

Solar panels provide solar energy to cover some of the energy needs of cottages.

Solar energy is used for many different purposes on a cottage holiday. Energy consumption can be reduced in many ways. We provide customers with tips on how they can take energy use into account at the cottage, for example not to let the sauna to wait for them, but to wait for the sauna themselves. We decided to put solar panels on the roof of one cabin a few years ago. Solar panels produce around 10% of the energy needs of our holiday cottages.

Solar energy panels on the roof of Hiekkuri

Our region has many interesting attractions, cultural events, various local shops, and services. Here you can see something that is not available in your own region. We are happy to tell our customers about them.

THE ECEAT CERTIFICATE IS A SIGN OF RESPONSIBLE ACTIVITIES

We are interested in developing ourselves. We currently have a certificate of ecological and cultural sustainability from the ECEAT, The Finnish Eco-Agrotourism Association – ECEAT Finland. It supports our responsible activities. Now we are “studying” the Visit Finland’s Sustainable Travel Finland path. There we address responsibility issues in different areas. They all affect each other, which makes us think more broadly.

Our website contains information on responsible tourism at the Hykkilän Huvilat cottages. Our visitors can read more about how it is implemented at our cottages. Visit Häme website is a separate section of responsible tourism where you can read about responsibility in the entire region.

Responsible care now and in the future.

Authors: Marjo Kuisma-Sipilä and Pekka Sipilä