Holidaymakers travelling with their pets often face the problem that they are not allowed to bring their animals into the accommodation due to allergies. Kimmo and Arja Mikkonen’s Suvaksen Matkailu aims to provide tourism facilities for dogs as well as their accompanying humans.
Operating on the border between Tuusniemi and Heinävesi, Suvaksen Matkailu’s concept is still rare in Finland. Dogs can be left in the good hands of a “dog hotel” while their owners sleep in a cottage.
“It’s essential to specialise in a particular niche. People want to take their dogs on holiday with them. There are kennels already, but what’s new is combining them with a cottage holiday,” says Kimmo Mikkonen.
Completed last summer, the kennels and dog care facilities have 13 rooms designed for doggy needs, one of which is suitable for large animals. The smaller rooms can be shared by more than one dog belonging to the same owners.
Every year major dog shows are held in Eastern Finland and the Mikkonens’ business is one accommodation option for those attending these events.
Cottages for every taste
One of the rural tourism business’ holiday cottages, Suvaksen Helmi, which sleeps six, is close to the main farmhouse on the Konttivesi shoreline in Lake Suvasvesi and next summer two accommodation buildings will be added. The luxury holiday home Kaituran Lumo sleeps ten and is an impressive traditional log-built cottage with all modern conveniences, the only building on the shore of the wilderness lake Kaitura, six kilometres from the main building.
The cottages meet the highest of standards. Kaituran Lumo has hosted corporate events and foreign quality-aware guests have already found their way here, despite the fact that the holiday home was only built this summer.
The clear waters of Lake Suvasvesi and the renowned pristine natural environment of this part of Finland, also known for its Orthodox monastery, attract visitors. The boats travelling the inland waterway route from Savonlinna to Kuopio also stop at Heinävesi.
Part of a larger tourism ring
At Suvaksen Matkailu, guests have access to all the hunting, fishing, kennels and accommodation services they could desire, as well as dog-sledding, quad biking, whitewater fishing and food services.
The company is a member of a tourism ring numbering five tourism businesses in Tuusniemi and Juankoski. The services of the wilderness guide business Eräpaimen, the fishing business Tyrskytaimen, the lakeland safari company Järvi-Suomen Safarit, the husky business Susimäen Huskyt and Suvaksen Matkailu complement each other and the business owners work closely together. The experience offered is a complete one because each of the organisers is an expert in a particular product or service.
“It doesn’t make sense to invest and learn to do everything yourself, it makes much more sense to work together. That way everyone makes a living,” the Mikkonens think.
Suvaksen Matkailu has received business funding from the EU’s Rural Development Fund to build kennels.