The tourism authority is inviting visitors to “be like a Finn” by signing an online pledge of sustainability to help conserve and preserve Finland’s natural environment and protect its lifestyle.

“Tourists are encouraged to take the Sustainable Finland Pledge, promising to respect and treasure Finnish nature, its inhabitants and culture during their visit,” said Liisa Kokkarinen, manager regional partnerships for Visit Finland.

The pledge aims to educate travellers on how to behave in a more responsible way and to get them to share the pledge across social platforms to show they are committed to responsible travelling.

Lines from the pledge include: “[Finland’s] forests and lakes should remain plastic-free, so I will not leave any rubbish behind me” and “Long before humans the wildlife’s been there, so I won’t set up camp just anywhere”.

Although there is no numerical target for signatures, the goal is to share and grow the pledge as much as possible, and many marketing organisations across the country are already sharing it on their channels.

“Tourism is a fast-growing industry, and with increasing numbers of tourists come negative impacts if tourism is not well managed and governed. The pledge is one of the tools in our strategy for better managed, sustainable and smart growth,” said Kokkarinen.