We Care

Our goal is to transform countryside into luxury and to enhance the rural brand as an attractive option for international tourists who value high quality.

Northern Luxury Consulting Oy adheres to the principles of sustainable tourism and considers all aspects of responsibility in its business: ecological sustainability, cultural sustainability and heritage, social sustainability and well-being, as well as economic sustainability and competitiveness.

We develop tourism in collaboration with Visit Finland’s regional operators and the Northern Luxury Friends business network. Companies that meet sustainability criteria and are committed to sustainable development principles are invited to join our network. Membership is not available for purchase; we select companies that are leaders in their field and represent Nordic luxury in their own unique way. Our members are privately owned companies whose owners are actively involved in the business and are mostly located outside urban areas. Chain hotels and investor-owned properties are not part of our selection. Knowing our members personally ensures the network’s commitment to the same values and brings together like-minded individuals with a common mission: to improve the world through their actions in tourism. Each member brings their expertise to the network for the benefit of other members and has unique characteristics that led to their selection.

MISSION

Our mission is to promote rural employment, preserve cultural heritage, and maintain rural vitality by supporting small local tourism entrepreneurs, artisans, and food producers. We present ways to save and develop existing building stock for service business use and strive to find ways to train and employ professionals to meet the needs of new luxury.

We market Northern Luxury Collection destinations to small, specialized, and quality-conscious tour operators worldwide and curate all our sales partners based on values. The customers of our tour operators primarily seek high-quality, authentic, and original experiences owned by local entrepreneurs.

Northern Luxury Collection includes tourism and service businesses that are evaluated based on six areas:

• STAY: Quality, style, locality, aesthetics, and construction techniques and materials used in accommodation
• EAT: Authenticity of food products, locality, and ingredients from local producers, and collaboration with other local entrepreneurs
• DO: Activities emphasizing ’soft’ nature activities without motor power, nature as a source of human well-being, traditions, and the commercialization of northern daily life
• RELAX: Wellness and sauna services based on our cultural heritage, part of Finnish life, utilizing natural ingredients, and quality commercialization
• SHOP: Products from local artisans and craftsmen, as well as locally designed and manufactured design products
• EVENTS: Events that employ local people and highlight cultural heritage, drawing from local traditional celebrations, and emphasize nature and a natural lifestyle

Northern Luxury Collection destinations represent new luxury based on our sustainable lifestyle:

• Nordic luxury arises from our nature-oriented lifestyle and connection to nature
• Our food is the cleanest in the world, and we can turn the offerings of forests and waters into high-quality food products
• Our forests, fells, lakes, and archipelago are our wellness centers and event venues that we must cherish
• Collecting artisan products under one umbrella brand creates jobs in sparsely populated areas
• Food products represent local food traditions, follow the harvest season, and use local ingredients
• Using existing building stock instead of always building new saves nature and reduces CO2 emissions

SUSTAINABILITY AND COMPETITIVENESS

Our network members must have sustainability principles at the core of their business and a commitment to moving towards regenerative tourism. We require all member companies to have either an official sustainability certificate or a self-written sustainability document that considers all three pillars of sustainability. Deep knowledge of destinations and routes reduces the need for foreign tour operators to travel on-site for familiarization trips, ensures the best possible travel package for the end customer, and extends the stay. Our travel packages are always at least two nights long, and we often recommend 5-7 day trips to minimize the carbon footprint. All member companies must clearly state their sustainability goals on their websites and actively communicate them to their customers.

NORTHERN LUXURY AGENCY

We present a curated collection of the highest-quality, most sustainable, and aesthetically beautiful destinations in the Nordic countries to international tour operators. The target group is quality-conscious, experienced travelers seeking authentic and original experiences, valuing high-quality food, personal service, and privacy.

Our member companies do not use disposable tableware under any circumstances, and they select small artisan-made dishes or Finnish design for restaurant use, which can also be purchased as souvenirs. Accommodation providers must have organized recycling opportunities for customers and inform them appropriately about the importance of recycling. The heating system is chosen as ecologically as possible, considering the environmental conditions, and the choices must be justifiable to the end customer as part of the overall product. Showers and faucets are chosen to save water, and customers are informed about the environmental impact of water and electricity consumption and the frequency of towel and linen changes. We select destinations that consider nature protection and restoration, and these measures are commercialized into high-quality experiences for customers. Our entrepreneurs choose natural interior materials and ecological and high-quality textiles for customer use, highlighting local craftsmanship and Finnish design. Our destinations are pioneers in the tourism industry, offering customers ecological travel options and the possibility to calculate and offset their carbon footprint. The menus of our destinations are built responsibly, respecting local food traditions and using local, small, and local producers’ ingredients, minimizing food waste.

CULTURAL AND SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

We cherish cultural heritage and highlight ways and traditions through which tourists can experience something unique and memorable compared to mass destinations. Some of our destinations are specifically chosen based on their cultural and historical significance, and we bring out the site’s history and its importance to the region’s development. Each of our Collection categories: New Heritage, Rural Farmhouse, and Cabin Life represent our cultural heritage in different ways, and we primarily select destinations that belong to these categories. Supporting small local entrepreneurs and selecting them for our collection gives them visibility and recognition as part of a larger group of similar destinations, as they would not have the financial resources for the same visibility on their own. Our destinations have an extensive and functional local network, ensuring the necessary services for customers are arranged with quality and employing local actors. We visit each destination personally to meet the owners and staff to ensure responsible practices and proper treatment of people. We create long-term and trusting business and friendship relationships with the entrepreneurs who join our network. We strive to familiarize ourselves with the business environment and characteristics of our network entrepreneurs to consider the local economy and develop it as part of our network’s operations. We share best practices among the network, and those destinations that have focused on accessibility for people with disabilities and invested in accessibility serve as model examples for other destinations in our network.

NORTHERN LUXURY COLLECTION

Cabin Life Collection brings together the highest quality cabin experiences, adventure accommodations, and wilderness experiences with services. Rural Farmhouse Collection elevates traditional rural tourism to a luxury level, without forgetting traditional foods, rural idylls, and authentic lived experiences. New Heritage Collection showcases culturally and historically significant destinations, manor romance, and aristocratic lifestyles from past decades to the present day.

Using local products and services as part of the service package is part of our service promise and Nordic luxury, ensuring an authentic experience. All our destinations are chosen based on their authenticity and history, ensuring no cultural appropriation occurs; for example, the rules for using traditional Sámi clothing are self-evident to each Sámi entrepreneur. Cultural heritage is one of the cornerstones of Nordic luxury, and each entrepreneur in our network has been selected for a reason related to cultural heritage. Tour operators appreciate well-commercialized, high-quality, yet authentic and original destinations, and our task is to ensure each chosen destination meets these criteria. We recommend each member join Gay Travel Finland, if they are not already members, and take inclusivity training.

ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY AND COMPETITIVENESS

Our network members use local entrepreneurs’ products and services and communicate them to their customers. NLUX Shop highlights products from local artisans. Our network members use local labor, and we have developed internal practices within the network to share labor and recommend good workers to each other.

We do not accept companies with a bad reputation as employers, sexual harassment cases, financial crimes, or environmental crimes into our network. We do not base our selections solely on completed certifications but conduct our own critical curation through various channels. We value entrepreneurs and destinations that have employed local experts, saved culturally significant buildings, and used existing building stock for new purposes.

NORTHERN LUXURY CONSULTING

We offer comprehensive concept design services and a wide range of visual storytelling tools for service and tourism companies that invest in quality and high-level customer service experiences.

Consider local customs and stories in business use and become part of the local community even if you are not necessarily local. We seek partners, financiers, and investors whose goals are responsible purchases and investments, value-based ways of working for the local community, and responsible long-term business.