The cornerstone of tourism in Enontekiö is undoubtedly the unique nature of the area. That's what people come here for: peace and quiet that is hard to find elsewhere these days.
I passionately love the wilderness of Enontekiö and when I'm out in the world I'm ready to join others in saying that there is no other place like it. But -
It is easy for this praise to hide difficult issues that some fear might spoil the region's tourist reputation. In the light of tourism advertising, bringing up environmental protection problems is seen as a renegade approach. This is even though certain developments could lead to the loss of the region's most obvious tourist asset, its wilderness: you only have to cross the border into the Swedish Sámi land to see how a few mega-projects can quickly destroy this peace.
Well, advertising speech is advertising speech, and its function is to incense and embellish. The field of advertising is, after all, glorifying images. But while glorious images are important and fantasy itself in many ways sustains life, life is not a travel advertisement, not even a beautiful old wilderness tale. The issues of resilience and diversity cannot operate at the level of fancy and images alone. Fortunately, there are also those who keep on raising the hard facts about the impacts of mining and logging projects. They are helping to ensure that talk of the municipality's unique natural environment will continue to be based on more than just imagination.
Roskat reitillä
