Ari-Heikki Aikio
Ari-Heikki Aikio, founder of Travel Utsjoki, has been a reindeer herder in Utsjoki, in Paistunturi reindeer herding district, for all his life. His diplomatic and calm character works well with both people and reindeer. Ari-Heikki continues the traditional reindeer herding as learned from his father, combining it smoothly with technology, research and analytics.
Petra Suontausta
Petra Suontausta, founder and CEO of Travel Utsjoki, has lived in Utsjoki since 2016. This passionate and systematic Master of Health Sciences and Producer of Tourism Services believes that travelling and education are the keys in a more compassionate and caring world.
About Us
Story Behind our Company
As children, we watch and learn from our parents, siblings, peers and other people around us. We learn to value certain things and prefer some things more than others. As we grow older, some of these things may be challenged. We might meet someone with a different way of thinking or we might read from the news about happenings that seem very paradoxical from our standpoint. The more we think that these other ways of knowing and feeling are something very different from us, the easier it is to dehumanize or even accuse another. But how about actually getting to know each other and understanding the motives underlying our own and others´ behavior?
We are Ari-Heikki Aikio and Petra Suontausta, founders of Travel Utsjoki Ltd. We live with our children in Utsjoki, the Northernmost municipality of Finland. Ari-Heikki is a reindeer herder from Utsjoki and Petra is a Master of Health and Social Sciences, originally from Southern Finland. Although we come from culturally very different backgrounds, we have strong shared values: family, community and nature.
We wanted to start our own travelling business in Utsjoki for several ideological reasons. There is a lot of intriguing beauty and culture to see in Northernmost Lapland, and we want to share this in a sustainable way, supporting local economy and income possibilities in our remote community. We strongly believe that if we can increase international knowledge about the real Sámi reindeer herding culture and how fragile the arctic nature is, there will be more support to sustain and protect wilderness areas and indigenous cultures everywhere in the world. We also want to strengthen the selection of sustainable travel services available, so that anyone traveling to Lapland can make a conscious decision to travel sustainably.
Traveling, when actualized in the right way, can do so much good for the individual who is travelling, the community that is the destination and even in the long-term global perspective.
Where every your next holiday will be, we hope that your holiday gives its best for both you, your family and your destination! We warmly welcome you to visit us in Utsjoki in Northernmost Lapland!
Ari-Heikki and Petra
Reindeer Herding as a Lifestyle
Want to read more about life as a reindeer herder? Our blog is under construction!