Puuhapuisto Veijari in Saarijärvi has been awarded the 2024 Jyväskylä Region’s Tourism Recognition Award. The award was presented to the recipient on Thursday 7.11. at the Jyväskylä Region’s Tourism Night in Juhlatalo Juurikkasaari. The prize is awarded annually by Visit Jyväskylä Region, the regional organisation for tourism in Jyväskylä Region, to highlight companies, destinations, people or events that contribute to the development of tourism and promote tourism cooperation in the region.
The selection of Puuhapuisto Veijari as the award recipient was influenced by the company’s exemplary positive and distinctive “can-do attitude” as well as its activities based on active collaboration.
– This year’s recognition particularly emphasizes the company’s visionary and consistent development both within its own site and in areas such as digitalization. The site has been expanded and built in accordance with the brand, and the company has also succeeded in engaging its target audience exceptionally effectively with well-targeted and high-quality marketing communications, says Susanne Rasmus, the tourism director of Visit Jyväskylä Region.
– We are extremely honored by this award. We are a small family business and feel that the award is important, and it’s wonderful that a company like ours has been noticed. This came as a surprise to us, and we are genuinely happy about it, says Elina Krook from Puuhapuisto Veijari.
Determined business development and an important local employer
Since 2018, the entrepreneurs of Puuhapuisto Veijari have been Elina and Sami Krook, who have been developing their family business with determination but with moderation. According to Elina Krook, in a summer destination like Veijari, something new must happen every summer to keep the place up-to-date with the world and to encourage even old visitors to come again. At the same time, they want to maintain the core idea of the park, which is to be a family destination where adults and children can engage in activities in a natural environment. Animals, which visitors can see up close and pet at Veijari, are also important.
The Krooks have received positive feedback for being seen working in the park themselves. In addition to the couple, their daughter and a large number of seasonal workers are involved in the operations during the summer.
– We are pretty much the largest summer employer in Saarijärvi and the first summer job for many young locals. For example, last summer we had 25 summer workers, Elina Krook says.
Three years ago, Puuhapuisto Veijari started collaborating with Visit Jyväskylä Region and has actively participated in, among other things, training and joint marketing initiatives.
– I find it very important to be involved with a larger organization. It’s a completely different thing than trying to do it alone.
Honorable mention to llmatar Airplane Lodge
The Ilmatar Airplane Lodge, located in Uurainen was awarded the Jyväskylä Region tourism honorable mention for literally creating a “flying” idea and implementing a unique and distinctive tourist destination. The reasoning also states that the entrepreneurs have worked closely with the regional organization from the beginning and have ambitiously aimed for international markets from the start. The distinctiveness and innovativeness of the destination have already been admired both within the industry and by international influencers, for example.
Additional information:
Elina Krook, entrepreneur, Puuhapuisto Veijari, tel. +358 400 621 663
[email protected],
Susanne Rasmus, tourism director, Visit Jyväskylä Region, tel. +358 400 885 786, [email protected].
Pictures: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1RnkW-I0J9pPta3RDWwKWKEpCQdL69XM2