Members of the Lake Saimaa Association have decided to move forward with building a joint tourism organization for the entire Saimaa region. Next, the cities of Imatra, Lappeenranta, Mikkeli, Savonlinna and Varkaus will decide on participating in the launch of the joint Lake Saimaa DMO and funding it.
The goal of the Saimaa DMO is to strengthen Saimaa’s position as an internationally known and easily accessible tourist destination. The joint organization coordinates the regional international marketing efforts.,
sales promotion, development of the tourism offer, cooperation with tour operators and the utilization of tourism data as a more effective whole.
The construction of Lake Saimaa DMO is being prepared by Lake Saimaa Ry. The association brings together five member municipalities, the region’s tourism and development organizations, and the regional associations of South Karelia and South Savo.
DMO makes collaboration a long-term commitment
DMO stands for Destination Management Organisation. It refers to a common organization of a tourism area that leads the development, marketing, and promotion of the destination jointly.
in accordance with the agreed objectives. The aim is to build a permanent operating model that helps tourism businesses grow and strengthen the tourism’s economic impact on the entire Saimaa region.
The goal of the joint Lake Saimaa DMO is to increase the international reputation of Lake Saimaa and to grow tourism to the region. The goal is that more and more foreign tourists will choose Lake Saimaa as their destination.
Saimaa stays in the area for longer and uses local services more than before.
“Saimaa already has a strong shared brand, an internationally interesting tourism offering, and companies that have the will and ability to grow. Now we need a long-term structure for cooperation that brings together goals, resources, and
The competence as a powerful whole. We are not launching a new general-purpose study, but a stepwise process aimed at a functioning Lake Saimaa DMO,” says the chairman of the board of Lake Saimaa ry. Kirsi Mutka-Paintola.
International cooperation has already produced growth
International tourism cooperation carried out in the Saimaa region in recent years has yielded concrete results. The results show that investments in international recognition, sales, and cooperation can be achieved.
to achieve measurable growth. The common DMO’s task would be to turn the cooperation built in the projects into a permanent, structured and goal-oriented activity.
Growth from international markets is also important for the year-round nature of tourism. International trips are often booked well in advance, and travelers move between municipalities and regions during one trip.
Across the borders of the provinces. Saimaa presents itself to the tourist as a unified lake area, whose attractiveness is formed by a combination of nature, culture, cities, events, food, and tourism services.
Travel companies need a common sales force
Entrepreneur of Sahanlahti Resort and member of the board of Lake Saimaa ry Jaana Kuivalainen It considers the establishment of a common DMO to be crucial for the growth of tourism businesses in the region.
According to Kuivalainen, domestic demand alone is not enough to enable tourism growth, year-round operations, and new investments. International customers stay longer in the region and use services.
more diversified and bring more predictable demand to tourism companies.
"The growth of international tourism is not only one of the development options for the tourism industry in Saimaa, but it is also a key prerequisite for its future, renewal, and ability to invest. We, the tourism entrepreneurs, are already doing
cooperation across the entire Saimaa region, beyond the boundaries of municipalities and regions. Even international tourists see the Saimaa as a whole, not as separate cities. Now we need cooperation between businesses alongside a common and
"an organization with sufficient resources that builds international demand and sales for Saimaa", Kuivalainen says.
The launch work is building DMO step by step
Members of Lake Saimaa Association outlined the construction of a common tourism regional organization as a strategic direction in the spring of 2026. The launch work planned now is not a new clarification of whether a common DMO is needed. It is a stepwise implementation process during which the DMO’s operational capacity is built up in practice.
Lake Saimaa ry is requesting decisions from the member municipalities during September regarding participation in funding the start-up work. The goal is to ensure the total funding of the start-up work during the autumn. In the start-up work
The preliminary cost estimate for the necessary external expert services has been estimated at 100,000 euros (VAT 0%). If the necessary funding is collected, the city of Imatra will tender and procure the expert services from Lake
On behalf of Saimaa ry. After this, the regional stakeholders will start a more detailed preparation process, defining the operating model, tasks, funding, and cooperation structures of the future organization.
The principle decision made by the cities now does not yet bind them to the DMO's future funding contributions, the final organizational structure, the number of personnel, or the individual implementation solutions. These questions
It is prepared during the launch process and brought separately for decision-making by the member organizations.
More information
Kirsi Mutka-Paintola
Chairman of the Board
Lake Saimaa Society
Tel: 044 357 6358
kirsi.mutka-paintola@navitas.fi
Jaana Kuivalainen
Member of the board, Lake Saimaa ry
entrepreneur, Sahanlahti Resort
tel. 045 800 8422
jaana.kuivalainen@sahanlahtiresort.fi
Lake Saimaa Association is the administrative cooperation organization of the tourism operators of Lake Saimaa. Its purpose is to deepen marketing cooperation among tourism operators, to seek the benefits resulting from cooperation, and to guide and coordinate the region’s joint activities. The preparation of the joint DMO is progressing in stages.
The members of Lake Saimaa Association are currently the city of Imatra and the Imatra Regional Development Company, the city of Lappeenranta and goSaimaa, the city of Mikkelin, Miksei Regional Development Company of Mikkelin and Mikkelin Regional Tourism Service, the city of Savonlinna and Savonlinna Regional Tourism, the city of Varkaus and Navitas Development, as well as the regional associations of South Savo and South Karelia.