Good Leadership and Management Give a Head Start to a Tourism Company

The renowned Muonio-based tourism company, Harriniva Oy, and the strong tourism development organization, Lapland University of Applied Sciences, have entered into a partnership agreement.

Through this partnership, they aim to address recruitment and sustainability challenges in the MARA industry, with a particular focus on making leadership roles an attractive proposition within the tourism sector. This entails nurturing employee experiences within an international workplace, enhancing employee skills, making it easier to blend career and educational paths, and enabling employees to grow as versatile professionals in the field of tourism.

According to CEO Pyry Talvensaari, the partnership is built on the best possible foundation. In the operations of a growing and successful company, diverse leadership and effective management have taken center stage.

- Lapland university of applied sciences has much to offer us, and we have much to offer them, summarizes Pyry Talvensaari.

Harriniva Oy, as a multi-faceted tourism business, is an appealing partner for the university of applied sciences. The company has been actively investing in sustainability, which, according to rector Riitta Rissanen, provides a solid common ground for this partnership.

- This is precisely what we are very happy to do. Sustainable and responsible tourism is also a strong focus for the university, she adds.

The collaboration also aims to enhance the utilization of digitalization, including artificial intelligence and robotics, in the tourism company's operations. Sustainable property development is also included in the scope of partnership.

Practical forms of cooperation will include sharing expertise and knowledge, student collaboration, shared curricular content, theses, internships, and integrating work into education. Opportunities for broader joint research and development projects will also be explored.

The collaboration is coordinated by HR Manager Hanna Huhtamäki from Harriniva Oy and Skill Manager Markku Nissi from Lapland University of Applied Sciences' Responsible Services competence group. These contacts will develop an action plan as an annex to the partnership agreement, describing the partnership's themes and activities in detail.

The signing ceremony for the three-year agreement took place on Tuesday, October 24th. The agreement was signed by Harriniva Oy's CEO Pyry Talvensaari and Lapland University of Applied Sciences' rector Riitta Rissanen.