SHAPING ECOTOURISM IN PARTNERSHIP: PRACTICAL PERSPECTIVES

4 -5 February 2020

Joensuu, North Karelia Biosphere Reserve (Finland)

Costs and Logistics Information

Venue

The Conference will be held at the Sokos Hotel Kimmel in Joensuu.

Costs

There are no conference fees, but participants are expected to cover their own catering and accommodation costs.

Accommodation options

Conference venue

Sokos Hotel Kimmel

Single room: 110€ / night*

Double room: 130€ / night*

(*) Includes breakfast, sauna and swimming pool

Other options close to the venue:

GreenStar hotel

Single room: 74€ / night (including breakfast)

Double room: 82€ / night (including breakfast)

Lietsu boutique aparthotel

Single room: 106€ / night (+ breakfast 8€)*

Double room: 116€ / night (+ breakfast 8€)*

(*) Sauna, gym and parking included (upon availability)

Fieldtrip in North Karelia Biosphere

Expect cold and snowy conditions. Most of the activities will take place indoors, but please wear warm clothing.

You can check the updated weather forecast here.

Getting to Joensuu

Joensuu can be easily reached from Helsinki both by plane and train.

By train:

Finnish railways (VR) provides transportation from Helsinki to Joensuu and the travel takes approximately 5 hours. Tickets are sold online and at the Helsinki train station. A one-way fare is approximately 65-70 € but the prices vary and sometimes there are special offers. You can normally find cheaper tickets about 1 – 6 weeks before the date of departure. The last train to Joensuu departs Helsinki around 18:00. Timetables and prices can be checked from the Finnish railways (VR) webpages (https://www.vr.fi/cs/vr/en/frontpage ).

By flight:

Flights from Helsinki to Joensuu take about one hour and the prices for return flights (starting from 90 €) are cheaper than train tickets when booked early enough. One-way tickets are generally more expensive than return flights. The connections are operated by Finnair.

Airport transfers:

An airport bus (fee 5 €) operates between Joensuu airport and city centre Monday to Friday. The bus waits for plane arrival before departure to the city centre, and on the way back, the bus leaves from the bus station (opposite Sokos hotel; venue) 65 min before takeoff. You can find the route for the airport bus at http://sklfi.asiakkaat.sigmatic.fi/aikataulut/?navref=paragraph#en

Taxis operating in the Joensuu region are on call at the taxi stand in front of the airport during the scheduled arrival times. The fee to the city centre is 20-30 € depending on arrival time. In case you need to call a taxi, the number is 0601 10100.

(https://www.finavia.fi/en/airports/joensuu/parking-access/public-transport?navref=main)

Contact:

If you have any enquiries about the organisation of the Conference, please contact the SHAPE project coordinator, Diana Valero, at diana.valero.perth@uhi.ac.uk / +44 (0) 17388 77876