EU to Help Karelia Create Network of Tourist Guesthouses

Karelia plans to use Finnish experience in setting up private guesthouses to attract tourists to the region. A presentation of an international project, which will see the EU allocate EUR 230,000 for creating private guesthouses, was held today in Petrozavodsk.

Experts from the European Commission and the Forestry Institute of the Finnish town of Kuru, who took part in the presentation, said that future landlords would be trained in Finland. There are plans to set up 4 private guesthouses over the next two years, and altogether talks have been held with the owners of 70 private homes in various villages in Karelia. In the future it is planned to create a network of inns for tourists and a Karelian Association of Guesthouses.