Island in Finland Requests Visitors to Leave Cell Phones Behind

While most administrators aim to make their destinations popular on TikTok and attract Netflix viewers, despite the potential negative impact on communities, a small island located off the southeastern coast of Finland is adopting a different strategy.

The tourism authorities of Ulko-Tammio, one of the several islands of the Eastern Gulf of Finland National Park, say that they want the island to be a “telephone-free island” and urge visitors to “turn off their smart devices and stop and truly enjoy the trip. the islands,” Visit Kotka-Hamina expert Mats Selin says in a press release.

The atmosphere is supported by Parks & Wildlife Finland, which takes care of the island’s pristine environment and nature. “We encourage guests to leave their phones voluntarily and focus on their senses in nature instead of the phone,” said outdoor recreation and visitor manager Joel Heino in the announcement.

On the travel side, booking a digital-free vacation to a tropical region is a growing trend that even corporate executives are resorting to, and digital detox retreat options have long been around for those who have decided to turn their noses away from their phones while traveling. But it’s not normal for an industry that relies on influencers and breathtaking visuals on social media to attract visitors or convey the feel of a place.

About 63% of millennial and younger travelers say they used at least one social media platform to plan trips in the past 12 months, according to Destination Analysts’ June 2023 survey of American travelers. Besides, is your vacation really happening if you don’t write about all the fun you have there?

Attempts to get consumers to give up their phones have increased over the years, especially in the entertainment industry.

Electronic dance music artist Lane 8 is famous for his phone-free concerts, which has brought more audiences to his live shows. Dave Chappelle and Alicia Keys were the first to ban phones from shows, using the Yondr bag, which dates back to 2015: Place your iPhone in a gray and lime green bag that closes as soon as you close it; you can carry it with you, but you can’t click it open until you get to the unlocking station when you leave the event.

San Francisco-based Yondrin’s locking phone cases are now being used in certain courthouses, theaters, restaurants and schools in the US that want to limit the use of the devices.

In January 2023, Thermae Bath Spa, located in historic Bath, England, announced it was becoming a mobile-free zone and partnered with Yondri. The public spa said in a release that the phones were a “regular source of annoyance” for guests as well as “a problem for our staff who have to retrieve dropped phones from the bottom of the pools.”

In Yondr’s last public data release, an estimated 1 million customers used its bags in March 2022; The company said it could not share more recent information with Bloomberg. Questions about the effectiveness of the bag arose after it was used in the Broadway show Take Me out, however, leaked footage and photos of a naked Jesse Williams on stage surfaced on social media.

There are no Yondr bags on the Finnish island of Ulko-Tammio. But with increasing evidence that social media is addictive and can impair mental health, perhaps more travelers are willing to ditch their phones outside. It’s nice to think that a nod is enough.

If not, you can take great photos with a digital camera, although you won’t be able to send them while you’re on the island. (Here are the cameras used by the influencers this year.) “There is no need to ban art,” said Visit Kotka-Hamina’s content production manager Annika Ruohonen by email.

You can reach Ulko-Tammio by private boat all year round, weather permitting, and in summer by boat taxi or small boat cruise from Kotka, an hour and a half’s drive east of Helsinki. Boat taxis are also available from Hamina, which is another 20 minutes east of Kotka.

After that, you just stay away from your phone while looking at Ulko-Tammio’s isolated scenic water views – steep cliffs and arctic bird species – from the observation tower. You can then explore the island’s historic fortress and caves, which were used in two battles against the Soviet Union during World War II, as well as rock carvings dating back to the 19th century.

If you post pictures or videos where you’re standing just 10 kilometers from the Russian border, you’ll have to wait until you get back to your hotel.