Key Competitive Attractions
Home to 160,000 people and covering 18,768 km sq, Southern Savonia is an attractive tourist region, famous for the great lake Saimaa and the rare species of seal that lives there. Peppered with seven thousand lakes, with five thousand kilometres of rivers and brooks running between them, and home to Saimaa, Finland’s largest lake, it is unsurprising that one quarter of the region’s surface area is water.
Tourism is not the only draw to Southern Savonia, however. Nearly 50% of the plywood produced in Finland originates in the region, and the forests play an important role in the region’s economy, placing it at the forefront in wood technology. Many of the nation’s newspapers, periodicals and books are produced in the region’s printing houses.
A strong network of higher education institutions, including the Mikkeli University of Applied Sciences, is based around the industries in the area. Highly respected programmes in forestry and wood processing, information technology, culture and welfare services, foodstuffs, and environmental technology, make up the backbone of Southern Savonia’s research base.
Assistance and Support For New Business Investors
Southern Savonia has a Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment, tasked with providing services to enterprises. More information can be found here.
