Blog: Imatra's success requires the courage to envision

We have read a critical review of the city's Ukonniemi vision from about ten years ago in the local newspaper. Readers have been given a picture of the city's strategic failure.

I claim that the development of the Ukonniemi area to its current state is a great success for the city. It is still at the center of our future growth expectations.

Even with regard to the present, we must have the courage to question and envision the attraction of the future more boldly.

Although the workplace sought in Imatra's Ukonniemi visionathe objectives have not been met, the correct conclusion is that the implementation has failed.

The number of tourist overnight stays in the Saimaa region has grown clearly faster than the rest of the country in recent years. The vision of the city of Imatra, our investment in cooperation between Ukonniemi and the Saimaa region, have guaranteed that the growth of tourist overnight stays has also rained down on Imatra.

What would have been the alternative? The tourism flows that have now taken place have contributed to securing the current operating conditions of the Imatra spa, and almost a hundred jobs are located there. Not to mention the other services in our area, the jobs preserved here and created in the area, which the hotel guests of the neighboring city on the Imatra side also benefit from. The development of Ukonniemi's service offering has also supported Rauha's investments in an important way. There is also a workplace for many people from Imatra.

In the 11/2018 regional development outlook publication of the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, the future tourism potential of the Saimaa region is compared to Lapland and the capital region. Regarding the Ukonniemi region, the ministry's publication states: "...the future of exercise and sports tourism is promising. (Ukonniemi) ...is of great importance to the region's economy."
Imatra has always had bold visions for the city distinguished positively from their peers. Without bold visions and the courage to take action, our fight against global megatrends and predicted images of the future is, to say the least, hopeless.
Jarkko Huovinen, director of the regional unit of the municipal association, aptly stated in Kuntalehti's article about the challenges of population decline areas: "The development of vitality means above all that the municipality must have a vision on which the growth of the area is based." Hopefully we will continue to have the ability implement Bold visions like Ukonniemi's to develop the living environment of the residents of our region and the vitality of our city!

Kaisa Heino

Deputy Mayor

Imatra