Ecotourism Society of Sweden Awards the 2012 Grand Travel Awards Ecotourism Prize

Urnatur lodge wins ecotourism prize

Urnatur has been awarded the Grand Travel Awards Ecotourism Prize for 2012. This year the Ecotourism Society of Sweden, together with the trade journal, Travel News, has awarded the prize to a company that has shown that running a wood hermitage is more profitable than felling trees. Urnatur, with its active preservation of cultural heritage and measures to promote biological diversity, attracts guests from near and far.

Together with Håkan Strotz, Ulrika Krynitz has been running Urnatur in southern Sweden for nearly 20 years. Urnatur is a company that invites visitors to enjoy the Swedish forest in an experience that stimulates all the senses.

Guests can taste bark bread and birch sap, as well as enjoying the farm’s other delicacies. In the cottages, guests are met by elegant design inspired by moss and bark beetles. The timbered cottages, air castle and tree houses provide peace and harmony, and the hosts are happy to share their extensive knowledge of forest life, value and history. Last but not least, this is a place for simply enjoying the sound of the breeze in the tree tops, fireside chats, a crystal-clear night sky, the wood-fired sauna, and natural warm welcome.

"It’s very pleasing to receive Sweden's leading acknowledgement that we look after our guests, as well as preserving all the forest values and the cultural heritage of the farm," says Håkan Strotz. Ulrika Krynitz adds. "Naturally, we're extremely proud of the award, but we're just as glad that so many of our guests decided to nominate us earlier this year."

The prestigious Grand Travel Awards ecotourism prize is awarded to the operator that has best represented and developed Swedish ecotourism in the past year. The nominated candidates are selected from those holding the quality mark, Nature's Best – a selection of the best outdoor tour operators in Sweden.

>> See The Swedish Ecotourism Society's member profile