It’s official. Despite the long dark nights, the freezing weather and forever winning ‘nil points’ at the Eurovision Song Contest, Finland is the happiest country in the world.
According to the latest World Happiness Report it beats last year’s victor Norway and is followed by Denmark, Iceland and Switzerland.
Sadly, Scotland doesn’t get a mention in the Top 10.
The report is released by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network for the United Nations to mark World Happiness Day every March.
It ranks countries on six key factors that support wellbeing: income, freedom, trust, healthy life expectancy, social support and generosity.
With Finland topping the poll, it seems there’s now one more good reason aside from reindeer and the northern lights to visit.
But what can we learn from their success story that can be applied to our own hospitality and tourism sector?
To find out let’s take a closer look at what makes our Finnish friends so happy.
The Finnish Bartender
Bartending is challenging work when the national drink is curdled milk. Thankfully, while practising their communication skills with global patrons, bartenders also know the attraction of lakka, a liqueur of cloudberries and mesimarja, made from Arctic brambleberries.
The Finnish Waiter/Waitress
“One should take a man by his words and a bull by its horns!” That’s according to a Finnish proverb. We wouldn’t recommend the bull in either scenario – horns are sharp and the Finns take words very seriously. This also means waiting staff are not just friendly – they’re incredibly attentive to the needs of diners.
The Finnish Hotel Manager
The best hotel managers are experts at dealing with guests with all types of taste and from all parts of the world. As English is widely spoken in Finland, especially in the tourism and hospitality sector, visitors can be sure their needs will be heard and acted upon. This shows the value of learning languages.
The Finnish Chef
From Karjalanpiirakka or Karelian pies whose potato, rice or carrot centres melt in the mouth to Korvapuusti cinnamon buns – whose name translates as ‘slapped ears’ – there’s no lack of culinary choice in Finland. Chefs really do love to be creative – a passion well worth emulating in Scotland. Anyone for oregano doughballs and saffron mince?
We’ve started so we’ll ‘Finnish’ . . . with a look at opportunities in Hospitality, Tourism & Catering on s1jobs guaranteed to bring you happiness.