This thesis views sustainable nature tourism and its opportunities for the entrepreneurs operating in the nature reserve area. Sustainable tourism has become one of the major guidelines in tourism. It helps to maintain the attractiveness of the region, and at the same time to maximize the benefit for the community.

The thesis was commissioned by Metsähallitus, whose principles of sustainable tourism were the starting point for the research. Two studies were carried out in Archipelago National park in the summer of 2009: a theme interview for the partners of Metsähallitus and a survey for their customers.

The study revealed a variety of ways to implement sustainable tourism principles. The most common of these was the principle of not leaving the rubbish in the nature. All the entrepreneurs do not have an equal chance for extreme sustainable tourism solutions. For a transportation entrepreneur the motorboat is a tool without which it is impossible to operate. Instead, accommodation entrepreneurs have the opportunity to create sustainable solutions for services, for example, some of them have abandoned chemical detergents and changed to use dry toilets. Customer survey showed that in future up to 83 % of respondents had a high interest to follow sustainable principles in travel. Entrepreneurs’ interest to develop the regional welfare and the customer interest in sustainable tourism are the facts that activate the external influences to consider sustainable tourism opportunities in the area. In Archipelago National Park sustainable tourism must, therefore be developed in the future. The PAN Parks -certificate that the area received, created considerable interest among entrepreneurs and, therefore, will certainly be a strong, forwarding factor in the region.