The slopes of Paljaka remain closed

The municipality of Puolanga and local entrepreneurs do not know what will happen to the empty properties in the Paljaka Tourism area. The British owner has been looking for new investors.

In Puolanka, Paljakka’s ski slopes have been closed since the end of 2022 and will not open this winter.

11 ski slopes are located in Kainuu in an area that is annually the snowiest place in Finland.

The tourist center also has a hotel, a new bowling alley open for a few days and Paljakka House. In this story, we will tell you why the things at the Paljakka Tourist Center are at this point.

This is a winter landscape with a large, modern building on the edge of the forest. The façade of the building is partly wooden and partly glass, with a snow -covered lake or pond behind it. Snow is on the ground and the forest stands out. — The Paljakka House has a movie theater and a gym.

At the same time, many tourism companies operate in the area, which offer, among other things, accommodation and program services such as husky and sledding safaris.

Polish entrepreneur Leena Heikkilä in a personal photo. — According to Leena Heikkilä, foreign families travel to Paljaka, among others.

Winter aerial view of the slopes of Paljaka. — Paljaka’s future in the hands of a British investor seemed promising: the company had plans to expand the skiing center, among other things. Paljakka is one of the snowiest areas in Finland every year.

Such an unclear situation developed

In 2019, George Hand joined the Finnish company North Finlandia Travels, which was responsible for the services of Paljaka’s ski slopes, slope restaurants, caravan area and Hotel Paljaka.

The future of Paljakka in Hand’s hands seemed promising: the company had plans to expand the ski resort, to renovate or demolish the hotel, and to build hundreds of beds.

Hotel Paljaka's entrance. — The hotel is closed, but the area has numerous other entrepreneurs’ cottages and holiday apartments for tourism.

North Finlandia Travels was filed for bankruptcy in 2022.

Police opened a financial crime investigation into North Finlandia Travels in the spring of 2024.

It hurts the area’s entrepreneurs, but tourism is running all the time

Both the municipality of Puolanga and local entrepreneurs are unaware of what will happen to the vacant properties in Paljaka.

– In the past years, it was strongly believed that Paljakka could be developed and that George Hand would seriously take it forward, says Kanniainen.

Entrepreneur Juha Haanela smiles at the coffee table. — Entrepreneur Juha Haanela says in her restaurant that foreigners are attracted to bare nature tourism trends such as skiing, snowshoeing and huscopes.

Tourism entrepreneurs in Paljaka see Paljakka as a potential target where they have also invested new things. In the summer, a new year -round restaurant opened in Paljakka and, for example, sled rental activities are being developed.

The place is not marketed to tourists through skiing, but foreigners are attracted by other trends in nature tourism, such as skiing, snowshoeing and husky safaris.

Snowy ski slope at night, snow cannon device and cloud -covered moon in the background. — The snow cannon stands idle next to the slopes of Paljaka.

Investors have visited the area

Charlie Hand hopes that the skiing center will return to operation, but it will probably require an external investor.

He estimates that over the years they have invested 3–3.5 million euros of their own funds in Paljakka. The value of the empty buildings has decreased, because due to the bankruptcy, the electricity and heating stopped and the frozen water pipes broke.

Bistro Paljaka's collapsed terrace. — The roof of the terrace of the bistro in Rinnekeskus has collapsed.

The future of George Hand owned properties and the ski resort depends on the outcome of the ongoing police investigation. Charlie Hand says they were not in contact with the suspected person or made any demands for anyone.

Despite the outcome of the financial crime investigation, there are difficult times to rebuild the ski resort, Charlie Hand suspects.

He says they have been looking for investors in both Finland and abroad to develop activities in Paljakka. According to Charlie Hand, foreign investors have visited Paljakka.

If the Hands received a decent offer, they could also consider selling.

– Now our goal is just to open the center again and stay open. Due to the criminal investigation, it is difficult to set the opening date because we do not want to make unnecessary promises, says Charlie Hand.