{"id":90011,"date":"2025-08-12T16:00:39","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T14:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/?p=90011"},"modified":"2025-08-12T16:01:39","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T14:01:39","slug":"the-doggy-route-to-happiness-the-worlds-first-sightseeing-tour-for-dogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/en\/the-doggy-route-to-happiness-the-worlds-first-sightseeing-tour-for-dogs\/","title":{"rendered":"The Doggy Route to Happiness | The world\u2019s first sightseeing tour for dogs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last weekend, Helsinki, known as the happiest capital in the world, launched The Doggy Route to Happiness, believed to be the world\u2019s first sightseeing tour designed especially for dogs. The event coincided with the World Dog Show 2025<\/a> and attracted over 1,000 dogs and their owners.<\/p>\n

2 minutes read<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Highlights included the Stickelius Monument<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Stickelius Monument is a canine-sized tribute to the iconic Sibelius Monument<\/a>, built entirely from sticks collected by Neris, a local rescue dog famous for his \u201cStick Gallery\u201d art installations. This 1:4 scale version drew media attention and calls for it to become a permanent feature.<\/p>\n

Caf\u00e9 Dogatta part of The Doggy Route to Happiness<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The route also featured Caf\u00e9 Dogatta, a \u201cpup-up\u201d caf\u00e9 next to the popular seaside Caf\u00e9 Regatta<\/a>, and Rajasaari Island, a unique dog-only island in the heart of Helsinki. Open year-round and accessible on foot, Rajasaari offers forests, beaches, and swimming spots \u2013 with the President and Prime Minister living just across the water. While the route itself was created for the launch weekend, Dogatta and Rajasaari remain open permanently for locals and visitors.<\/p>\n

About happiness in Finland <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Finland, home to 5.6 million people and around 800,000 dogs, has the highest number of dogs per person in the world. Helsinki alone has an estimated 40,000 dogs, and the city offers over 90 dog parks, several dog beaches, a 50-hectare dog forest, and numerous training fields. Dogs are welcome in most shops, caf\u00e9s, and restaurants \u2013 some with special dog menus \u2013 and even in libraries, where \u201creading dogs\u201d help children practise reading. Dogs also travel for free on all public transport.<\/p>\n

According to Soila Lehkonen, Head of Brand & PR at Helsinki Partners<\/a>, the initiative aimed to showcase beloved outdoor spots from a dog\u2019s perspective: \u201cPets boost happiness. We wanted to create attractions both dog owners and their pets could enjoy together.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Doggy Route to Happiness reflects Helsinki\u2019s inclusive approach to well-being \u2013 extending its world-renowned quality of life not just to humans, but also to their four-legged companions.<\/p>\n

We recently wrote an article about HosPETality!\u00a0<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last weekend, Helsinki, known as the happiest capital in the world, launched The Doggy Route to Happiness, believed to be the world\u2019s first sightseeing tour read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[106,109,113,115,116,117,124,80,89,121,123],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-90011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-government","category-trends-2","category-hospitality","category-pop-up-main-2","category-co-creation","category-social-media-main-2","category-p-en","category-sector-2","category-restaurant-sector","category-place","category-promotion"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Doggy Route to Happiness | The world\u2019s first sightseeing tour for dogs | horecatrends.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Helsinki, launched The Doggy Route to Happiness, believed to be the world\u2019s first sightseeing tour designed especially for dogs.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/en\/the-doggy-route-to-happiness-the-worlds-first-sightseeing-tour-for-dogs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Doggy Route to Happiness | The world\u2019s first sightseeing tour for dogs | horecatrends.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Helsinki, launched The Doggy Route to Happiness, believed to be the world\u2019s first sightseeing tour designed especially for dogs.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/en\/the-doggy-route-to-happiness-the-worlds-first-sightseeing-tour-for-dogs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"horecatrends.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-12T14:00:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-12T14:01:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Marjolein van Spronsen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Marjolein van Spronsen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/en\/the-doggy-route-to-happiness-the-worlds-first-sightseeing-tour-for-dogs\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/en\/the-doggy-route-to-happiness-the-worlds-first-sightseeing-tour-for-dogs\/\",\"name\":\"The Doggy Route to Happiness | The world\u2019s first sightseeing tour for dogs | horecatrends.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-12T14:00:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-12T14:01:39+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6991c37cea63375734df82189bc434f3\"},\"description\":\"Helsinki, launched The Doggy Route to Happiness, believed to be the world\u2019s first sightseeing tour designed especially for dogs.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/en\/the-doggy-route-to-happiness-the-worlds-first-sightseeing-tour-for-dogs\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/en\/the-doggy-route-to-happiness-the-worlds-first-sightseeing-tour-for-dogs\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/en\/the-doggy-route-to-happiness-the-worlds-first-sightseeing-tour-for-dogs\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Doggy Route to Happiness | The world\u2019s first sightseeing tour for dogs\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/\",\"name\":\"horecatrends.com\",\"description\":\"Van Spronsen & Partners horeca-advies\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6991c37cea63375734df82189bc434f3\",\"name\":\"Marjolein van Spronsen\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/166605ee592e40a4d405e08822d1af2a41cc59723472c9cad8c5d0c17f369c7b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/166605ee592e40a4d405e08822d1af2a41cc59723472c9cad8c5d0c17f369c7b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Marjolein van Spronsen\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Doggy Route to Happiness | The world\u2019s first sightseeing tour for dogs | horecatrends.com","description":"Helsinki, launched The Doggy Route to Happiness, believed to be the world\u2019s first sightseeing tour designed especially for dogs.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/en\/the-doggy-route-to-happiness-the-worlds-first-sightseeing-tour-for-dogs\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Doggy Route to Happiness | The world\u2019s first sightseeing tour for dogs | horecatrends.com","og_description":"Helsinki, launched The Doggy Route to Happiness, believed to be the world\u2019s first sightseeing tour designed especially for dogs.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/en\/the-doggy-route-to-happiness-the-worlds-first-sightseeing-tour-for-dogs\/","og_site_name":"horecatrends.com","article_published_time":"2025-08-12T14:00:39+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-08-12T14:01:39+00:00","author":"Marjolein van Spronsen","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Marjolein van Spronsen","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/en\/the-doggy-route-to-happiness-the-worlds-first-sightseeing-tour-for-dogs\/","url":"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/en\/the-doggy-route-to-happiness-the-worlds-first-sightseeing-tour-for-dogs\/","name":"The Doggy Route to Happiness | The world\u2019s first sightseeing tour for dogs | horecatrends.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-08-12T14:00:39+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-12T14:01:39+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6991c37cea63375734df82189bc434f3"},"description":"Helsinki, launched The Doggy Route to Happiness, believed to be the world\u2019s first sightseeing tour designed especially for dogs.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/en\/the-doggy-route-to-happiness-the-worlds-first-sightseeing-tour-for-dogs\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/en\/the-doggy-route-to-happiness-the-worlds-first-sightseeing-tour-for-dogs\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/en\/the-doggy-route-to-happiness-the-worlds-first-sightseeing-tour-for-dogs\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Doggy Route to Happiness | The world\u2019s first sightseeing tour for dogs"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/","name":"horecatrends.com","description":"Van Spronsen & Partners horeca-advies","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6991c37cea63375734df82189bc434f3","name":"Marjolein van Spronsen","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/166605ee592e40a4d405e08822d1af2a41cc59723472c9cad8c5d0c17f369c7b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/166605ee592e40a4d405e08822d1af2a41cc59723472c9cad8c5d0c17f369c7b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Marjolein van Spronsen"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90011"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90011\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90013,"href":"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90011\/revisions\/90013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horecatrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}