Snow, northern lights, Santa Claus - Lapland collected one-half of overnight stays by foreign tourists in Finland.

Nothern Lights in Lappland. Photo: Pixabay

Tourism in Lapland in Finland is growing rapidly. Snow, scenery, ski tracks, ski slopes, the northern lights and Santa Claus will attract tourists to Lapland.

The numbers speak the same language. Accommodation establishments in Lapland collected one-half of overnight stays by foreign tourists in December 2016, tells Statistics Finland.

The number of recorded nights spent by foreign tourists at accommodation establishments in Lapland was 336,000, which was 26.5 per cent higher than in December 2015. Of these, most nights were spent by British visitors, 158,000. Their overnight stays increased by 28.1 per cent year-on-year. 

Reindeers, photo: Pixabay.

Overnight stays by tourists from Asia increased by as much as 53.6 per cent in Lapland and nearly 51,000 nights were recorded for them in December 2016. 

British visitors emerged as the biggest foreign tourist group in the whole country in December. The return of Russians was visible as an 18 per cent growth in overnight stays, which lifted them to second place with good 69,000 nights.

What are the main reasons for the popularity of tourism in Lapland? Growth in air traffic, safety, and social media, which tells about Lapland around the world. This explains businessman Pertti Yliniemi, who owns many hotels in Lapland. His interview was published in Helsingin Sanomat, Finland's largest daily newspaper.