Tourists excitedly return to Santa's hometown

Known as the “homeland of Santa Claus”, before the Covid-19 pandemic, Santa Claus Village in Lapland was always bustling with tourists in winter, mostly international visitors from Europe and Asia. People come here to enjoy the festive atmosphere at large amusement parks, experience reindeer or sleigh rides and admire the northern lights if they are lucky.

Tourists enjoy the festive atmosphere at Santa Claus Village, Lapland, Finland

Last year, Covid-19 restrictions hit tourism hard in northern Finland. Statistics from the Rovaniemi Tourist Board show that the city welcomed just over 11,000 visitors in December 2020, down about 82% from December 2019. However, this Christmas, Santa Claus Village unexpectedly welcomed 80% of the number of visitors in 2019. Many destinations here reported that visitor numbers were almost back to pre-pandemic levels, even calling this winter a “turning point” for business.

Local businesses say the increase in demand is due to people not being able to travel last winter, and the addition of direct flights to Rovaniemi from Paris and Dusseldorf. “We’ve never been so busy in the last week or the last few days,” said Tuomas Palmgren, the owner of a taxi company in Rovaniemi.

On Christmas 2021, Santa Claus village welcomed 80% of the number of visitors compared to 2019

However, many people are concerned that this crowdedness will not last long, as Finland is preparing to apply stricter regulations for visitors from outside Europe or the Schengen area, requiring these subjects to have a negative Covid-19 test result within 48 hours, regardless of whether they have recovered from the disease or have a vaccination certificate.

Rovaniemi Tourism Board representative Sanna Karkkainen said that new regulations every day, along with the fear of cancellations, are a conundrum for the local tourism industry: “It’s been a year and a half, and we don’t know when these difficulties will actually end.”

According to VOV