On a cold December afternoon, several groups of tourists flocked to Santa Claus Village, a winter amusement park on the edge of the Arctic Circle, on snowy ground.
They frolic in the snow, take a reindeer sleigh ride, sip a cocktail at an ice bar or even visit St. Nick in Rovaniemi, the capital of Finnish Lapland, which calls itself “the official hometown of Santa Claus.”
“It’s like my dream come true,” said Polish visitor Elzbieta Nazaruk. “I’m excited to be here.” Tourism is booming in Rovaniemi – with hotel and restaurant owners, as well as city officials, excited because it brings more money to the city. However, not everyone is happy with the onslaught of visitors 10 times the city’s population each year at Christmas time.
‘We are concerned about the increasing growth of tourism. Tourism has grown so fast, it’s out of control,” said Antti Pakkanen, 43, a photographer and member of the residential network who organized a rally on the city’s streets in September.
It’s a sentiment echoed in other popular European travel destinations, including Barcelona, Amsterdam, Malaga and Florence.
Across the continent, locals have protested against “overtourism”—which usually describes the tipping point where visitors and their cash benefit residents and instead damage historic sites, overburden infrastructure, and make life more difficult. Stay there.
Now, it appears to be extending northward, to the edge of the Arctic Circle.
Rovaniemi counted a record 1.2 million overnight visitors in 2023, an increase of nearly 30 percent in 2022, after rebounding from pandemic travel disruptions.
“Nordic is a trend,” said Sanna Karkainen, CEO of Rovaniemi, as she stood in the ice restaurant, where snow carvers were working nearby.
“People want to travel to cold countries to see snow, to see the northern lights and of course to see Santa Claus,” he added.
Thirteen new flight routes opened at Rovaniemi Airport this year, bringing passengers from Geneva, Berlin, Bordeaux and more. Most tourists come from European countries such as France, Germany and the UK, but Rovaniemi’s appeal is also widespread.
Hotel availability is low this winter, and Tina Matta, general manager of the 159-room original Sokos Hotel, expects 2024 to break even more records.
Local critics of mass tourism say that many of the apartment buildings in Rovaniemi’s city center are also used for accommodation services during peak season and are thus no longer available for residential use. They say the proliferation of short-term rentals has driven up prices, squeezed out long-term residents and turned its city center into a “transient place for tourists.” Finnish law prohibits commercial accommodation services in buildings intended for residential use, so campaigners are calling on the authorities to take action.
“The rules have to be better enforced,” Paknen said.
Not everyone agrees. Mayor Ulla-Kirsikka Vainio noted that some make “good money” on short-term rentals.
Either way, stricter regulations likely won’t be in place this winter, and despite the discomfort expressed by locals, Rovaniemi’s mass tourism will likely only increase in 2025 — as visitors want to experience the unique atmosphere up north. Especially during the holiday season.
“It’s Christmas time and we want to see the northern lights,” says Joy, a visitor from Bangkok.
“Rovaniemi looks like a nice place.”
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