Visit Finland Visitor Survey 2016 Visit Finland Studies 9 Finpro, Visit Finland Helsinki 2017
Non-resident visitors in Finland in 2016
Contents Abstract 5 Introduction 7 Trips to Finland 10 Day and overnight trips 13 Finland as the main destination 15 Purpose of the trip 17 Organising the trip 19 Duration of trip 21 Number of overnight stays 23 Overnight accommodation 26 Expenditures in Finland 28 Shopping basket 31 Expenditure per trip 32 Travel destination in Finland 34 Travel destination the Helsinki Metropolitan Area 36 Destination archipelago / coast 37 Destination Finnish Lakeland 38 Travel destination Lapland 39 What is interesting about Finland 41 Finnish cultural sites 43 Finnish Archipelago 44 The Finnish cuisine 45 Finnish sauna 46 Wellness services and treatments 47 Summer activities on land 48 Summer activities on the water 49 Winter sports 50 Other winter activities and experiences 51 Finland's popularity 52 How often in Finland 53 First time in Finland 54 Would you recommend Finland 56 Other travel destinations 57 Visited elsewhere during the trip 58 The next travel destination (top 10) 60 Background information 61 The family's combined gross annual income62 The age and gender distribution 63 Occupational distribution 64 Travel companions 65 Area of residence in home country 66
5 Abstract TWO PERCENT GROWTH IN TOURISM In 2016 non-resident visitors made 7.7 million trips to Finland, which is two percent more than the previous year. A good third of the trips were made by people living in Russia. A fifth of the total trips were from Sweden and Estonia and every eighth visitor to Finland came from Asia. The largest relative increase was in trips from India, but in absolute terms the greatest increase came from China, with over 90,000 trips. Around 50,000 more trips than the year before were made from Germany, Sweden and South Korea. Travel to Finland from the EU countries also increased. The largest number of trips decreased from Russia (-107 000 trips) and the highest proportion from Norway, Switzerland and Canada. The Swiss and Canadian decline in travel in 2016 was affected by the Gymnaestrada event in gymnastics, as well as the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships organized in Finland, which increased the number of Swiss and Canadian visitors in 2015. DAY TRIPS INCREASED AND OVERNIGHT TRIPS DECREASED Two out of five trips made to Finland in 2016 were day trips. More than 60 percent of day trips were made by Russians, and 20 percent made by Estonians or Swedes. The Russians also made the most overnight trips (760,000 trips), or one in every six overnight trips. Visitors arriving from Sweden made almost the same number of overnight trips (640,000 trips). A total of 3.1 million day trips and 4.6 million overnight trips were made. Overnight trips increased the most from China and Japan (about 50,000 trips more) and decreased the most from Russia and Estonia. However, more day trips were made from these countries. The same trend was also seen in Swedish travel. Russian trips have been decreasing from 2014 until now, but now day trips seem to have begun to increase again. BUSINESS TRIPS AND TRANSIT TRIPS INCREASED Three hundred thousand more business trips were made to Finland than in 2015. Transit trips (a trip in which Finland was not the main destination) increased by 220,000 trips. However, there were 320,000 fewer visits to friends than before. Business trips increased, particularly from Sweden and Estonia, while visits to friends from these countries and Russia decreased. Shopping trips from Russia also increased. Transit trips from Estonia and China increased, as did holiday trips from Sweden and China.
6 OVERNIGHT STAYS DECREASED Visitors living abroad spent 28.3 million nights in Finland last year, which is 11 percent less than in 2015. Overnight stays from Russia alone decreased by 1.1 million nights. The number of overnight stays greatly affects the relative development of day and overnight trips Compared to 2015, the number of day trips increased and the number of overnight trips decreased from several countries. Most of the nights spent in Finland are generated by long-term visitors: about one-fifth of the visitors spent at least 6 days in Finland, but their overnight stays were three-fourths of total overnight stays for the year. The long-staying visitors in Finland often stay in their own or in rented dwellings, as well as with relatives, in which case they are excluded from the official accommodation statistics. More travelers stayed in hotels and motels as well as rental housing (including Airbnb) than before. Overnight stays in hotels and motels increased by 7 percent. According to Statistics Finland foreign arrivals in hotels increased by 8%. However, there were over 400,000 fewer overnight stays with friends and relatives than a year earlier. Eighty percent of these visitors were from Russia, Sweden or Estonia. SPENDING INCREASED FIVE PERCENT Visitors arriving from abroad spent EUR 2.50 billion in Finland in 2016, or 130 million more than the year before. Expenditures of visitors from Russia accounted for almost one fifth, when their share of trips made to Finland was one third. Also visitors from China and Japan spent altogether just over one fifth of the money spent by foreign visitors in Finland over the course of the year. Visitors from Germany, Sweden and Estonia were the next largest groups in terms of expenditures. A total expenditure of about one-fifth (530 million ) was paid in advance for accommodation, car rental, entrance fees, etc. The sum of EUR 2.5 billion does not include border checkpoints not included in the study or tickets to Finland, which makes up approximately EUR 1.4 billion in tourism income in Finland. When these are taken into account, it can be estimated that Finland received tourism income comparable to export income of approximately EUR 3.9 billion. The largest amount (+77 million ) was from increased spending by visitors from China. Expenditure of travelers arriving from Russia decreased by only four percent (-21 million. ). Visitors from abroad spent about EUR 70 million more on accommodation, as well as about EUR 40 million more in restaurants and cafes than earlier. Spending on shopping and food decreased by approximately EUR 50 million, despite the fact that one hundred thousand more shopping trips than the previous year were made from Russia. The amount of money spent on purchases was less due to reduced spending by the Estonians as well as smaller average purchases made by the Chinese visitors last year. The Chinese still spent on average more than others on shopping during their trip (230 ). For example, the Russians spend an average of 130 euros. Advance expenses also increased by about EUR 60 million from last year. Visitors spent on average about EUR 320 per trip in Finland, when the advance expenses are included. The Chinese used the most money per visitor (940 ).
7 Introduction THE PURPOSE OF THE SURVEY The TAK Border Survey, of which the Visit Finland Visitor Survey is part, is an on-going research project which began in 1997. The purpose is to provide data on non-resident visitors to Finland. The survey helps to identify, among other things, the annual number of visitors to Finland and the amount of money they spend in Finland. In addition, the study provides information on the profiles of incoming visitors from different countries: how long people stay in Finland, where they stay, why they come to Finland, how often they come to Finland, what they do during the trip, where they go during the journey and what they do in Finland. EXECUTION OF THE SURVEY The survey is carried out year-round on different days and at different times by interviewing tourists aged over 14, residing abroad and exiting Finland at the border stations. The interviewees are chosen using equally spaced sampling, e.g., by selecting every fifth traveler. Interview dates are selected at random for the entire year, except in Lapland, where the interviews are carried out during the winter season. Interviews are carried out at the Helsinki and Turku ports, at the Helsinki, Turku, Tampere, Rovaniemi and Kittilä airports as well as on the eastern border in Vaalimaa, Nuijamaa, Vainikkala, Imatra and Niirala. At the eastern border the heavy goods traffic is not taken into account, and in the ports of Helsinki, international cruise ships are discounted. The survey covers 94% of the eastern border traffic through the five border stations included in the survey. The number of trips in the report corresponds to the number of visitors living abroad leaving Finland through the border stations included in the study in 2015. In 2016 a total of 53,172 travelers leaving Finland were approached. Of these travelers 48% lived in Finland. The percentage of foreign visitors under 15 years of age was 2.2%, and 28.0% refused to answer, did not have time to answer or were not interviewed due to some other reason. A total of 19,051 interviews were completed during the year 2016. Tutkimus- ja Analysointikeskus TAK Oy is responsible for the practical implementation of the survey.
8 RELIABILITY OF THE RESULTS The results are weighted to match the actual number of travelers at airports, ports and the eastern border which are included in the survey. As regards the Helsinki airport and ports, the passenger volume is weighted according to the travel destination (country). In addition, in the ports, the material is weighted to match the distribution of countries of residence from the shipping companies statistics. Transit passengers at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport, people who have a job in Finland and visitors whose trip lasted a year or longer are not included in the report. The error margin resulting from the random sample of the survey results for the percentages of the entire material is at most ± 0.7 percentage points when including all travelers. In country-specific results the sample sizes vary between 101 and 9,046, resulting in countryspecific margins of error ranging between ±1.1-9.7 percentage points. COMPARABILITY OF RESULTS For the year 2016 much more accurate statistics on ships' traffic were achieved: distribution of the country of residence of passengers (Estonia, Sweden, Russia, China, Japan, other). In addition, visitor configuration was changed from 2015 so that it includes the so-called regulars, i.e. people who visit Finland at least once a week, but does not include transit passengers. The 2015 figures have been calculated in this report again, using the number of travelers in 2016, as well as the corresponding country of residence distribution with regard to ports in 2016. For this reason, the figures which appear in the 2015 figures differ from the old (year 2015) report. In respect to the 2015 material, information on whether day passengers are in fact transit passengers at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport will be received beginning from July. For this reason, comparisons to the year 2015 are based on data for July-December.
9 TERMS TRIP The number of trips in this report refers to the number of persons residing abroad who have left Finland. Figures do not include those working in Finland, or those staying in Finland at least one year or transit passenger trips. TRANSIT PASSENGER Transit passengers are travelers leaving Finland who only changed planes at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport and did not leave the airport during their trip. TRANSIT VISITOR Transit visitors are visitors for whom Finland is not the main destination. Their main destination is thus elsewhere but they travel there through Finland. Transit visitors may, however, spend time in and stay overnight in Finland before continuing their trips.
10 Trips to Finland
11 Trips to Finland A total of 7.7 million trips were made to Finland 3 000 000 2 000 000 1 000 000 0 Graph 1. Trips to Finland (the trips of people working in Finland, or trips lasting a year or longer or transit passengers are not included) In 2016 non-resident visitors made 7.70 million trips to Finland, which is two percent more than the previous year. A good third of the trips were made by people living in Russia. A fifth of the total trips were from Sweden and Estonia and every eighth visitor to Finland came from Asia.
12 Change in trips Trips increased, especially from Asian countries 97% 59% 2% 6% 17% 1% 13% 15% 19% 8% 26% 0% 3% 4% 3% 18% 35% 7% 44% -1% -7% -17% -8% -4% -36% -38% -31% -11% -5% -19% Graph 2. The change in trips from 2015 (the trips of people working in Finland, or trips lasting a year or longer or transit passengers are not included) Trips to Finland increased by two per cent from 2015. The largest relative increase were trips from India, but in absolute terms the greatest increase came from China, with over 90,000 trips. Around 50,000 more trips than the year before were made from Germany, Sweden and South Korea. Travel to Finland also increased from the EU countries, although fewer trips were made from Poland, Belgium and Latvia. The largest number of trips decreased from Russia (-107 000 trips) and the highest proportion from Norway, Switzerland and Canada. Swiss and Canadian decline in tourism in 2016 was affected by the Gymnaestrada event in gymnastics, as well as the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships organized in Finland. Road border stations between Finland and Norway are not included in the study.
13 Day and overnight trips A total of 3.1 million day trips and 4.6 million overnight trips were made. 2 000 000 1 000 000 0 Day Overnight Graph 3. Day and overnight trips to Finland (the trips of people working in Finland, or trips lasting a year or longer or transit passengers are not included) Two out of five trips made to Finland in 2016 were day trips. More than 60 percent of day trips were made by Russians, and 20 percent made by Estonians or Swedes. The Russians also made the most overnight trips (760,000 trips), or one in every six overnight trips. Visitors arriving from Sweden made almost the same number of overnight trips (640,000 trips). Over 40 percent of overnight trips were from Russia, Sweden and Estonia.
14 The change in day trips and overnight trips Overnight trips increased the most from China and Japan 200 000 Day trips Overnight trips 100 000 0-100 000-200 000-300 000 Estonia Sweden Germany United Kingdom France Denmark Italy Netherlands Spain Poland Belgium Lithuania Latvia Other EU countries Russia Norway Switzerland Rest of Europe United States Canada Latin America Japan China South Korea India Rest of Asia Africa Australia Rest of Oceania Graph 4. The change in day and overnight trips since 2015 (the trips of people working in Finland, or trips lasting a year or longer or transit passengers are not included) Overnight trips increased the most from China and Japan (about 50,000 trips more) and decreased most from Russia and Estonia. However, more day trips were made from these countries. The same trend was also seen in Swedish tourism. Russian trips have been decreasing from 2014 until now, but now day trips seem to have begun to increase again. Germany increased both day tips and overnight trips.
15 Finland as the main destination In nine out of ten trips made to Finland from Europe, Finland was the main destination. 100% 50% 0% Graph 5. Finland as the main destination (the trips of people working in Finland, or trips lasting a year or longer or transit passengers are not included) Finland was the main destination in over four-fifths (83%) of all trips made to Finland. Such trips during the year amounted to 6.4 million (EUR -50 000 compared to 2015). About two-fifths were made by visitors living in Russia. Most frequently Finland is the main destination of trips made from Europe (90% of trips), when trips made to Finland as the main destination from outside Europe is 60 percent.
16 Trips to Finland Day trip, Finland not the main destination Day trip, Finland the main destination Overnight, Finland not the main destination Overnight, Finland the main destination Estonia 151 (49) 265 (229) 46 (29) 460 (625) 921 (932) Sweden 22 (20) 197 (119) 18 (21) 624 (653) 861 (812) Germany 39 (13) 18 (21) 34 (21) 314 (291) 404 (345) Great Britain 9 (6) 20 (16) 14 (39) 210 (191) 253 (251) France 8 (4) 6 (8) 8 (11) 153 (133) 176 (156) Denmark 2 (2) 6 (9) 3 (5) 69 (53) 80 (70) Italy 3 (4) 7 (5) 18 (18) 87 (72) 118 (99) The Netherlands 11 (2) 2 (3) 6 (6) 67 (67) 86 (80) Spain 6 (2) 3 (7) 12 (16) 122 (89) 144 (114) Poland 2 (3) 3 (3) 3 (5) 63 (65) 71 (76) Belgium 1 (5) 1 (3) 5 (3) 37 (42) 44 (53) Lithuania 9 (8) 5 (5) 15 (7) 13 (22) 42 (42) Latvia 11 (4) 8 (6) 5 (1) 36 (54) 59 (64) Other EU countries 5 (14) 3 (7) 52 (34) 155 (154) 216 (210) Russia 153 (143) 1773 (1628) 38 (58) 723 (965) 2686 (2794) Norway 2 (26) 6 (5) 5 (7) 52 (64) 65 (101) Switzerland 0 (7) 2 (3) 9 (5) 49 (82) 60 (97) Rest of Europe 10 (22) 9 (25) 14 (6) 67 (43) 100 (96) The United States 19 (18) 3 (5) 37 (43) 86 (75) 145 (140) Canada 4 (2) 2 (5) 8 (12) 16 (25) 31 (44) Latin America 10 (3) 7 (1) 17 (26) 29 (42) 64 (71) Japan 58 (59) 7 (16) 47 (34) 119 (88) 231 (196) China 67 (15) 24 (40) 89 (82) 176 (126) 356 (264) South Korea 27 (10) 39 (20) 37 (34) 31 (20) 134 (85) India 3 (1) 13 (3) 23 (11) 31 (21) 71 (36) Rest of Asia 18 (17) 7 (14) 45 (57) 137 (129) 208 (218) Africa 5 (0) 4 (0) 4 (5) 13 (20) 26 (24) Australia 5 (4) 2 (3) 19 (23) 16 (23) 42 (53) Rest of Oceania 1 (0) 0 (0) 4 (7) 3 (3) 7 (5) Total 661 (460) 2445 (2210) 638 (620) 3961 (4238) 7705 (7529) Table 1. Trips to Finland, thousand trips (the year 2015 in brackets) Total
17 Purpose of the trip Business trips and transit trips increased from last year 2015 973 2016 1 271 1 657 1 334 1 662 1 727 1 571 1 621 1 081 1 299 585 452 Business trip Visit to friend Shopping trip Holiday trip Transit Other reason Graph 6. Purpose of the trip, 1000 trips (Transit = Finland is not the main destination) Three hundred thousand more business trips were made to Finland than in 2015. Transit trips (a trip in which Finland was not the main destination) increased by 220,000 trips. However, there were 320,000 fewer visits to friends than before. Business trips increased, particularly from Sweden and Estonia, while visits to friends from these countries and Russia decreased. Also, shopping trips from Russia increased. This may explain in part the increase in day trips and the decrease in overnight trips from these countries. Transit trips from Estonia and China increased, as did holiday trips from Sweden and China.
18 Purpose of the trip Business trip Visit to friends or relatives Shopping trip Holiday trip Transit Other reason Estonia 280 (171) 223 (287) 46 (110) 126 (213) 197 (77) 49 (73) Sweden 177 (111) 316 (425) 27 (17) 229 (119) 40 (41) 71 (101) Germany 97 (81) 109 (93) 4 (1) 86 (105) 72 (34) 36 (32) Great Britain 77 (39) 67 (59) 1 (0) 77 (101) 23 (44) 9 (9) France 33 (27) 48 (33) 0 (1) 55 (42) 16 (15) 23 (38) Denmark 44 (32) 14 (17) 2 (1) 12 (8) 5 (8) 4 (4) Italy 25 (18) 17 (21) 5 (0) 31 (32) 21 (22) 19 (7) The Netherlands 25 (29) 25 (25) 0 (2) 15 (9) 17 (9) 3 (6) Spain 23 (20) 50 (24) 0 (0) 41 (40) 18 (18) 11 (12) Poland 26 (17) 13 (24) 2 (0) 20 (13) 5 (8) 5 (14) Belgium 16 (11) 13 (19) 0 (0) 5 (12) 7 (9) 4 (3) Lithuania 8 (10) 4 (7) 0 (0) 4 (5) 24 (15) 1 (6) Latvia 22 (15) 12 (9) 0 (2) 8 (22) 16 (5) 2 (11) Other EU countries 48 (47) 43 (50) 1 (1) 44 (33) 57 (49) 22 (29) Russia 166 (164) 210 (371) 1578 (1475) 473 (496) 191 (201) 67 (88) Norway 25 (29) 22 (22) 2 (0) 7 (11) 7 (33) 3 (7) Switzerland 10 (12) 13 (26) 1 (1) 22 (34) 9 (12) 5 (12) Rest of Europe 21 (13) 19 (20) 1 (12) 14 (19) 24 (28) 20 (3) The United States 28 (23) 26 (26) 1 (1) 22 (25) 56 (60) 12 (6) Canada 5 (7) 6 (13) 0 (0) 7 (5) 12 (14) 1 (4) Latin America 9 (6) 10 (16) 0 (1) 10 (17) 27 (29) 7 (4) Japan 22 (4) 8 (11) 18 (22) 69 (53) 105 (93) 9 (14) China 19 (32) 13 (12) 11 (3) 126 (76) 156 (97) 31 (43) South Korea 9 (10) 3 (0) 17 (0) 29 (17) 64 (44) 12 (13) India 17 (12) 10 (7) 2 (0) 14 (3) 26 (12) 2 (3) Rest of Asia 31 (24) 26 (28) 3 (11) 64 (42) 64 (74) 20 (38) Africa 4 (8) 6 (5) 4 (0) 1 (2) 9 (5) 2 (4) Australia 4 (3) 6 (9) 0 (0) 8 (14) 24 (26) 1 (1) Rest of Oceania 1 (0) 2 (1) 0 (0) 0 (2) 5 (2) 0 (0) Total 1271 (973) 1334 (1657) 1727 (1662) 1621 (1571) 1299 (1081) 452 (585) Table 2. Trips to Finland, thousand trips (the year 2015 in brackets)
19 Organising the trip Asians and Australians use travel agents the most 50% Used a travel agency to help in organizing the trip 25% 0% Graph 7. Used a travel agency to help in organizing the trip, % of trips A travel agency was most frequently used to help in arranging trips from Asia and Australia. A travel agency at least helped with trip planning or booking for almost every other trip from Japan and 44% of trips from China. Russians used travel agencies the least when planning and booking trips to Finland.
20 Organizing the trip I planned and made reservations myself The travel agency organized a customized travel package according to my wishes I booked a package tour with a fixed itinerary from the travel agency. I planned and booked part of the trip myself and I used a travel agency for part of the trip. My employer organised the trip Estonia 715 37 10 9 112 38 Sweden 682 28 15 12 93 31 Germany 276 18 19 12 64 15 Great Britain 148 28 23 3 39 11 France 124 15 3 8 22 4 Denmark 48 3 1 1 25 4 Italy 80 8 10 2 13 5 The Netherlands 60 1 2 0 20 2 Spain 103 8 11 3 12 6 Poland 46 2 1 3 16 3 Belgium 30 0 0 0 12 2 Lithuania 31 3 0 1 5 3 Latvia 42 3 1 1 9 5 Other EU countries 150 5 10 6 28 17 Russia 2 505 14 43 10 89 25 Norway 52 3 1 1 6 3 Switzerland 43 7 2 2 5 1 Rest of Europe 67 8 3 2 12 7 The United States 120 5 3 3 11 4 Canada 26 0 1 1 2 0 Latin America 40 5 3 3 8 4 Japan 93 26 68 20 22 3 China 187 60 83 12 13 2 South Korea 71 11 32 8 5 7 India 37 6 13 1 12 1 Rest of Asia 117 32 18 9 28 5 Africa 21 1 0 0 2 2 Australia 29 5 4 3 2 0 Rest of Oceania 6 0 1 0 0 0 Total 5 951 341 380 136 684 212 Table 3. Organising the trip, thousand trips Other
21 Duration of trip
22 Duration of trip DAY TRIPS INCREASED AND OVERNIGHT TRIPS DECREASED 2015 2 670 2016 3 124 1 079 989 1 018 881 1 185 1 248 1 577 1 463 one day trip 2 days 3 days 4 to 5 days longer than 5 days Graph 8. Duration of trip, 1000 trips 450,000 more day trips were made to Finland than previously. The increase came in practice from the Russians, Estonians and Swedes, but also from the Chinese and the South Koreans. By contrast, the number of overnight trips decreased. Two to three-day trips decreased by 230,000 and trips of 5 days or longer decreased by 110,000 from 2015. According to Statistics Finland the length of trips with overnight stays in registered accommodation establishments shortened by two percent.
23 Number of overnight stays Visitors living abroad spent 28 million nights in Finland 3 000 000 2 000 000 1 000 000 0 Graph 9. Number of overnight stays (nights) Visitors living abroad spent 28.3 million nights in Finland last year, which is 11 percent less than in 2015. Overnight stays from Russia alone decreased by 1.1 million nights. The number of nights spent greatly affects the relative development of day and overnight trips Compared to 2015, the number of day trips increased and the number of overnight trips decreased from several countries. Most of the nights spent in Finland are generated by long-term visitors: about one-fifth of the visitors spent at least 6 days in Finland, but their overnight stays were three-fourths of total overnight stays for the year. The long-staying visitors in Finland often stay in their own or in rented dwellings, as well as with relatives, in which case they are excluded from the official accommodation statistics.
24 The change in number of overnight stays There were 11% fewer overnight stays than last year 178% 23% 35% 19% 6% 37% 21% -11% -3% -4% -19% -1% -16% -9% -45% -4% -55% -40% -30% -24% -57% -1% -31% -69% -7% -25% -24% -23% -28% -41% Graph 10. Change in overnight stays compared to 2015 There were over 3.5 million fewer overnight stays in Finland than in 2015. The drop in numbers was mostly due to the drop in visits to family and friends. For example, overnight stays in registered accommodation establishments increased by 5 percent. Overnight stays increased most for visitors from Italy, France, China and Japan. The number of trips also increased from these countries. By contrast, fewer German visitors stayed overnight even though the number of trips increased. In other words, German visitors stayed a shorter time than earlier. Trips of a year or longer are not included. However, the long, several months, work / study trips and friends and relatives visits have a large impact on the total number of and changes in the number of overnight stays.
25 Duration of the trips and number of overnight stays Day trip 2 days 3 days 4-5 days 6 days or more Average duration, nights Total number of nights Estonia 413 (278) 119 (164) 102 (171) 102 (147) 185 (172) 3,4 (3,4) 3089 (3192) Sweden 220 (139) 117 (167) 159 (175) 208 (163) 156 (169) 3,6 (3,9) 3064 (3192) Germany 56 (34) 48 (48) 67 (55) 92 (72) 142 (136) 5,9 (8,5) 2367 (2932) Great Britain 29 (22) 32 (32) 30 (36) 82 (67) 79 (94) 4,8 (4,9) 1228 (1237) France 15 (12) 18 (12) 22 (24) 43 (35) 78 (73) 10,2 (9,3) 1792 (1456) Denmark 8 (11) 15 (14) 18 (13) 19 (19) 20 (13) 4,5 (3,8) 363 (268) Italy 13 (8) 13 (13) 8 (13) 31 (29) 53 (35) 13,8 (5,9) 1627 (585) The Netherlands 13 (6) 6 (11) 14 (16) 29 (22) 24 (25) 4,3 (5,6) 374 (446) Spain 9 (9) 23 (11) 15 (15) 33 (29) 63 (49) 7,8 (10,8) 1122 (1227) Poland 5 (7) 6 (7) 13 (8) 26 (26) 21 (28) 6,4 (10,8) 454 (821) Belgium 13 (8) 7 (6) 8 (8) 11 (12) 17 (19) 6,6 (5,7) 292 (302) Lithuania 13 (13) 15 (9) 6 (3) 3 (7) 4 (10) 3,1 (6,8) 130 (287) Latvia 18 (9) 9 (6) 8 (18) 11 (19) 13 (12) 5,5 (4,3) 326 (274) Other EU countries 10 (21) 55 (19) 24 (28) 63 (48) 65 (93) 5,4 (9,2) 1162 (1931) Russia 1937 (1771) 242 (332) 195 (260) 184 (221) 128 (209) 0,9 (1,2) 2416 (3469) Norway 8 (18) 7 (13) 19 (16) 17 (18) 14 (23) 4,3 (3,6) 277 (363) Switzerland 2 (9) 8 (7) 6 (11) 20 (26) 24 (44) 5,4 (7,9) 323 (761) Rest of Europe 25 (47) 13 (4) 10 (9) 23 (15) 29 (21) 7,1 (7) 710 (669) The United States 21 (22) 24 (19) 16 (26) 33 (31) 51 (43) 5,9 (6,1) 856 (863) Canada 6 (7) 3 (8) 5 (5) 5 (10) 11 (15) 6,5 (6,5) 199 (289) Latin America 17 (4) 8 (14) 5 (11) 12 (11) 22 (31) 4,8 (13,9) 307 (993) Japan 65 (75) 44 (33) 30 (18) 47 (32) 46 (39) 3,4 (2,9) 781 (572) China 90 (56) 65 (66) 55 (24) 59 (56) 87 (63) 5,2 (5,8) 1849 (1532) South Korea 67 (30) 29 (21) 14 (12) 8 (13) 16 (8) 2,7 (5,8) 369 (490) India 17 (4) 21 (7) 5 (2) 14 (7) 14 (15) 4,4 (11,4) 311 (408) Rest of Asia 27 (31) 29 (28) 24 (34) 54 (28) 74 (96) 8,7 (10,8) 1816 (2353) Africa 9 (0) 1 (1) 0 (1) 4 (5) 12 (17) 13,2 (23,7) 343 (577) Australia 7 (6) 4 (5) 1 (6) 11 (17) 15 (19) 6,1 (6,8) 258 (358) Rest of Oceania 1 (0) 1 (0) 1 (0) 3 (1) 2 (3) 6,6 (10,2) 49 (53) Total 3124 (2670) 989 (1079) 881 (1018) 1248 (1185) 1463 (1577) 3,7 (4,2) 28257 (31904) Table 4. The duration of the trip and the number of overnight stays, thousand trips / nights (in brackets the year 2015)
26 Overnight accommodation There were over 400,000 fewer overnight stays with friends and relatives than a year earlier. 2015 2016 2 073 2 212 549 519 262 334 1 719 1 282 504 538 Hotel or motel Camping, hostel or rental cottage Rental flat Friends or family Other (other e.g. own home or cottage) Graph 11. Overnight accommodation, 1000 arrivals to accommodation More travelers stayed in hotels and motels as well as rental housing (including Airbnb) than before. Overnight stays in the hotels and motels showed an increase of 7 percent. According to Statistics Finland foreign arrivals in hotels increased by 8%. However, there were over 400,000 fewer overnight stays with friends and relatives than a year earlier. Eighty percent of these visitors were from Russia, Sweden or Estonia.
27 Overnight accommodation Hotel or motel Camping, hostel or rental cottage Rental flat Friends or relatives Other (e.g. own home or cottage) Estonia 141 (144) 33 (59) 25 (40) 236 (346) 85 (82) Sweden 266 (195) 41 (23) 7 (14) 246 (350) 129 (94) Germany 167 (149) 40 (51) 31 (19) 114 (87) 28 (31) Great Britain 132 (120) 23 (23) 10 (8) 64 (82) 18 (13) France 82 (67) 20 (37) 30 (19) 44 (51) 7 (21) Denmark 44 (37) 6 (1) 5 (4) 15 (17) 6 (3) Italy 58 (52) 13 (14) 18 (7) 22 (21) 3 (4) The Netherlands 39 (41) 5 (4) 7 (2) 23 (22) 3 (6) Spain 63 (53) 16 (14) 9 (16) 46 (27) 18 (7) Poland 39 (32) 10 (6) 4 (4) 16 (21) 4 (12) Belgium 21 (24) 7 (7) 6 (2) 12 (15) 2 (6) Lithuania 21 (15) 1 (4) 2 (1) 5 (6) 1 (4) Latvia 17 (21) 7 (8) 5 (4) 10 (17) 5 (6) Other EU countries 92 (84) 52 (28) 18 (16) 40 (61) 21 (19) Russia 273 (368) 135 (170) 37 (29) 212 (347) 109 (101) Norway 26 (38) 3 (3) 4 (1) 21 (20) 9 (11) Switzerland 35 (42) 8 (9) 2 (4) 14 (26) 7 (15) Rest of Europe 43 (26) 6 (5) 5 (3) 17 (16) 9 (3) The United States 71 (79) 14 (11) 9 (6) 31 (29) 10 (7) Canada 13 (19) 4 (5) 1 (2) 8 (12) 1 (3) Latin America 23 (30) 6 (25) 3 (4) 13 (14) 6 (3) Japan 138 (102) 8 (10) 8 (6) 8 (10) 7 (6) China 200 (159) 23 (18) 39 (13) 10 (10) 14 (13) South Korea 38 (40) 9 (6) 8 (3) 1 (3) 7 (3) India 37 (18) 1 (4) 5 (2) 6 (5) 4 (5) Rest of Asia 105 (82) 17 (13) 26 (7) 27 (82) 23 (20) Africa 7 (10) 2 (3) 1 (2) 9 (11) 1 (1) Australia 18 (24) 4 (7) 7 (5) 7 (11) 3 (3) Rest of Oceania 0 (3) 0 (0) 1 (1) 4 (7) 1 (1) Total 2212 (2073) 519 (549) 334 (262) 1282 (1719) 538 (504) Table 5. Overnight accommodation, thousand arrivals to accommodation (in brackets the year 2015)
28 Expenditures in Finland
29 Expenditures in Finland EUR 2.50 billion was spent in Finland 400 Millions 300 200 100 - Graph 12. Expenditures in Finland Visitors arriving from abroad spent EUR 2.50 billion in Finland in 2016, or 130 million more than the year before. Expenditures by people arriving from Russia made up some one fifth while their share of trips made to Finland was one third. Also visitors from China and Japan spent altogether just over one fifth of the money spent by foreign visitors in Finland over the course of the year. Visitors from Germany, Sweden and Estonia were the next largest groups in terms of expenditures. Of the total amount, about one-fifth (EUR 530 million ) was paid in advance for accommodation, car rental, entrance fees, etc. The sum of EUR 2.5 billion does not include border checkpoints not included in the study or tickets to Finland, which make up approximately EUR 1.4 billion in tourism income in Finland. When these are taken into account, it can be estimated that Finland received tourism income comparable to export income of approximately EUR 3.9 billion.
30 Change in expenditures Expenditures by visitors in Finland increased by five percent 101% 75% 47% 55% 26% 36% 30% 5% 10% 2% 11% 8% 4% 10% 13% 4% -15% -7% -19% -23% -4% -4% -20% -4% -9% -32% -37% -41% -38% -38% Graph 13. Change in expenditures compared to 2015 Expenditures by non-resident visitors in Finland increased by five percent compared to the previous year. The largest amount (+77 million ) was from increased spending by visitors from China. Expenditure of visitors arriving from Russia decreased by only four percent (-21 million. ).
31 Shopping basket Expenditure on accommodation and restaurants increased 2015 2016 469 527 402 470 336 379 825 779 182 175 47 42 72 86 38 38 Advance expenses Accommodation Restaurants and cafes Shopping and food Transport Cultural services Entertainment Other Graph 14. Itemized expenditures in Finland, EUR million Visitors from abroad spent about EUR 70 million more on accommodation, as well as about EUR 40 million more in restaurants and cafes than earlier. Spending on shopping and food decreased by approximately EUR 50 million, despite the fact that one hundred thousand more shopping trips than the previous year were made from Russia. The amount of money spent on purchases was less due to reduced spending by the Estonians as well as lower average purchases made by the Chinese visitors last year. The Chinese still spent on average more than others on shopping during their trip (230 ). For example, the Russians spend an average of 130 euros. Advance expenses also increased by about EUR 60 million from last year.
32 Expenditure per trip Visitors to Finland used an average of EUR 320 per trip 1 000 800 600 400 200 - Graph 15. Expenditures in Finland per trip The tourists spent on average about EUR 320 per journey in Finland, when the advance expenses (prepaid accommodations, car rentals, admission fees etc.) are included. The Chinese used the most money per visitor (940 ). Visitors arriving from outside Europe spent more than the others, while visitors from neighboring countries spent the least amount of money in Finland per trip.
33 Expenditures in Finland Advance expenses / trip Product purchases / matka Services / trip Total / trip Total / per day Total (million ) Estonia 17 (12) 48 (70) 71 (77) 136 (159) 31 (36) 125 (148) Sweden 25 (39) 52 (59) 123 (94) 200 (192) 44 (39) 172 (156) Germany 80 (80) 70 (90) 223 (256) 373 (426) 54 (45) 151 (147) Great Britain 135 (95) 72 (49) 249 (220) 457 (364) 78 (62) 116 (92) France 97 (140) 120 (99) 344 (331) 560 (571) 50 (55) 99 (89) Denmark 94 (45) 57 (30) 263 (196) 414 (271) 75 (56) 33 (19) Italy 122 (86) 77 (45) 338 (304) 537 (435) 36 (63) 63 (43) The Netherlands 94 (109) 42 (78) 242 (250) 378 (437) 71 (66) 32 (35) Spain 115 (117) 96 (81) 371 (343) 582 (541) 66 (46) 84 (62) Poland 68 (83) 63 (116) 269 (350) 399 (549) 54 (46) 28 (42) Belgium 81 (87) 91 (66) 237 (265) 410 (418) 54 (63) 18 (22) Lithuania 23 (14) 47 (66) 101 (143) 171 (222) 42 (28) 7 (9) Latvia 29 (56) 36 (49) 101 (138) 166 (243) 26 (46) 10 (16) Other EU countries 93 (54) 90 (105) 242 (295) 426 (455) 67 (45) 92 (95) Russia 17 (18) 126 (122) 31 (35) 175 (175) 92 (78) 469 (490) Norway 67 (37) 70 (97) 252 (181) 389 (315) 74 (69) 25 (32) Switzerland 185 (216) 122 (133) 316 (314) 623 (663) 98 (75) 38 (64) Rest of Europe 48 (33) 65 (170) 224 (162) 337 (365) 41 (46) 34 (35) The United States 133 (121) 82 (73) 339 (337) 554 (531) 80 (74) 80 (75) Canada 172 (82) 89 (112) 335 (260) 596 (454) 80 (60) 18 (20) Latin America 129 (242) 80 (112) 293 (375) 503 (728) 86 (49) 32 (52) Japan 135 (241) 116 (140) 256 (191) 507 (572) 116 (146) 117 (112) China 304 (229) 226 (353) 411 (394) 941 (976) 152 (143) 335 (257) South Korea 133 (140) 138 (114) 188 (215) 459 (469) 122 (69) 62 (40) India 121 (87) 128 (105) 302 (348) 551 (540) 102 (44) 39 (19) Rest of Asia 219 (162) 159 (193) 392 (311) 770 (666) 79 (56) 160 (145) Africa 119 (131) 339 (249) 342 (377) 799 (756) 56 (31) 21 (18) Australia 342 (248) 97 (71) 369 (308) 807 (627) 114 (80) 34 (33) Rest of Oceania 13 (214) 67 (106) 175 (275) 255 (595) 34 (53) 2 (3) Total 68 (62) 101 (110) 155 (143) 324 (315) 69 (60) 2497 (2370) Table 6. Expenditure in Finland, EUR (in brackets the year 2015)
34 Travel destination in Finland
35 Travel destination in Finland Picture 1. Travel destination in Finland
36 Travel destination the Helsinki Metropolitan Area Trips to the Helsinki Metropolitan Area totalled 3.9 million. 700 000 600 000 500 000 400 000 300 000 200 000 100 000 0 Graph 16. Travel destination the Helsinki Metropolitan Area Most trips to the Helsinki Metropolitan Area were made from Estonia, Russia, Sweden, China and Germany. The Helsinki Metropolitan Area was the main destination for one out of two trips to Finland. For Russian visitors, the Helsinki Metropolitan Area was the main destination for only one in four trips while 2/3 of trips made by other foreigners had the capital area as their main destination.
37 Destination archipelago / coast The number of trips to the archipelago and coastal regions was 1.2 million. 600 000 500 000 400 000 300 000 200 000 100 000 0 Graph 17. Destination archipelago / coast (Kotka-Hamina area, Finland Proper, Åland, Western Finland) The number of trips to the archipelago and coastal regions was 1.2 million. Two-thirds of the trips were made by the Russians and Swedes. Trips to the archipelago / coast from Estonia were 85,000, from Germany 42,000 and from China 35,000.
38 Destination Finnish Lakeland A total of 2.7 million trips were made to Finnish Lakeland 1 800 000 1 600 000 1 400 000 1 200 000 1 000 000 800 000 600 000 400 000 200 000 0 Graph 18. Finnish Lakeland (Pirkanmaa, Päijät-Häme, Etelä-Karjala, Keski-Suomi, Etelä-Savo, Pohjois-Savo, Pohjois-Karjala, Kainuu) Finnish Lakeland was the main destination for every third trip. The Russians made two-thirds of these trips. Most of their trips were made to Lappeenranta and Imatra. Visitors arriving from Estonia and Sweden made a little less than 200,000 trips to Finnish Lakeland. Close to a hundred thousand trips from Germany, 45,000 trips from the UK and 35,000 trips from France and China were made to Finnish Lakeland.
39 Travel destination Lapland A total of 0.5 million trips were made to Lapland 90 000 80 000 70 000 60 000 50 000 40 000 30 000 20 000 10 000 0 Graph 19. Travel destination Lapland About a half a million trips were made to Lapland last year. The number is the same as the number visitors arriving at registered accommodation establishments reported by Statistics Finland. The northern road border stations, through which mainly Norwegian and Russian visitors enter, are not included in the study. People travelling most to Lapland were Chinese, British, Japanese, German, Estonian and French.
40 Travel destination in Finland The Helsinki Metropolitan Area Archipelago / coast Finnish Lakeland Lapland Estonia 639 85 185 37 Sweden 393 270 188 13 Germany 265 41 95 42 Great Britain 151 20 45 60 France 107 23 35 34 Denmark 54 8 17 3 Italy 84 18 28 14 The Netherlands 59 8 20 5 Spain 89 18 39 17 Poland 37 29 17 7 Belgium 28 5 10 3 Lithuania 35 3 7 3 Latvia 39 8 18 4 Other EU countries 160 12 48 8 Russia 605 487 1 673 18 Norway 42 9 15 4 Switzerland 36 4 12 18 Rest of Europe 76 12 28 7 The United States 119 9 28 7 Canada 21 2 7 2 Latin America 55 2 6 4 Japan 199 9 16 45 China 293 35 33 81 South Korea 107 6 27 4 India 59 16 5 3 Rest of Asia 142 18 39 47 Africa 16 3 7 0 Australia 30 4 6 9 Rest of Oceania 7 0 0 0 Total 3 950 1 164 2 654 497 Table 7. Travel destination in Finland, thousand trips
41 What is interesting about Finland
42 What is interesting about Finland Cultural sites is perceived as most interesting 100% Europe North America Latin America Asia Africa (indicative) Australia & Oceania 0% Finnish cultural attractions Finnish archipelago Finnish culinary experiences Finnish sauna Wellness services and treatments Summer activities on land Summer activities on the water Winter sports Other winter activities and experiences Graph 20. What is interesting in Finland, % trips Visitors were asked which of the above Finnish recreational activities interested them. Finnish cultural sites most frequently reported to be of interest. Visitors from Europe are less interested in them than others. By contrast, they were more interested in wellness services and treatments. In general, the wellness services do not, however, attract very many visitors. Winter experiences interested travelers from Australia, Asia and North America most and summer activities interested those arriving from North America, Europe and Australia. Australians were on average more interested in all of the abovementioned activities.
43 Finnish cultural sites The visitors arriving from outside Europe were more interested in Finnish cultural sites. 100% Interested in Experienced during trip 17% 18% 24% 17% 22% 21% 55% 46% 39% 30% 22% 27% 27% 25% 12% 64% 12% 34% 15% 67% 14% 21% 17% 52% 47% 53% 25% 30% 16% 43% 14% 13% 35% 15% 15% 11% 60% 47% 41% 19% 48% 16% 74% 17% 28% 14% 66% 21% 55% 16% 10% 26% 43% 48% 34% 18% 55% 19% 25% 0% 10% Graph 21. Experienced / interested in Finnish cultural sites, % trips The visitors arriving from outside Europe were more interested in Finnish cultural sites. They have also visited these sites more often during their trips. Visitors from Japan are not as interested in Finnish culture as those arriving from other Asian countries. Likewise, Russians have very little interest in Finnish culture.
44 Finnish Archipelago Over half of those interested in experiencing the Finnish archipelago did not do so during their trip. 100% Interested in Experienced during trip 0% 29% 19% 24% 29% 17% 7% 5% 9% 13% 9% 31% 31% 14% 17% 21% 12% 16% 9% 28% 35% 30% 44% 37% 26% 19% 13% 16% 6% 7% 11% 4% 1% 37% 24% 24% 20% 17% 24% 14% 17% 16% 16% 10% 7% 22% 14% 10% 5% 4% 11% 18% 13% 19% 15% 17% 13% 11% 4% 34% 3% Graph 22. Experienced / interested in the Finnish archipelago, % trips Over half of those interested in experiencing the Finnish archipelago did not do so during their trip. This also includes travelers who visited Finland during the summer. The reason may be that there wasn't enough time for a visit to the archipelago during the trip, or, for example, because the visitor does not know how to get to the archipelago, or getting there is too difficult. This also indicates that the archipelago is a potential tourist destination for visitors arriving from abroad.
45 The Finnish cuisine Asians and Russians are the least interested in the Finnish cuisine 100% Interested in Experienced during trip 9% 0% 10% 14% 19% 13% 12% 22% 14% 17% 10% 16% 14% 14% 14% 11% 33% 38% 35% 36% 32% 33% 34% 39% 43% 40% 56% 17% 12% 24% 30% 3% 4% 14% 24% 16% 42% 11% 23% 16% 19% 10% 41% 36% 41% 8% 8% 14% 6% 8% 20% 18% 9% 10% 5% 27% 24% 9% 8% 50% 45% Graph 23. Experienced / interested in Finnish cuisine, % trips Asians and Russians are clearly less interested in the Finnish cuisine than other visitors. On average, one in five visitors said they had experienced the Finnish cuisine during the trip, and about one third of are interested in it.
46 Finnish sauna There was a visit to a Finnish sauna on every fifth trip. 100% Interested in Experienced during trip 0% 21% 21% 16% 18% 20% 30% 30% 28% 20% 16% 19% 44% 20% 21% 20% 31% 20% 19% 16% 36% 25% 23% 33% 34% 52% 23% 17% 17% 22% 27% 13% 9% 30% 22% 18% 10% 21% 27% 37% 34% 27% 24% 22% 15% 27% 14% 13% 20% 16% 23% 17% 13% 14% 31% 7% 22% 18% 11% 42% 47% Graph 24. Experienced / interested in the Finnish sauna, % trips Russians were also the least interested in the sauna, even though the sauna visits by Russians was the second highest after Sweden. This is due to the large number of trips made by Russians. On average there was a visit to a Finnish sauna on every fifth trip. In addition, another fifth is interested in going to sauna, but did not have the opportunity to do so during their trip. During the year 260,000 visitors from Sweden, 240,000 visitors from Russia, 145,000 visitors from Estonia and 120,000 visitors from Germany went to the sauna during their trip.
47 Wellness services and treatments Wellness services are mainly used by visitors from Russia. 100% Interested in Experienced during trip 0% 28% 12% 15% 14% 25% 10% 10% 8% 7% 9% 4% 3% 3% 2% 3% 9% 7% 9% 4% 5% 1% 1% 4% 3% 8% 13% 9% 9% 9% 8% 7% 2% 3% 4% 0% 2% 4% 6% 3% 6% 7% 5% 6% 2% 3% 4% 6% 9% 0% 1% 1% 2% 1% 0% 4% 8% 5% 0% 1% 0% Graph 25. Experienced / interested in wellness services and treatments, % trips Visitors used the wellness services and treatments in Finland on less than one in twenty trips. More than half of those using wellness treatments were Russian. Over ten thousand trips using these services were made from Estonia, Sweden, and France. Those arriving from other countries used these services significantly less frequently. Little interest in and use of these services perhaps indicates that visitors want to experience something else or they do not consider Finland a particularly wellness services-oriented country. A total of 310,000 trips used wellness services during the year.
48 Summer activities on land Asians were the least interested in summer activities on land. 100% Interested in Experienced during trip 0% 27% 32% 26% 31% 33% 29% 31% 9% 6% 10% 11% 12% 18% 8% 25% 38% 25% 15% 11% 18% 20% 11% 39% 18% 37% 33% 27% 31% 14% 9% 13% 11% 9% 9% 34% 16% 38% 34% 39% 33% 26% 29% 22% 16% 19% 23% 17% 10% 6% 11% 13% 9% 2% 5% 4% 10% 9% 7% 4% 6% Graph 26. Experienced / interested in summer activities in the countryside (e.g. cycling, hiking, watching animals), % trips Summer activities on land are e.g. cycling, hiking and wildlife watching. Visitors arriving from Europe, North America, and Australia are more interested in these types of activities than visitors from Asia, Latin America and Africa. Visitors arriving from Europe most frequently participated in these activities during their trip.
49 Summer activities on the water Asians were the least interested in summer activities on the water. 100% Interested in Experienced during trip 0% 35% 24% 28% 25% 34% 33% 29% 33% 25% 28% 26% 27% 24% 25% 21% 21% 23% 29% 28% 11% 31% 17% 6% 6% 6% 9% 13% 7% 7% 5% 7% 9% 10% 5% 6% 6% 8% 9% 5% 5% 8% 4% 2% 10% 37% 45% 20% 22% 20% 23% 14% 15% 1% 4% 0% 2% 5% 7% 9% 4% Graph 27. Experienced / interested in summer activities on the water (e.g. swimming, canoeing (kayaking), sailing, cruises, fishing), % trips As with summer activities on land, also summer activities on the water least interest visitors arriving from Asia. Aquatic summer activities are e.g. swimming, canoeing (kayaking), sailing, cruises and fishing.
50 Winter sports The Chinese are interested in winter sports 100% Interested in Experienced during trip 0% 34% 37% 27% 27% 35% 27% 23% 28% 29% 19% 23% 23% 5% 7% 13% 15% 10% 11% 11% 7% 7% 3% 4% 3% 34% 35% 31% 26% 16% 3% 5% 6% 2% 5% 25% 16% 35% 31% 26% 22% 26% 16% 4% 7% 5% 3% 3% 9% 11% 17% 3% 1% 30% 13% 26% 6% 24% 14% 56% 1% Graph 28. Experienced / interested in winter sports (e.g. cross-country skiing, alpine skiing, snow boarding, snowshoeing, % trips The Chinese differ from other Asians in terms of winter sports (e.g. cross-country skiing, alpine skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing) because they are twice as interested in in them, and are also trying winter sports on their trips more often than the Japanese and the South Koreans. However, visitors arriving from Europe are the most active in winter sports in Finland.
51 Other winter activities and experiences Winter sensations were especially experienced by visitors from Australia and Asia as well as from Great Britain, France and Switzerland. 100% Interested in 26% 32% 32% 37% 37% 27% 30% 34% 31% 36% 49% 0% 33% 19% 20% 16% 19% 6% 3% 2% 7% 22% 23% 5% 15% 28% 7% 15% 37% 30% 30% 23% 18% 6% 12% 19% 0% 3% 6% 6% 1% 4% 33% 35% 41% 26% 4% 5% 4% 4% 41% 15% 16% 22% 23% 8% 4% 11% 1% 23% 20% Graph 29. Experienced / interested in other winter experiences and sensations (e.g. the Northern Lights, husky and reindeer safaris, snowmobiling, snow castles, ice hotels, ice breaker), % trips Visitors, especially from Australia, China and Japan, as well as from France, Great Britain, Switzerland, Italy and Spain have experienced the Northern Lights, reindeer safaris, snow castles and other winter activities. On average, every fourth visitor was interested in these types of activities.
52 Finland's popularity
53 How often in Finland A quarter of the trips were made by first-time visitors 2015 1 890 2016 2 035 1 202 1 109 2 032 1 912 2 404 2 650 First-time visitor Once a year or less 2-4 times a year More than 4 times a year Graph 30. How often in Finland, thousand trips A quarter of the trips made to Finland in 2016 were made by first-time visitors. First-time trips to Finland increased by around 150,000. Also, trips made by visitors who visit more than four times a year have increased, while the number of trips made by travelers visiting 1-4 times a year decreased.
54 First time in Finland The majority of first-time visitors in Finland came from China and Japan 100% 50% 0% Graph 31. First time in Finland, % of trips The majority of first-time visitors in Finland came from China and Japan. The number of first time visitors was the highest among visitors from these countries. Many first-time visitors also arrived from Germany, Great Britain and France. On average one in four trips was made by a first-time visitor. The fewest number of first-time visitors arrived from Finland's neighbouring countries.
55 How often in Finland The share of first-time visitors First-time visitor Once a year or less 2-4 times a year Over 4 times a year Estonia 2% (2%) 21 (18) 153 (253) 379 (364) 369 (297) Sweden 11% (7%) 96 (58) 248 (132) 284 (355) 233 (267) Germany 42% (44%) 170 (152) 75 (83) 110 (85) 50 (25) Great Britain 45% (54%) 113 (135) 54 (48) 63 (52) 24 (17) France 61% (63%) 107 (98) 24 (26) 36 (26) 7 (5) Denmark 25% (29%) 20 (20) 11 (10) 30 (25) 19 (15) Italy 62% (59%) 73 (58) 20 (15) 21 (21) 4 (5) The Netherlands 35% (40%) 30 (32) 14 (14) 30 (26) 13 (20) Spain 63% (58%) 91 (66) 15 (17) 29 (25) 4 (5) Poland 45% (52%) 32 (39) 15 (12) 17 (19) 7 (6) Belgium 55% (29%) 24 (15) 3 (13) 11 (17) 5 (7) Lithuania 58% (23%) 24 (9) 4 (5) 7 (19) 7 (8) Latvia 32% (17%) 19 (11) 14 (17) 14 (30) 13 (6) Other EU countries 43% (56%) 92 (118) 74 (25) 38 (50) 12 (16) Russia 2% (4%) 66 (123) 162 (167) 645 (569) 1813 (1934) Norway 28% (25%) 18 (25) 10 (32) 28 (31) 10 (14) Switzerland 44% (42%) 27 (40) 14 (21) 13 (23) 7 (12) Rest of Europe 58% (70%) 58 (67) 26 (10) 13 (16) 3 (3) The United States 59% (57%) 86 (80) 28 (30) 28 (29) 3 (1) Canada 72% (49%) 22 (22) 2 (14) 6 (8) 1 (0) Latin America 67% (81%) 43 (58) 13 (4) 7 (9) 1 (0) Japan 76% (79%) 176 (155) 39 (15) 15 (24) 2 (2) China 82% (81%) 292 (214) 28 (16) 31 (30) 5 (4) South Korea 66% (90%) 88 (76) 19 (5) 3 (3) 23 (0) India 68% (62%) 48 (22) 6 (3) 15 (10) 1 (1) Rest of Asia 71% (61%) 148 (134) 27 (50) 30 (22) 2 (13) Africa 57% (62%) 15 (15) 2 (2) 4 (7) 5 (0) Australia 71% (61%) 30 (39) 7 (6) 4 (7) 1 (0) Rest of Oceania 65% (62%) 5 (3) 2 (1) 1 (1) 0 (0) Total 26% (25%) 2035 (1890) 1109 (1202) 1912 (2032) 2650 (2404) Table 8. How often in Finland, thousand trips (in brackets year 2015)
56 Would you recommend Finland Visitors from Japan, Korea, Africa and Russia are not as willing to recommend Finland as others 100 % I would not recommend I might recommend 66% 78% 76% 77% 80% 81% 66% 77% 62% 90% 82% 71% 85% 70% 70% 51% 72% 86% 73% 85% 77% 68% 41% 68% 45% 69% 80% 50% 71% 82% I would definitely recommend 0 % Graph32. Would you recommend Finland to your friends or family, % trips Travelers arriving from Spain are most frequently definitely willing to recommend Finland. As many as nine out of ten would do so, while the average number to definitely recommend Finland is two trips out of three. Visitors from Japan, Korea, Africa and Russia are not as willing to recommend Finland as others. The largest number of trips, during which it was said that Finland would not be recommended were from Russia (21,000) and Sweden (13,000). Relatively speaking, however, most of these kind of trips were made by visitors from India. A total of 70,000 trips were made in which visitors would not recommend Finland.
57 Other travel destinations
58 Visited elsewhere during the trip On approximately every third trip some other country in addition to Finland is visited. 100% 50% 0% Graph 33. Visited elsewhere during the trip, % trips Visitors also went to some other country on thirty percent of the trips made to Finland last year. Those travelers most frequently visiting elsewhere arrived from outside Europe and most seldom travelers from neighboring countries. Lithuanians differ significantly from the other visitors from Europe, as they did not go anywhere else on only a quarter of their trips. A total of 2.3 million trips made to Finland were also made to some other country.
59 Visited elsewhere during the trip Finland was the main destination for half of the Chinese visitors who visited elsewhere during their trip. 600 000 Transit passengers at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport Finland was not the main destination 400 000 Finland was the main destination 200 000 0 Graph 34. Visited elsewhere during the trip, 1000 trips Of the Chinese travelers who visited some other country during their trip, about half said that Finland was the main destination. A total of 150,000 of these kinds of trips were made from China to Finland. Finland was often the main destination of visitors arriving from Central Europe. On the other hand Finland was rarely the main destination for those travelers arriving from Russia and Estonia if they visited elsewhere during their trip. The graph also shows the number of transit passengers at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport (the passenger did not leave the airport during their journey), which were mostly Chinese, Japanese, Swedish and South Koreans.
60 The next travel destination (top 10) In two fifths of the trips where the traveler visited elsewhere, Sweden or Estonia was the next travel destination Picture 2. The next travel destination after Finland, thousand trips (return trips to home country and transit trips are not included in the figures) On approximately every third trip to Finland some other country was also visited. Sweden and Estonia are the most popular destinations to continue the trip from Finland. Over 100,000 trips were also continued from Finland to Russia, Germany, Denmark or the Netherlands. Return trips to home countries, and transit trips at the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport (the passenger has not exited the airport), are not included in the figures.