Most Finnish travelers (58%) did not bring any alcoholic beverages in 2019 when they returned to Finland from their trips abroad.
According to a report released by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (in Finnish Terveyden ja hyvinvoinnin laitos, THL), the percentage of Finns who do not purchase alcohol to import has been increasing in the last years.
However, imports grew slightly in liters and purchases of mild alcoholic beverages increased. In turn, Finns buy now less spirits.
According to Thomas Karlsson, a leading expert, “most of the alcoholic beverages that travelers bring to Finland are still purchased either from Estonia or in the ship when returning from Estonia. However, there are also significant imports from other countries”.
More imports from Latvia
Alcohol imports from Latvia increased in 2019. In fact, they have been increasing since 2018 because this Baltic Republic decided to lower booze taxes. “It seems that some of the alcohol that was previously bought from Estonia or on ships is now being bought from Latvia,” says Karlsson.
Imports of cider, strong wines and blends of beverages from Estonia and from Estonian vessels decreased. Among other beverage groups, passenger imports of beers, long drinks and wines increased. In 2019, travelers imported a total of 61.4 million liters of alcoholic beverages.
