Tourism is the industry that has paid the highest price for the Covid-19 epidemic.
And while in Finland the ministries of Finance and Social Affairs and Health do not agree on whether people should practice tourism or not, the latest official data paints a discouraging picture for thousands of small and medium-sized businesses.
According to Statistics Finland's figures, due to the market situation caused by the coronavirus, foreign tourists spent 0.02 overnight stays at Finnish accommodation establishments, 95.2% less than one year before. The fall among resident tourists was also huge: Finnish residents spent 0.17 million sights, which is 86.4% lower than the same month of the previous year.
The total number of nights spent by tourists -both domestic and international- in Finnish touristic establishments dropped by 88.4%. In April, 255 hotels were closed for the entire month and 66 closed their doors at some time during the month.
These figures are preliminary data from Statistics Finland’s statistics on accommodation establishments and they have been collected from accommodation establishments with at least 20 beds or caravan pitches with electricity connection.
The biggest drop
Source: Statistics Finland.
The biggest drop was seen in overnight stays by Russians , down by 40,600 nights. Their overnight stays were 98.3%.
In April, the biggest group of non-resident tourists in Finland were Estonians with 3,900 overnight stays. The second largest group was Germans with 1,300. The third largest group was Russians with 700 and fourth were US tourists with 600 overnight stays.
The fifth largest group was Swedes (600 nights), sixth was Spanish tourists (500 nights), seventh Britons (500 nights) and eight French (500 nights).
92% decrease in Lapland
Ski resorts in Lapland were closed in April and the overall number of nights declined most in relative terms in Lapland, by 92.3%. The second largest decline was seen in Kanta-Häme, by 91.5%.
Accommodation establishments in Uusimaa recorded 9,000 night-stays by international tourists and those in Lapland 1,000.
Overnight stays by foreigners declined by 95.8% in Uusimaa and by 99% in Lapland from one year ago.
The share of Uusimaa in all overnight stays by foreign visitors was 51% and that of Lapland 3%.
