The self-isolation imposed by the government on Finland to contain the spread of the coronavirus has taken a toll on national tourist establishments in the first quarter of the year.
In January to March 2021, foreign tourists spent 160,000 nights in Finnish accommodation establishments. This is 90.1% less than in the corresponding period one year earlier, according to Statistics Finland's figures.
Overnight stays declined from all of the most important countries of inbound tourism to Finland.
The biggest drop was seen in overnight stays by Russians, down by 234,800 nights. Their overnight stays were 97.6% down on January to March 2020. The smallest drop was seen in overnight stays by Norwegians, whose overnight stays declined by 19,400 nights.
In the first quarter, the biggest group of non-resident tourists were Germans with 23,000 overnight stays. The second largest group was Estonians with 23,000 overnight stays.
The third largest group was Swedes with 11,000 overnight stays , and fourth were US tourists with 7,000 overnight stays.
The fifth largest group was Dutch tourists (6,000 nights), sixth was French (6,000 nights), seventh Russians (6,000 nights) and eight was Britons (5,000 nights).
Source: Statistics Finland.
Domestic market
The sales slump was much less for the domestic market. Resident tourist trips helped cushion the bad data for the sector as a whole.
Resident tourists recorded 2.29 million overnight stays, which is 21.7% less year-on-year.
Overall, Finnish accommodation establishments recorded 2.45 million nights in January to March, 45.8% less than in the corresponding period one year earlier.
