Shuffling across icy ground on a cold December afternoon, lots of tourist groups poured into Santa Claus Village, a winter-themed amusement park perched on the edge of the arctic circle.
They frolic in the snow, take a reindeer sleigh ride, sip a cocktail in an ice bar or even meet Saint Nick himself in the capital of Finnish Lapland, Rovaniemi, which happily calls itself the “official hometown of Santa Claus.”
The Santa Claus Village theme park, which attracts more than 600,000 people annually, is especially popular during the holiday season.
Photo: AP
“This is like my dream came true,” Polish visitor Elzbieta Nazaruk said. “I’m really excited to be here.”
Tourism is booming in Rovaniemi — which has hotel and restaurant owners, as well as city officials, excited as it brings lots of money to the town.
However, not everyone is happy about the onslaught of visitors, 10 times the town’s population, each year at Christmas time.
“We are worried about the overgrowth of tourism. Tourism has grown so rapidly, it’s not anymore in control,” said 43-year-old Antti Pakkanen, a photographer and member of a housing network that in September organized a rally through the city’s streets.
It is a feeling that has been echoed in other popular European travel destinations, including Barcelona, Amsterdam, Malaga and Florence.
Across the continent, locals have spoken out against “over-tourism” — which generally describes the tipping point at which visitors and their cash stop benefiting residents and instead cause harm by degrading historic sites, overwhelming infrastructure and making life markedly more difficult for those who live there.
Now, it seems to have spread north, all the way to the edges of the arctic.
Rovaniemi counted a record 1.2 million overnight visitors last year, almost 30 percent growth on 2022, after rebounding from travel disruptions amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Nordic is a trend,” Visit Rovaniemi chief executive officer Sanna Karkkainen said as she stood in an ice restaurant, where snow carvers were working nearby. “People want to travel to cool countries to see the snow, to see the Northern Lights, and, of course, to see Santa Claus.”
Thirteen new flight routes to Rovaniemi Airport opened this year, bringing passengers from Geneva, Berlin, Bordeaux and elsewhere. Most tourists come from European states such as France, Germany and the UK, but Rovaniemi’s appeal has also spread further.
Hotel availability is scarce this winter.
Tiina Maatta, general manager of the 159-room Original Sokos Hotel, expects this year to break more records.
Local critics of mass tourism say many 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 space for tourists.”
Finnish law prohibits professional accommodation services in buildings intended for residential use, so campaigners are calling on authorities to act.
“The rules must be enforced better,” Pakkanen said.
Not everyone agrees.
Rovaniemi Mayor Ulla-Kirsikka Vainio said that some people make “good money” on short-term rentals.
Either way, stricter regulations likely would not be in place to affect this winter season, and despite the unease expressed by locals, mass tourism to Rovaniemi is probably only going to grow next year — as visitors want to experience the unique atmosphere up north, especially during the holiday season.
“It’s Christmas time and we would love to see the Northern Lights,” said Joy, a visitor from Bangkok. “Rovaniemi seems to be a good place.”
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