Tourism Regions of the Year in Finland once again selected
For the fourth time, the Association of Finnish Travel Industry SMAL, SUOMA ry and TAK Research have compared different tourist centers, municipalities, regions and provinces in 2021. The areas have been ranked according to the following criteria:
- Development of the number of guests arriving at registered accommodation establishments
- Development of the length of stay spent in the registered accommodation
- Stable distribution of overnight stays by holidaymakers over the different months (low seasonal variation)
- Accommodation sales per inhabitant
The tourist centers, municipalities, regions and provinces included in the comparison are those for which accommodation statistics are available for at least six months. None of the areas was the best on all indicators, but the top ranked areas were in the top three of the four indicators of the region’s tourism performance. These regions have experienced strong growth in numbers of visitors, a steady flow of visitors throughout the year and high levels of accommodation sales in relation to the permanent population of the region. The winning area has also seen a significant increase of the length of stay over the year.
In the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the trend in domestic tourism turned positive. The number of visitors to registered accommodation establishments increased by 22% and in some tourist areas even by more than 90% year-on-year.
The Koli tourist region was chosen as the Finnish Tourist Region of the Year. Jämsä came second and the municipality of Pelkosenniemi third. Koli scored 86.1 out of a possible 100 points. Jämsä scored 78.5 and Pelkosenniemi came third with 78.2 points.
As in the previous year, a diploma was awarded to the area with the highest relative increase in the number of overnight stays and the region with the highest increase in the length of stay. Pudasjärvi received the diploma for the increase in the number of visitors, with 92% more visitors arriving at registered accommodation establishments than in 2020, while Hanko received the diploma for the increase in the length of stay, with a 27% increase in the length of stay compared to the 2020 average.
The Tourism Region of the Year in Finland is chosen annually. The aim of the award is to draw attention to the features that tourism areas should develop.
More information:
Pasi Nurkka, TAK Oy, puh. +35840 5055903
Heli Mäki-Fränti, SMAL, puh. +358 9 4133 3550
Jenni Kemppainen, SMAL, puh. +358 9 4133 3530
Hannu Komu, SUOMA, puh. + 358 400 615 756