Recent data released by the travel retailer shows that 2015 has seen a 42% growth in bookings travelling to Finland’s northernmost region.
There has been a surge in the number of December holiday bookings to Lapland, with a 95% increase since 2013, Holiday Hypermarket reports.
Recent data released by the travel retailer shows that 2015 has seen a 42% growth in bookings travelling to Finland’s northernmost region. The figures demonstrate that Lapland is becoming an increasingly popular destination for winter holidays. Holiday Hypermarket also reported that the majority of these bookings are families, which goes hand-in-hand with the fact that Rovaniemi is the official hometown of Santa Claus.
Rovaniemi Tourism and Marketing Ltd stated that in 2014, more than 16,500 British tourists visited the town in December alone. They predicted that this figure would increase in 2015 due to the growing demand for festive experience holidays. Travellers from abroad account for more than 56% of all overnight stays in Rovaniemi, with the town making way for more than 280,000 foreign visitors each year.
However, Kittila has proved to be the slightly more popular destination in 2015, with a 53% share of Holiday Hypermarket’s Finland bookings. The increased interest in this destination can be related to NASA’s 2014 announcement, which stated we were beyond the peak of the current Solar Maximum. In turn, experts have predicted that intense displays of the Northern Lights are likely to occur as the Solar Cycle starts to decline.
Holiday Hypermarket report that of all two-person bookings, 46% are an adult travelling with a child. The data suggests that Kittila is becoming a firm favourite for winter getaways that boast a festive theme with the possibility of snow cover and a chance to see the Northern Lights.
Commenting on the data, Holiday Hypermarket representative Ian Crawford said: “It seems that the reason we’ve seen such a sharp rise in bookings to Lapland is a result of people looking for a festive winter getaway. It’s not surprising that the popularity of Finland as a destination is increasing; it provides the kind of once-in-a-life-time experiences that holidaymakers won’t easily forget.”
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
