Pandemic reduces accommodation services demand to 1990s levels

The COVID-19 pandemic and the associated restrictions reduced demand for accommodation services in Finland to 1990s levels, reported Xinhua, quoting Statistics Finland.

The number of overnight stays at Finland's accommodation establishments has fallen to the level of 1995. Overnight stays by resident tourists in 2020 decreased by 25 percent and by non-resident tourists dropped by as much as 68 percent from the previous year.

In 2020, a total of 14.3 million overnight stays were recorded at the country's accommodation establishments, according to Statistics Finland.

The weakening demand for accommodation services in Finland was clearly reflected in the available capacity of accommodation establishments. Because of the pandemic, many of these establishments were forced to close temporarily. The number of open establishments decreased by 83 percent year-on-year.

In 2020, overnight stays in hotels decreased by 43 percent in the whole country from the previous year.

Overnight stays in other accommodation establishments by domestic tourists fell by 3.0 percent, while in hotels the drop was 31 percent year-on-year, the agency said, pointing out that domestic demand was upheld by leisure trips.

Overnight stays by foreign tourists in hotels dropped by 69 percent and in other accommodation establishments by 61 percent in 2020 from the previous year.

There were hardly any foreign tourists in Finland last year, Statistics Finland said. Countries of origin with the largest decline in overnight stays were Sweden (82 percent), China (80 percent) and Japan (77 percent).