Foreign tourist inflow decreases slightly in December

Overnight stays by foreign tourists declined by 0.4 per cent and 0.79 million overnight stays were recorded for non-resident tourists in December last year, according to Statistics Finland.

Meanwhile, overnight stays by resident tourists at Finnish accommodation establishments increased by 2.0 per cent from last year and 0.99 million nights were recorded for them in December 2019.

Finnish accommodation establishments recorded a total of 1.77 million overnight stays, which was 0.9 per cent more than one year before.

Among the most important countries of inbound tourism to Finland, overnight stays by Chinese tourists increased most in absolute numbers, by 7,900 nights. This was 24.9 per cent higher than in the year before. The biggest drop was seen in overnight stays by Britons, down by 16,000 nights. Their overnight stays were 7.7 per cent down on December 2018.

The biggest group of non-resident tourists were Britons with 191,300 overnight stays. The second largest group was Russians with 73,400 overnight stays followed by French with 45,600 overnight stays, Germans with 44,700 overnight stays, Chinese tourists (39,800 nights), Spanish tourists (33,100 nights), Dutch tourists (22,500 nights) and Swedes (22,200 nights).

Examined by region, overnight stays increased most in relative terms in South Ostrobothnia, by 33.9 per cent, and second most in Åland, by 12.5 per cent. By contrast, the overall number of overnight stays declined most in relative terms in Satakunta, by 13.3 per cent and second most in Pirkanmaa, by 12.3 per cent.