Learning trip for the tourism industry provides new perspectives for Norrbotten

It all started with 14 hotel rooms in an old school. One hotel became two – and now the award-winning Wilderness Hotels has five properties in the municipality of Inari with more on the way. For three days last week, various actors from the tourism industry in Norrbotten visited our neighbors to learn Finnish lessons.

Caption top picture: Participants at the study trip to Finland top row from left: Balazs Barna, David Wellborg, Robert Hawkins, Laila David, Helena Johansson Holmgren, Karina Lidén, Sofia Lundberg, Ellen Högberg, Anna-Lena Le Goascogne, Alvina Pettersson, Britta Jonsson-Lindvall, Karin Åberg, Malin Ekblom, Magnus Sundling, Sebastian Jonsson, Jan Nilsson, Anders Appelgren, Oskar Hederyd, Björn Hedlund Länta.

The trip to northern Finland was made possible by Invest in Norrbotten.

“The tourism industry is a prioritized investment area for Invest in Norrbotten where we see great potential for both regional existing companies and new players to take place to create a sustainable ecosystem for growth in the tourism sector”, says Malin Ekblom, Inward Investment Manager, Invest In Norrbotten.

The trip to northern Finland included entrepreneurs in the tourism industry and municipal representatives with responsibilities linked to the industry.

Finland and Sweden share many of the same environments and opportunities, but also the same challenges as large areas with a limited population base.

Malin Ekbom:

“The purpose of the study trip to Finland was both to create an understanding of how municipalities in Finland work to support and prioritize the tourism industry and to give companies greater insight into how Finnish tourism entrepreneurs have invested to grow and increase their profitability”.

Swedish Lapland Visitors Board has had an advisory role in planning the destination for the trip and the choice fell on visiting northern Finland and with extra focus on Inari municipality, Inari in Finnish, and Wilderness Hotel.

Oskar Hederyd, Strategic Partner Manager at Swedish Lapland Visitors Board:

“In this part of Finland, all the actors in the tourism ecosystem have been working hard to build a strong industry for many years. This is evident in many ways, with strong companies and a forward-thinking spirit, but what impressed me most was that the head of the municipality told me in no uncertain terms that 50% of jobs in the municipality of Inari are linked to the tourism industry”.

Rovaniemi, located some 200 miles south of Inari, is the hub of Finnish Lapland’s tourism industry. At peak season in December, 10,000 new visitors land – every day. The key is the airport, and today there are some 40 airlines, not counting charter flights.

Winter tourism in Rovaniemi has now reached a level that is beyond the city’s capacity. The winter season is therefore taking up less and less space in marketing.

“Until we have increased the hotel capacity, we will not work more for the winter,” says Sanna Kärkkäinen, CEO of Visit Rovaniemi.

A lot of focus is now put on the summer season and this was something that was echoed by other Finnish actors during the study tour.

“We want it to be a year-round activity,” says Henna Kontsas, Development Director at the Municipality of Inari.

Wilderness Hotels currently has five facilities that offer visitors different types of accommodation, all in the municipality of Inari and with absolute proximity to Lake Inari. The offensive continues and by the end of 2025, Wilderness Hotels will open three more facilities in the municipality. The business currently has 80 annual employees and during the winter season the number rises to 400. Recently, owners Mari and Jouko Lappalainen were awarded the most prestigious business award, the Finnish Entrepreneur of the Year, for their successful ventures.

For the small Finnish municipality of around 7,000 inhabitants, the tourism industry’s investments mean a lot.

The municipality’s decision not to allow mining and wind power has given it a competitive advantage, according to Tommy Kasurinen, the municipal manager. The political leadership has clearly identified which areas are suitable for tourism development and which should be protected. As in Rovaniemi, the challenge for Inari is to get visitors and locals to coexist without conflict.

Thanks to revenue from tourism, the municipality has been able to invest in new schools, among other things, according to Tommy Kasurinen.

“There has to be tourism or it will go downhill fast. The discussions are about how much we should have,” he says.

Oskar Hederyd is impressed by the clarity of Enare municipality.

“The municipalities dare to work strategically, with plans for where the tourism industry will grow, even if land ownership is not clear. In addition, the tourism industry is prioritized and the public sector dares to opt out of other industries so that the tourism industry can develop”, says Oskar Hederyd and continues:

“What we saw here was something different from the mass tourism of Rovaniemi. This felt much more authentic and on the right scale. They run successful tourism businesses without either a plot of land or proximity to slalom slopes, in extremely sparsely populated areas that in many ways resemble our Norrbotten conditions. Direct flights to major European cities are of course an important enabler, but there must also be receiving capacity, and this is the case here”.

In addition to stops in Rovaniemi, the study trip included visits and accommodation at three of Wilderness Hotel’s facilities, Juutua, Nellim and Inari. On the way home, a few more stops were made, for example at Kakslauttanen, which was the first to offer glass igloos for overnight stays.

“The trip has provided new insights into the importance of municipalities prioritizing the tourism industry as a basic industry and how both municipalities and companies in Finland have worked to integrate the Sami culture in a respectful way. Important has also been the exchange between our participants who shared their different perspectives and insights. The feeling and feedback from the participants is very positive and now we need to think and act together in the future to create good development for Norrbotten”, says Malin Ekblom, Invest in Norrbotten.