Tourism in Finland
Finland attracted over 6.8 million foreign
Statistics
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Most visitors arriving to Finland come from:[4][5][6]
Rank | Country | 2017 |
---|---|---|
1 | Russia | 821,698 |
2 | Germany | 622,991 |
3 | Sweden | 597,339 |
4 | United Kingdom | 585,814 |
5 | China | 389,826 |
6 | France | 280,069 |
7 | United States | 268,723 |
8 | Japan | 238,278 |
9 | Netherlands | 227,405 |
10 | Estonia | 219,504 |
11 | Norway | 199,353 |
12 | Switzerland | 167,450 |
13 | Spain | 162,361 |
14 | Italy | 155,599 |
15 | Poland | 116,874 |
16 | Denmark | 113,580 |
17 | Australia | 82,602 |
18 | India | 78,634 |
19 | Austria | 70,769 |
20 | Belgium | 70,452 |
21 | Latvia | 58,776 |
22 | Israel | 57,494 |
23 | Singapore | 54,964 |
24 | South Korea | 51,605 |
25 | Lithuania | 51,280 |
26 | Canada | 45,745 |
27 | Thailand | 43,081 |
28 | Czech Republic | 38,806 |
29 | Croatia | 38,081 |
Total foreign | 6,742,834 |
Attractions
Finland is famous for its many lakes, nearly 200,000 of them (larger than 500 m2/0.12 acres). Tampere is the biggest city on the Finnish Lakeland with other major cities being Jyväskylä, Mikkeli, Lahti, Joensuu, Lappeenranta, Kuopio, and Savonlinna. Finland is also known to have excellent water quality, and green deep woods and forests around the sea, rivers, and the waterways.
In wintertime, Finland provides opportunities for cross-country skiing and alpine skiing. Many of the popular ski resorts are situated north of the Arctic Circle in Lapland, but there are exceptions like Kuusamo in the northeastern part of Oulu Province and Himos in Jämsä, only 200 kilometres (120 mi) north of Helsinki.
Throughout Finland,
Another theme park in the country is Moomin World, located in the outskirts of Naantali. The park is based on the popular Moomins franchise, created by Tove Jansson.
The biggest picnic of the year called Vappu is held on April 30 - May 1. The celebration happens in every city and village across the country.[8]
Museums in Finland
Art galleries
Other museums
- Museum of Finnish Architecture
- Finnish Museum of Natural History
- Military Museum of Finland
- Finnish Railway Museum – Hyvinkää
- Jokioinen Museum Railway
Northern Finland and winter sports
In the winter there is a large
It is also possible to ski, with downhill resorts at Saariselkä and Levi, and many cross country ski tracks throughout the northern part of the country. Ice hockey is a popular sport in winter, and it is possible to go ice yachting, or ice skating on the ice. Most lakes are also frozen, so ice fishing (pilkkiminen) is quite popular.
Cities
Helsinki, Finland's capital and largest city, receives many visitors year-round. During the summertime thousands of tourists approach Helsinki by cruising boats travelling across the Baltic Sea. Helsinki is known as a clean, modern, and safe meeting point between the east and west.
Other popular tourist destinations within Finland include Tampere, Jyväskylä, Turku, Oulu, Kuopio, Rovaniemi, and Porvoo.
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in the country, although it is relatively small compared to other European capitals.
Because Helsinki is located on the coast of the Baltic Sea and has many kilometres of coastline, most of its central districts are near the seaside. Helsinki is considered a maritime city and is popularly called the daughter of the Baltic.
Helsinki's coastal position makes it ideal to experience in the summertime from one of the many sightseeing ferries leaving from the port of Helsinki. Many of Helsinki's main attractions are also related to the sea, including the Suomenlinna naval fortress (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and the Seurasaari Island with its parks and open-air museum. Locals often spend sunny days at the Hietaniemi beach (often simply called Hietsu), Helsinki's main beach in the district of Töölö.
In the winter-time Helsinki's northern position makes it dark for most of the day, with lighting fixtures such as
Air travel to Helsinki is via Helsinki Airport, situated in the neighboring city of Vantaa, a city part of the Helsinki metropolitan area. Helsinki also has popular cruiseferry links with Stockholm, Sweden and Tallinn, Estonia. Silja, Viking and Tallink are the biggest ferry operators.
Helsinki is also the home of the Linnanmäki amusement park, which features five rollercoasters and many other rides, including the world's first Intamin ZacSpin rollercoaster.
Helsinki is a safe city for tourists and a safe place to live. In terms of personal safety, Finland was ranked 14 out of 163 countries according to Global Peace Index 2019.[9]
Helsinki also has efficient tourist information system maintained by the City of Helsinki Tourism & Convention Bureau located in the city center next to the Esplanadi park.
Helsinki was ranked 10th of the most expensive cities in the world according to UBS Group AG's Prices and Earnings report for 2018.[10] Travelers should plan to spend around US$216 or €199 per day on their vacation in Helsinki, which is the average daily cost of staying in a 4-star hotel, visiting 2 popular attractions, using public transportation, and eating out in mid-range restaurants with a glass of wine included.[11]
Tampere
Tampere, also known as the "Manchester of Finland", has often been rated as the most popular city in Finland;[12] perhaps it is precisely for this reason that over the years it has grown into Finland's second largest[13] and the second best-known Finnish city in the world after Helsinki. The old industrial city built on between lakes Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi, and along Tammerkoski rapids has also proved to be quite a significant tourist destination with its various national and international events,[14][15] museums (such as Moomin Museum) market places (such as Tampere Market Hall[16][17]) and, of course, its Särkänniemi amusement park, not to mention the world-acclaimed nature in Tampere.[18] Tampere's local traditional food "mustamakkara" in particular has aroused a lot of interest in the world, all the way to celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain.[19][20] Tampere also have been officially declared the "Sauna Capital of the World".[21][22][23][24][25]
Many of Finland's most important highways between different cities intersect at Tampere, such as the
Tampere is also known for several educational institutions, such as University of Applied Sciences and Police University College; the Tampere University, like the city, is also the second largest of its kind in Finland.[26]
Jyväskylä
Lonely Planet calls Jyväskylä as a Mecca for architecture lovers around the world for its large collection of Alvar Aalto buildings. The city is the biggest city on Finnish Lakeland and capital of Central Finland.[27] Later, a modern architect Arto Sipinen, a pupil of Aalto, has influenced in the cityscape since the 1970s by designing most of the new university buildings in the city.
The Alvar Aalto Museum and the Museum of Central Finland form a centre of culture in the immediate vicinity of the historical campus of the University of Jyväskylä. Both museums are designed by a functionalist Alvar Aalto. The Alvar Aalto Museum displays the artist's most important work and design. The Museum of Central Finland specializes in cultural history. It serves both as the town museum of Jyväskylä and the provincial museum of Central Finland. Nokkakivi Amusement Park is about 20 km from Jyväskylä.[28]
One of architect Aalto's most significant works Säynätsalo Town Hall is located in
The city hosts the
UNESCO World Heritage site Petäjävesi Old Church is located in vicinity of Jyväskylä.
Porvoo
Porvoo has often been called an authentic small town[29] and has been chosen as one of the most beautiful towns in Finland on several occasions.[30] The city is one of the six medieval towns in Finland, first mentioned as a city in texts from the 14th century. At the beginning of the 19th century, the city played an important role in connection with the Diet of Porvoo, when Finland, which at that time was part of the Russian Empire, gained autonomy in the form of the Grand Duchy of Finland.[31]
The Porvoo Old Town is a popular tourist destination, known for its well-preserved 18th and 19th century buildings and 15th century cathedral, the
Attempts have been made to make the Porvoo Old Town a UNESCO World Heritage site, but so far it has not been qualified.[32][33]
Cuisine
Finnish cuisine includes fresh ingredients, particularly game and fish, foraged berries and mushrooms such as
Transportation
The Finnish rail system is called
There are about 25
Medical tourism
On December 9, 2013, the City of Helsinki decided that all minors under the age of 18 and all pregnant mothers living in Helsinki without a valid visa or residence permit are granted the right to the same health care and at the same price as all citizens of the city.
Volunteer doctors of Global Clinic have tried to help these people, for whom only acute care has been available. This means that the Finnish health care system is open for all people coming outside of the European Union.See also
- Provinces of Finland
- Culture of Finland
- Tourism
- Tourism in Norway
- Tourism in Sweden
- Tourism in Denmark
References
- ^ "TOURISM IN FINLAND STAYS ON RECORD LEVEL". BusinessFinland. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- ^ "Matkailun taloudelliset vaikutukset - Visit Finland". Visit Finland. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
- ^ Business Finland (2019). Matkailutilinpito: Matkailun talous- ja työllisyysvaikutukset 2016–2017 (PDF) (Report) (in Finnish). Business Finland, Visit Finland. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
{{cite report}}
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has generic name (help) - ^ "Statistics Finland". VisitFinland. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
- ^ Tuominen, Marjut. "Statistics Finland -". www.stat.fi.
- ^ Stat.fi
- ^ "Top Things to Do in Finland". FinlandPrices. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- ^ "9 Best things to do in Helsinki, Finland". Retrieved 30 August 2017.
- ^ "Helsinki Finland". TravelPriceWatch. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- ^ "UBS Group AG's Prices and Earnings report for 2018". UBS.com. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- ^ "Helsinki Travel Cost Calculator". TravelPriceWatch.com. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- ^ YLE: Tampere rated Finland's most popular city
- ^ A dynamic city of growth – Tampere is the second largest urban centre in Finland
- ^ Event Calendar - Visit Tampere
- ^ Tampere Lakeland Festival to celebrate Tampere’s beautiful lake nature in Särkänniemi and Mustalahti harbour!
- ^ Meet you at the Tampere Market Hall - Tampereen Kauppahalli
- ^ 10 of Tampere's Top Markets
- ^ Other nature experiences and activities - Zanderland
- ^ AL: Julkkiskokki ahmaisi puoli kiloa mustaamakkaraa (in Finnish)
- ^ IS: Anthony Bourdain rakastui Suomen vierailullaan mielipiteitä jakavaan perinneruokaan: ”Good stuff!” (in Finnish)
- ^ Tampere is the Sauna Capital of the World
- ^ Finnish Sauna Society and International Sauna Association: "Tampere is the Sauna Capital"
- ^ Tampere – the sauna capital of the world
- ^ Tampere University – ISEP Study Abroad
- ^ Tampere – the Sauna Capital of the World ~ Sauna from Finland
- ^ Tampere University - The World University Rankings
- ^ "Introducing Jyväskylä". University of Lonely Planet. 2012. Archived from the original on 27 January 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
- ^ Suomen parhaat huvipuistot - Rantapallo (in Finnish)
- ^ Yllättävän menestyvä kaupunki (in Finnish)
- ^ Porvoo – The Little Fairy tale Town in Finland
- ^ Porvoo Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Miksei Porvoon historiallinen keskusta kelpaa maailmanperintökohteeksi – Museovirasto: "Linjausten mukaan Suomen ei pitäisi ehdottaa sitä" (in Finnish)
- ^ Miksi Vanha Porvoo ei kelpaa Unescon maailmanperintökohteeksi? (in Finnish)
- ^ "Helsinki Ferry Information". FinlandPrices.com. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ "The World's Top 100 Airports in 2016". Retrieved 21 May 2016.
External links
- Come To Finland: Nostalgic Finnish Travel Posters - A book about the early marketing of Finland
- Visit Finland – Finland Travel Guide (by Finnish Tourist Board)
- Finnish Tourist Board