Skiing season kicks off this weekend in Ylläs and Ounasvaara

Press release | Fri Nov 18 12:55:00 2022

The ski centres in Lapland, Ylläs and Ounasvaara, are preparing for the upcoming season with great anticipation. At Ylläs Ski Resort, the first slope will open for skiers on Friday, 18 November and the Ounasvaara Oukku Open 2022 opening event will be held on Saturday, 19 November. Northern Finland is now of particular interest to international tourists, and it is also visible in the ski centres. Demand among domestic tourists is still difficult to estimate at the beginning of the season.

In Ylläs and Ounasvaara, the first slopes will be opened for skiers as planned, even though the weather conditions in Lapland have been challenging this autumn. Thanks to snow storage piles, Ylläs will open at least one slope on Friday and it is estimated that Ounasvaara will open two slopes and a children's training area on Saturday.

“Fortunately, we have the snow storage piles, so we can open the slopes for the opening ceremony,” says Juhani Roininen, Ski Resort Director of Lapland Ski Resort Ounasvaara. The upcoming skiing season looks good for Ounasvaara, as in addition to local skiers with a season ticket, Rovaniemi is also a destination attracting international tourists.

“As COVID-19 eases off, people feel the need to travel again. We get visitors, for example, from the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, France and Spain.

Ounasvaara has prepared for the coming season by shaping and grooming the slope foundations, so less snow is needed for them and they will be ready for use more quickly. More space has also been allocated for the snow storage piles.”

New lifts and signs in Ylläs

Although the first slope will open already on Friday, the official opening ceremony of the Ylläs Ski Resort season will be held on 2–4 December. Tuomo Poukkanen, Ski Resort Director of Ylläs Ski Resort Äkäslompolo is looking forward to the upcoming season.

“We have received positive messages from the accommodation sites for the early part of the season, but the overall situation is still difficult to assess at this stage. However, I believe that Finnish tourists will continue to be interested in Lapland and the skiing opportunities it offers. It's safe to come here and enjoy the holidays.

In Ylläs, we are introducing a six-person chairlift and a covered carpet conveyer belt this season. We have also harmonised our slope signs and improved our snow storage in the same way as Ounasvaara.”

Both ski centres received the Sustainable Travel Finland lable

Both Ylläs Ski Resort and Ounasvaara have been awarded Visit Finland’s Sustainable Travel Finland label this year, which is the result of a seven-step development path that verifies the company's desire to develop sustainability and contribute to minimising the carbon footprint of tourism.

“Sustainability is taken into account in all our operations, one step at a time. At Ylläs, for example, we use 100% renewable energy on both sides of the fell, and next we will bring waste sorting points to the slopes,” Poukkanen continues.

The first slope of the Ylläs Ski Resort will open on Friday, 18 November and the official opening will be celebrated on 2–4 December.

The Oukku Open event will be arranged on Saturday, 19 November from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Lapland Ski Resort Ounasvaara in Rovaniemi. Season tickets to both ski resorts are for sale at a reduced price until 6 December.

For further information and interview requests, please contact:

Juhani Roininen
Ski Resort Director
Lapland Ski Resort Ounasvaara
+358 40 062 9321
juhani.roininen@laplandhotels.com

Tuomo Poukkanen
Ski Resort Director
Ylläs Ski Resort Äkäslompolo
+358 40 074 6718
tuomo.poukkanen@laplandhotels.com

Travel enterprise Lapland Hotels & Safaris offers northern experiences for all senses. It consists of Finland’s largest private hotel chain, Lapland Hotels, the largest event service company in the Nordic countries, Lapland Safaris Group Oy, and Lapland Ski Resorts. The Group has a total of approximately 1,700 employees.

The hotel chain has 19 hotels, more than 2,400 rooms and apartments, as well as over 10,000 restaurant seats around Finland: Ylläs, Levi, Saariselkä, Rovaniemi, Olos, Luosto, Kilpisjärvi, Pallas, Hetta, Helsinki, Tampere, Oulu and Kuopio. Lapland Safaris offers unique outdoor activities in eight destinations in Lapland: Rovaniemi, Ylläs, Saariselkä, Levi, Luosto, Olos, Hetta and Kilpisjärvi. Lapland Ski Resorts comprises five ski centres located in Ylläs, Luosto, Olos, Pallas and Rovaniemi.

www.laplandhotels.com, www.laplandsafaris.com