The winter season of Lapland Safaris was exceptionally good: Europeans were even more interested in nature after the coronavirus restrictions

Press release | Mon Feb 13 10:36:00 2023

Lapland Safaris, the biggest event service company in the Nordic countries, has occasionally had to turn down customers wishing to go to the company’s most popular safaris in Lapland, Finland this winter. People from all over Europe are now coming to see and experience the northern lights, frost and the Lapland way of living, and people are even more interested in nature after the time of coronavirus restrictions. Visits to Lapland’s wilderness are guided by reliable and well-known operators.

The winter season 2022–2023 sales of Lapland Safaris are already close to the company’s peak season. By February, the customer count of the season has been even higher than that of the 2019–2020 season before the coronavirus pandemic. At the moment, 98 per cent of the company’s customers come from Europe, mostly the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain.

– Lapland was already popular among international tourists before the coronavirus pandemic, but it has become even more attractive in the whole European market. During the coronavirus restrictions, people went out to nature even more than previously, and we have a reputation as a safe and exotic location. We are also situated within a relatively short flight, says Rami Korhonen, CEO at Lapland Safaris.

Northern lights tours interest Europeans

International tourists rarely want to go into Lapland’s wilderness on their own. Tourists go out into Finnish nature by attending tours organized by well-known and reliable operators – husky safaris, snowmobile safaris or snowshoes excursions, for example. The northern lights, in particular, have grown in popularity over the past years.

– Previously, mostly Asian tourists were interested in the northern lights, but now everyone else is as well. We still offer the same services and basic elements which we have offered for over forty years. People want basic things: to admire the wintertime nature, the frost and the amount of snow and ice, and to move deep in the wilderness. People are also interested in reindeer herding, dogs and ice fishing, Korhonen adds.

Tourists know Lapland Safaris as an operator very well. At times, demand has been so strong that not everyone has been able to attend the tours.

– Usually, the teams of dogs go first since they have a limited capacity.

Responsibility plays an increasingly bigger role

Korhonen believes that Lapland will continue to be popular in the upcoming years, and, perhaps, become even more popular. Conscious and responsible choices are highlighted in tourism.

– Customers pay a lot of attention to the ways in which tourism is a part of the way of living in Lapland. We have, for example, our own rest places and wilderness destinations which we take care of so that our operations do not burden the public rest places. We use environmentally friendly snowmobiles and recycle on a broad scale. We cooperate with local operators: over 300 subcontractors produce services for us.

However, there is one thing that international travellers have not yet discovered in Lapland: the spring snow in April.

– International tourism begins in December and wanes in March even though Lapland is at its most beautiful and the weather is at its best in early April! It still appears to be a secret known by Finns only that you can also visit Lapland in spring, Rami says, smiling.

For further information and interview requests, please contact:

Rami Korhonen
CEO, Lapland Safaris
+358 400 561 607
rami.korhonen@laplandsafaris.fi

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

Lapland Hotels has 19 hotels, more than 2,400 rooms and apartments as well as over 10,000 restaurant seats around Finland: In 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