The coronavirus pandemic caused a more-than-40-percent drop in travel spending in Finland, according to the economic affairs and employment ministry.
The ministry said that tourists, both foreign and domestic, spent 9.3 billion euros in Finland last year, or nearly seven billion euros less than holidaymakers spent in the Nordic country in 2019.
The main cause of the decline was due to "travel policies and restrictive measures" by Finland and other countries in efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, according to the ministry.
The ministry noted that Finland's overall economy did not suffer nearly as badly as the travel sector, with an estimated GDP decline of around three percent.
The travel industry was hurt most by a lack of visitors from abroad, according to the ministry. However, it noted, many residents chose to holiday within Finland last summer, somewhat compensating for the sector's major financial losses.
However, as the warmth of summer waned, infection rates and restrictions began to creep up again, and the newly-found enthusiasm for domestic travel began to drop off, according to the ministry.
The travel industry's financial outlook for this year is expected next month, the ministry noted.
The travel spending estimates were reached by the ministry in consultation with tourism outfit Visit Finland, number-crunching agency Statistics Finland, the Finnish Hospitality Association MaRa as well as the Association of Finnish Travel Agents (Smal).