Sanctions against Russia and the situation in Ukraine have reduced travel to and from Russia. The weakening of the rouble against the euro has cut down on Russian travels to Finland, while some Finns have cancelled trips to Russia, citing safety reasons.
Russian tourism to Finland decreased by ten percent in the first half of 2014, while Finnish travel to Russia has tapered off since the summer. No significant changes have been recorded in business travel.
The high-speed Allegro train runs between Helsinki and St Petersburg four times a day. Business on the route has been very successful: the goal to entice half a million customers was met years before schedule. But now the situation has changed.
VR Service Director Ari Vanhanen admits there have been fewer passengers in the summer months, but says that it can’t be described as a collapse just yet. He says that while the number of passengers will likely fall short of 2013 numbers, they are still on par with numbers from two years prior.
Rouble’s plummet eats into travel enthusiasm
VR believes that the change is mostly the result of the foundering rouble exchange rate, which has made the euro more expensive for Russian tourists.
He points out that travelling to Russia is now very affordable for Finns, however, as VR has joined many other operators in dropping their ticket prices.
Lähialuematkat, a company known as Russian Tours in English, has been arranging visa and travel services since its establishment in 1991. For several months now, the company has noticed a drop in the prices of trips to Russia. Hotel rooms in Russia are also more affordable.
The tour operator's Sales Director Maarit Haavisto-Koskinen says that when several Finns cancelled trips to Karelia this summer, she was surprised to note that they had cancelled their trips for safety reasons. She says that tourist destinations such as St Petersburg, Moscow and Karelia are just as safe now as they have been in recent years.
An injection from the KHL hockey league?
Haavisto-Koskinen has a comprehensive understanding of travelling in Russia, having lived for years in Moscow marketing Finland to Russian tourists on behalf of the Finnish Tourist Board. She also participated in the planning of the Allegro train connection. For the last few years, she has been selling Russian tours to Finns.
She says Finns have many prejudices against Russia for historical reasons and that the crisis on the border of Russia and Ukraine has affected people psychologically. She understands that people may opt not to travel to Russia for reasons of principle, but says that no new security risks exist.
The Finnish Foreign Ministry has not changed its travel recommendations, although it does continue to advise travellers of the pickpockets in the country’s largest cities.
Things are expected to pick up in the autumn when the KHL hockey league matches begin, as many will be played on Russian ice. The Finnish ice hockey team Jokerit are playing in the KHL league for the first time in history this season and that is expected to draw many new customers.