The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) does not recommend imposing any restrictions on travellers heading to Finland from China.
Jari Jalava, a senior expert on infectious diseases at the THL, told Yle that there is no point in attempting to limit arrivals from China at this point.
"We know that it's never been possible to prevent the spread of virus variants through such measures. It's pointless," said Jalava.
He said that during the pandemic it has become clear that entry restrictions do not prevent the spread of the virus. Rather, the only effective method would be to prevent infected individuals from leaving in the first place, he said.
According to Jalava, the number of global infections is unlikely to be affected by those traveling from China, because there are currently so many infections circulating in Asia, Europe and North America anyway.
Jalava said that the THL is constantly monitoring virus variants that are spreading in Finland. However he noted that the incomplete information provided by China about possible new mutations and their symptoms makes it difficult to make risk assessments.
Olli Vapalahti, professor of virology at the University of Helsinki, also does not see the need for stricter travel restrictions on Chinese tourists.
Vapalahti told Yle on Thursday that Chinese tourists are unlikely to significantly increase the number of coronavirus infections in Finland, because there are already plenty of infections here.
The EU currently has no Covid-related travel restrictions or requirements for travellers from outside the EU, but could reimpose them if the situation worsens.
Meanwhile China has announced that it will waive Covid testing of passengers arriving in the country on Sunday, 8 January.
Finnair eyes return to Chinese market
The decision means that after a break of more than two years, the country is gradually opening up to travellers and Chinese tourists can also go on holidays abroad.
Finnair has already noticed a visitor spike in searches for flights to China, and hopes to re-open some cancelled routes early next year, said Antti Tolvanen, the flag carrier's SVP of Network and Revenue Management.
Finnair's only connection to China now is a twice-weekly round trip between Helsinki and Shanghai. The flights have mainly carried cargo, while the passengers have mostly been Chinese business travellers heading to Europe.
"Our first goal is to restore flights to Beijing and increase weekly flights to Shanghai," said Tolvanen.
Finnair expects that budding signs of a travel recovery will be seen around the time of the Chinese New Year in late January and early February. Business travel will be the first to pick up in the spring, while next summer is likely to be a turning point in Chinese leisure travel, the airline predicts.
"Chinese tourists have been important in the tourism industry and this is welcome news. Tour companies will hopefully be able to enjoy the fact that Chinese demand is returning to Finland," said Tolvanen.
Tourists from other Asian countries are also expected to come to Finland next summer. Industry insiders report strong demand from South Korea and Japan to visit Finland.
According to data released by Statistics Finland on Thursday, the number of overnight stays by foreign tourists last month was up by nearly one third compared to a year earlier. However the total was still one fifth less than in November 2019, just before the first reports of novel coronavirus illnesses in China.
Chinese competitors fly directly through Russia
Finnair is negotiating with Chinese authorities about restoring flight rights and weekly schedules on routes to China.
"The authorities aim to free up the number of weekly shifts, but at what pace this will happen is still a question mark," said Tolvanen.
Finnair is also monitoring how Chinese rivals are increasing their capacity on European routes.
Chinese carriers can still fly directly through Russian airspace, giving them a clear competitive advantage. For example, Juneyao Air flies directly from Shanghai to Helsinki in nine hours, compared to Finnair's travel time of 12 hours.
Despite the longer travel time, Finnair believes there will be enough passengers for European airlines as well, if demand recovers in China as quickly as in other Asian destinations.
Longer flight times to China due to detouring around Russian airspace naturally pushes up costs for the airline including more demand on personnel, higher fuel consumption and emissions.