International tourism is gradually recovering from the coronavirus pandemic, and the first large group of visitors expected to return to Finland are not Chinese tourists, but Americans.
"We have more direct connections from the United States to Finland this year than ever before, and that is the most significant reason that tourism to Finland will increase sharply," says Heli Mende, who heads the tourism promotion organisation Visit Finland in North America.
According to Visit Finland, about 320,000 annual overnight stays by tourists from the United States were recorded in Finland before the pandemic, and this year the number of overnight stays by tourists from North America is expected to increase again.
This winter, travel agents in the US have been selling one-week customised travel packages to Lapland for between 3,000 to 15,000 dollars. Itineraries have included northern lights in the winter, the midnight sun in summer, excursions, sauna, culture, and cuisine.
Flights shift from China to the United States
Strict travel restrictions in Asia have brought a temporary change to Finnair's strategy in that region.
At present, the Finnish flag-carrier is not selling tickets to and from Beijing because China has not yet announced when it will allow airlines to resume international passenger flights.
As for Finnair's other Asian destinations, travel has opened back up to Thailand, Singapore and India. In contrast, travel restrictions in Japan and South Korea are expected to ease no earlier than the summer. Direct flights to South Korea's Busan could also start at that time.
As a result, Finnair is shifting focus to the United States, adding flights to Dallas and Seattle beginning in late March.
"We believe that North American traffic will be strong in the coming months and for this year, both from here to North America and from North America to Finland, the Nordic countries and elsewhere in Europe. This demand is significant while we await the full opening of Asian traffic," says Topi Manner, CEO of Finnair.
Manner forecasts that air passenger traffic will return almost to pre-pandemic levels by the end of this year, but the company estimates that full recovery of passenger numbers will not be seen until 2023.
The increase in the number of flights means the end of layoffs for many members of the company's cabin crews. Finnair has already invited all of its cabin crews to back-to-work training, although not all will yet be able to start working full-time.