Savonlinna receives a significant share of tourism revenue from the Opera Festival – the event is now of particular interest in the United States

In addition to tickets, visitors to the Opera Festival spent most on accommodation and restaurant services.

According to the 2024 event survey, the Savonlinna Opera Festival brought €26.2 million in direct tourism revenue to the region.

According to the Opera Festival’s press release, this represents 20% of the city’s total tourism income.

Overnight visitors brought in around €18 million, day visitors €2 million and ticket revenues €6 million. Apart from tickets, tourists spent most on accommodation and restaurant services.

Thanks to the visitors, shops, restaurants and hotels need more workers than usual. In addition to that, 750 seasonal workers worked at the festival for two months last summer, many of whom move to Savonlinna with their families for the summer. It brings considerable economic benefits to the city.

On January 11, the opera festival gained international publicity, when the British newspaper The Financial Times put it on its list of recommended holiday destinations.

– Currently, the number of tourists from the United States is increasing. The whole of eastern Finland is of interest to them because of the area’s beauty and quietness.

Voutilainen says that the Opera Festival has an agent in Berlin who tries to open the doors of travel agencies.

New customers are increasingly being searched for on social media with the help of artificial intelligence.

In addition to digital marketing, Ooperajuhlat also aims to invest in cooperation with entrepreneurs in the city and the region.

– Right now, we are working towards the fact that in the future the person ordering the tickets will be able to book not only a hotel but also, for example, a table at their favorite restaurant at the same time, says Voutilainen.