Kanta-Häme tourism seeks international growth – with Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands in particular on the radar

Hämeenlinna Hotel Vaakuna breaks down in July morning behind the trees, in the foreground Vanajavesi and on the right silver willow. — Hotel Vaakuna, located on the shores of Lake Vanajavesi, has been closed for extensive renovations. The renovation will soon be complete, as Vaakuna will open its doors in the summer of 2025.

Overnight stays by domestic tourists have increased from previous years. By contrast, overnight stays by foreign tourists are far from the levels seen in the high season.

According to Linnan Development, the business development company of the city of Hämeenlinna, Kanta-Häme is targeting the international tourism market with a new internationalisation plan.

The core of the plan is to make Kanta-Häme and the region’s companies more familiar to international customers. Kanta-Häme’s tourism services have already been widely presented to international markets, and significant results have been achieved with a small budget.

Last year, investments were particularly focused on Germany and Japan. Eight sales events presented the region’s tourism offer to more than 160 tour operators.

New destinations for regional tourism

Tourism marketing in Kanta-Häme has received new destinations. The internationalization of tourism is particularly invested in Germany and Benelux, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Japan and the United Kingdom also offer promising growth opportunities. In addition, Switzerland, the United States, France and Spain are followed.

– Many things have happened, such as the Ukrainian war that affects tourism marketing. The new sites are selected according to what Kanta-Häme’s tourism offer is.

According to Mertamo, Sweden is an interesting destination and there are quite a few tourists in Finland and Kanta-Häme.

– The Swedes do not come here for a certain matter, but they come here to relatives, among other things. This makes marketing challenging.

Overnight stays by tourists on the rise

Kanta-Häme tourism is growing strongly. A total of 390,421 overnight stays were recorded in the province last year. The number already exceeds the 2019 level, which was a total of 382,017 overnight stays.

According to the castle, domestic overnight stays increased by 1.2 per cent last year.

On the other hand, the number of foreign tourists has not yet returned to the pre -corona pandemic level. Last year, Kanta-Häme had foreign overnight stays 19,577. The number is over 38 percent less than in 2019.

In 2023, a total of 389,846 tourists stayed in Kanta-Häme.