The weekend before Christmas is the busiest time of the winter in Rovaniemi – elf guides get tourists in the mood already at the airport

Tourists arriving in Rovaniemi through the airport door.
On Wednesday, tourists arrived in Rovaniemi from several European cities.

On Wednesday, tourists arrived in the Arctic Circle from Paris, London and Manchester, among others.

Rovaniemi Airport is the busiest time of the year.

There are several scheduled flights to Europe, and during the busiest hour on Wednesday, three planes will land at the airport.

According to Juujärvi, the coming weekend before Christmas is traditionally the busiest time of the season at the airport.

On Wednesday, a total of 19 flights depart from Rovaniemi Airport, 13 of which fly to destinations other than Helsinki. Only six of the flights are charter flights, which means that scheduled flights bring the majority of Christmas tourists.

The elf guide takes care of the busload of Christmas guests

– In the meantime, we were busy with all the wonderful Christmas things. The guests went on a husky ride, saw reindeer and, of course, met Santa Claus, Tuomenharju says.

A blond woman wearing a pixie hat smiles at the camera at a crowded airport.
Minna Tuomenharju, a tour guide dressed as an elf, takes care of one busload of tourists at a time. The guests are mainly families with children.

The schedule of the five-day visit to Lapland is carefully planned and is kept strictly with humor and play under the guidance of the elf guide.

– If they are a minute late, they get to come and sing to the bus mic. If they are two minutes late, then to sing and dance. If three minutes, then you can sing and dance to your heart’s content, but the bus has already left, says Tuomenharju.

Lapland’s winter tourism is expected to break records this year. Already in November, Rovaniemi’s top destinations had almost 10,000 more visitors than at the same time in the record year 2019.

*You can discuss the topic* *with Yle ID* *15.12. until 11 pm*