No Airbnb elections in Rovaniemi because voters were tired of bickering, says a former demar

The national protest against the government also transcended the local theme, believes the Coalition candidate. According to the tourism researcher, the decision-makers will face the issue anyway.

Short-term rentals, such as Airbnb, were expected to be the main topic of the Rovaniemi municipal elections, but that doesn’t seem to have been the biggest issue. We asked Airbnb candidates and a tourism researcher for their views.

– I think most people in Rovaniemi are probably a bit tired of the bickering. The topic is important, but the way it is discussed is overheated,” says Pakkanen.

According to him, short-term rentals were not the main topic in the election debates, but one of the themes among others.

-And some people who have been a candidate and also very active to speak for Airbnb and have used hard language have been left out and were not elected.

He is in favor of stricter rules for short rental and has also featured the theme in the elections. However, it did not solve the elections, he believes.

– Tourism as a whole was a big theme. In addition, the basics of everyday life, such as school and day care, hobby opportunities, municipal basic stuff. I was a lot of talk about them, Pakkanen says.

*Listen to Yle Arena in more detail by Antti Pakkanen’s comments on Airbnb and discussion in an interview with Sari Pöyhönen:*

“I got votes from Airbnb supporters”, says Coalition candidate

-I interpret that I received votes from Airbnb supporters. I believe that the growth of my own support will be explained through it.

Suopajärvi says that he was about Airbnb, but more generally he does not believe it. Whether or not the Social Democrats’ victory in Rovaniemi is related to Airbnb criticality, he leaves politics to investigate.

-The Social Democrats are more clearly anti-Airbnb, and on the other hand, we (the coalition) went through openly Airbnb-friendly. Perhaps the idea of \u200b\u200bthe Social Democrats that these were made by national protests against the government and exceeded the local theme, Suopajärvi ponders.

Lake Suopajärvi wants to promote mild regulation of short rental than frost, and it is worthwhile, for example, in days that should be rented for a short period of time.

*Listen to Yle Arena Kimmo Suopajärvi’s estimates of the Airbnb elections in Rovaniemi:*

Tourism researcher: in any case, these were short-let elections

– In every case, they were short rental elections, regardless of who was elected. Tourism strategy and policies are being made as a city official, but political decision -makers are also part of this debate.

First, municipal councils expect state -level decisions and legislative changes to the regulation of short -term rental. Opinions, for example, from university lecturer Maria Hakkarainen’s desktop will be completed in late April.

After that, the municipalities, including the City of Rovaniemi, can decide more closely on how they will begin to regulate short rent. The new rules may enter into force at the beginning of 2026, but possibly later if the case slows down.

Hakkarainen says he has voted in the municipal elections in Rovaniemi, but his short rent was not the only and most important reason to choose the candidate.