The changing exhibitions are visited by locals, while tourists want general information about the Arctic. Tourists bring a good addition to Lapland’s museums, especially on the days in between.
For Lapland’s museums, the days between Christmas and New Year are peak season. Tourists increase the number of visitors to museums by tens of percent, even more than half, and thus the box office revenue also increases.
Arktikum is the second most popular tourist destination in Rovaniemi after Santa’s village on the Arctic Circle.
– City dwellers are not necessarily interested in the same things as, for example, a tourist from Asia or Europe. That’s why we have to balance that the exhibitions have comprehensible and interesting content for those coming from far away, and that the locals would also be excited to come to the exhibitions.
Locals are attracted to Arktikum with special exhibitions, but foreigners are usually interested in the more general basic exhibitions related to the Arctic and the history of Lapland.
Santa Claus is more important than the museum
– I always go to the local museum first at my holiday destinations, says Schmidt.
The Schmidts came to Rovaniemi primarily to see the northern lights. Museums are usually somewhere other than number one on the list of attractions.
If the number of tourists increases, there will be enough tourists for museums and also for exhibitions other than the popular Arktikum. This year, almost 56,500 guests have already visited the Rovaniemi Art Museum by the end of November, which means that we have surpassed last year by quite a bit. Last year, a total of almost 52,000 guests visited there.
In Arktikum, this year we will reach the level of normal years, around 95,000 people. 2019’s record of around 120,000 visitors is unlikely to be surpassed.
Swedes visit Tornionlaakso museum
In the Tornionlaakso museum, the proportion of foreign visitors is smaller than in the Rovaniemi museums. However, the Swedes have found Tornio. Of all the visitors this year, there have been about 1,200 foreigners, of whom about 800 are Swedes.
– And box office revenue is a very important thing for us, Valkonen adds.
Entrance fees to museums will rise in Rovaniemi at the turn of the year
– Museums do not live on admission fees, the basic funding comes from society’s funds. But the box office counts. The costs are rising and therefore it is necessary to make a small increase in the admission fees at the turn of the year in Rovaniemi’s museums, says amanuens Heidi Pelkonen.
– The removal of fees has also increased the sales of the museum shop, says Kuoppala.
Renovations will close the exhibitions next year
The renovation of the science exhibition of the University of Lapland’s Arctic Center is planned to start in Arktikum next year, but it will not affect the operations of the Lapland Provincial Museum. So even though the science exhibition is under renovation and closed, the provincial museum remains open.
The renovation of the Rovaniemi Art Museum in the cultural center Korundi will probably start next year, perhaps in the summer, says Riitta Kuusikko, director of the Rovaniemi Art Museum.
– The renovation takes about half a year to a year. During the renovation, admission tickets are half price when only half the house is open, Kuusikko says.
The Aine Art Museum in Tornio is now under renovation, it is expected to be completed in the first half of 2023.
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