Tourism

Finland is starting to require those coming from China to have a corona test, which has been taken no more than two days earlier. In addition, passengers and cabin crew are required to wear a mask on Chinese flights.

Like many other countries, Finland is starting to restrict passengers arriving from China.

So far, it is not known when the requirement for a prior test would come into force in Finland. The implementation of the alignment is being prepared in the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Ministry of the Interior.

According to Kiuru, it is essential that solutions are reached as quickly as possible next week.

– It is clear that there is a rush, because many countries have already implemented the pre-test requirement. It is also clear that China’s coronavirus situation and the related restrictions will unravel, and therefore it would be good to have this pre-test requirement in place as soon as possible.

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Finland introduces EU-recommended corona restrictions for travelers arriving from China – Kiuru: \”It’s clear that there is a rush\”Read More »

Due to visa restrictions, lack of money and inflation, Russians are no longer seen in the tourist centers of Lapland. Asian and European tourists have been able to fill the gap of Russian tourists.

Russian tourists have left Finland and Lapland, but Lapland has been replaced by Asians and Europeans. In other parts of Finland, lost tourists have not been compensated as well as in Lapland.

In the past, the Russians called Saariselkä \”Murmansk the second\ because during the New Year’s holiday the people of Murmansk gladly went to Saariselkä, more than 300 kilometers away.

Now you don’t see Russians because tourist visas are not issued to them.

However, people from Murmansk would not be able to afford to go on vacation to Finland, because prices have also risen in the eastern neighbor. Many of them spend their vacation in their home region.

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Lapland is doing better than the rest of Finland in terms of tourism – Russian tourists have been replaced by other foreign touristsRead More »

The lifting of China’s travel restrictions can already be seen in the increase in internet searches and e-mail messages from hotels and tourism marketing companies. The subject of interest is especially the 2024 season.

The willingness to travel that has been pent up in China during the Corona years will soon be unleashed with real action, when China has decided to remove travel restrictions. Travel will be freed already after the epiphany on Monday, but the influx of Chinese tourists in Lapland will have to wait until the next winter season.

The number of Chinese tourists grew rapidly in the couple of years before the corona virus. When the corona lockdowns started, tourism practically came to a complete stop, for Chinese tourists for no less than three years. However, there can be signs of a return to the previous pace.

– Probably, the activation of these things after a long corona lockdown will take its own time. But it has been seen that the Chinese population is very quickly activated to travel. Yes, there is a strong feeling that in the twenty-fourth season we will return to the pre-corona situation quite quickly, says Sanna Kärkkäinen.

There are so many tourists in Lapland now that this season is already full. But now we are already thinking about the next season and how there will be enough capacity for the Chinese as well. Travel agencies and tour operators buy accommodation quotas and tourism services in advance, otherwise trips cannot be sold to customers.

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Chinese tourists are interested in Lapland, the hotels have already received inquiries – but mostly from next winterRead More »

Timo Aronkytö, director of the Vantaa and Kerava welfare region, considers the call for random corona testing at the airport challenging to implement. Official decisions on practical actions have yet to be made.

On Wednesday, EU countries decided on common EU-wide restrictions for travelers from China. The number of coronavirus infections has increased rapidly in China since the country relaxed its strict corona restrictions at the end of last year.

EU countries recommend, among other things, corona testing of passengers in the country of departure, the use of a face mask on flights and the monitoring of aircraft waste water. Member states are also advised to take random tests on arrivals from China.

Helsinki-Vantaa Airport’s health and safety measures belong to the Vantaa and Kerava welfare area. If the EU had ruled on mandatory corona testing only in the country of entry, Aronkytö believes that it would have been quite impossible to implement in many EU countries.

Testing requires not only facilities but also nurses, who would not have been available in Finland due to the shortage of nurses, he says.

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Testing those coming from China in Helsinki-Vantaa, even occasionally, would be difficult, because there are not enough nurses for the taskRead More »

Finland’s corona ministers are meeting tonight to outline how Finland will implement the China travel recommendations agreed by the EU countries yesterday. Sweden will introduce the measures on Saturday.

Last night, the EU countries decided on common EU-wide restrictions for travelers from China.

Finland’s corona ministers are meeting tonight to outline how Finland will implement the EU countries’ recommendation.

The number of coronavirus infections has increased rapidly in China since the country relaxed its strict corona restrictions at the end of last year.

Now that the Chinese are allowed to travel more freely again, concern has arisen in different parts of the world about whether new, nastier forms of the virus are spreading with tourists.

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THL’s Jalava on China’s travel restrictions: \”There is absolutely no way to prevent the spread of new virus variants in the EU\”Read More »

The CEO of Best Caravan, Lasse Sorvari, says that the company has little by little moved the equipment to Haaparanna and the premises are still being built. However, the trade has already started in December.

Best Caravan, which sells motorhomes and offers motorhome services, has expanded its operations to Sweden. It has opened a shop on the border between Finland and Sweden in Haaparanna.

Sorvari says that the operation in Haparanna started in December.

– We have little by little moved the equipment to Haaparanna. The facilities are still under construction and the official opening will probably be held in February. However, two people are already at work selling motorhomes, says Sorvari.

Best Caravan is Finland’s largest company selling motorhomes. According to Sorvar, the company’s share of sales of both new and used motorhomes was just over 20 percent last year. The company’s turnover in 2022 was around 75 million euros.

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Best Caravan, Finland’s largest seller of motorhomes, has expanded to SwedenRead More »

Corona infections have increased rapidly in China since the country relaxed its strict corona restrictions at the end of last year.

EU countries decided on travel restrictions for Chinese tourists yesterday, but they are not believed to affect the number of Chinese tourists in Oulu.

The number of coronavirus infections has increased rapidly in China since the country relaxed its strict corona restrictions at the end of last year. Now that the Chinese are allowed to travel more freely again, concern has arisen about whether new, more virulent forms of the virus are spreading with tourists.

Yesterday, the EU countries jointly decided, among other things, to recommend that passengers on Chinese flights wear a face mask. In addition, it is recommended that those coming from China be required to have a corona test taken no more than two days earlier.

According to him, Chinese tourists are welcome in Oulu, as long as the travel is done in a health-safe manner.

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EU countries recommend that Chinese tourists wear face masks and take a corona test in the future – the restrictions are not expected to affect tourism in OuluRead More »

The passenger numbers of shipping lines fell drastically due to the corona virus in 2020 and 2021.

The passenger numbers of the shipping company Viking Line have recovered from the corona years.

According to Viking Line, the number of passengers of the shipping company last year was around five million. That is 114 percent more than in 2021.

Viking Grace and Viking Glory, which travel on the Turku and Stockholm route, saw the most growth. They carried almost two million passengers last year.

Glory started operating in March and, according to the company, it will break the million passenger mark during this month.

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Shipping company Viking Line’s passenger numbers turned upward at the end of the corona years – the new Viking Glory will soon break the million passenger markRead More »

According to the taxi entrepreneur, fierce competition has made driving Kela rides unprofitable.

Did your Kela ride not arrive on time? Were you late for the reception when the ride didn’t arrive?

Few people know that if the Kela ride ordered on time does not arrive, the customer can order a replacement transport himself. However, some rules must be taken into account.

If the service provider organizing Kela rides is unable to deliver the ride in accordance with its service promise, it should arrange another ride for the customer.

– Of course, there are exceptional situations where many things go wrong, and the customer, for example, cannot get in touch with the brokerage service again.

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Few customers know that they could call a taxi themselves if there is no official Kela ride – do this if your ride did not arrive on timeRead More »

VR adds a total of four weekly train services in February-April between Helsinki and Kolar and Helsinki and Rovaniemi.

VR has added shifts to Lapland’s night train service for the winter holiday season. According to the company, the demand for night train journeys in the season seems strong. Especially the longer routes to Kolar and Kemijärvi are popular.

During the winter season, VR usually operates three daily night train services to Lapland.

It adds a total of four weekly train services in February-April between Helsinki and Kolar and Helsinki and Rovaniemi. Additional shifts are operated on Fridays from the capital to Lapland and on Saturdays from Lapland to the capital. During Easter, the trains operate on several days.

Kolar’s additional shifts start on February 3 and Rovaniemi a week later on February 10. Additional shifts will be operated until April 15.

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VR added night train services to Lapland for the winter holiday season: \”Lapland is a clear favorite this year as well\”Read More »