ADVERTISEMENTShuffling across icy ground on a cold December afternoon, tourists pour into Santa Claus Village, a winter-themed amusement park perched on the edge of the Arctic Circle.
They frolic in the snow, take a reindeer sleigh ride, sip a cocktail in an ice bar or even meet Saint Nick himself in the capital of Finnish Lapland, Rovaniemi, which happily calls itself the “official hometown of Santa Claus."
The Santa Claus Village theme park, which attracts more than 600,000 people annually, is especially popular during the holiday season.
“This is like my dream came true,” beams Polish visitor Elzbieta Nazaruk. “I’m really excited to be here.”
But some locals don't share in the festive cheer, saying residential homes are being replaced by tourist rentals, echoing complaints around Europe about ovetourism.
Overtourism: Rovaniemi's population increases ten fold at Christmas
Tourism is booming in Rovaniemi, with hotel and restaurant owners, as well as city officials, profiting from the money it brings to the town. However, not everyone is happy about the onslaught of visitors, 10 times the town's population, each year at Christmas time.
“We are worried about the overgrowth of tourism. Tourism has grown so rapidly, it’s not anymore in control,” said 43-year-old Antti Pakkanen, a photographer and member of a housing network that in September organized a rally through the city’s streets.
It’s a feeling that is shared in other popular European travel destinations, including Barcelona, Amsterdam, Malaga and Florence.
Over the last few years, locals have protested against overtourism in increasingly vocal ways. Sunbeds were vandalised in Tenerife with slogans such as "The Canary Islands are not for sale". While faeces were smeared on lockboxes in Seville, often used on the doors of Airbnbs to allow self check-in.
Overtourism generally describes the tipping point at which visitors and their cash stop benefiting residents and instead cause harm by degrading historic sites, overwhelming infrastructure and making life markedly more difficult for those who live there.
Now, it seems to have spread north, all the way to the edges of the Arctic Circle.
Rovaniemi counted a record 1.2 million overnight visitors in 2023, almost 30 per cent growth on 2022, after rebounding from pandemic travel disruptions.
“Nordic is a trend,” Visit Rovaniemi CEO Sanna Karkkainen said as she stood in an ice restaurant, with snow carvers working nearby.
“People want to travel to cool countries to see the snow, to see the Northern Lights, and, of course, to see Santa Claus," she added.
More flights but not enough hotels
Thirteen new flight routes to Rovaniemi Airport opened this year, bringing passengers from Geneva, Berlin, Bordeaux and more. Most tourists come from European countries like France, Germany and the UK, but Rovaniemi’s appeal has also spread further.
ADVERTISEMENTHotel availability is scarce this winter, and Tiina Määttä, general manager of the 159-room Original Sokos Hotel, expects 2024 to break more records.
Locals can't find housing
Local critics of mass tourism say many apartment buildings in Rovaniemi’s city centre are used as tourist accommodation during peak season, meaning they're no longer available for residential use. They say the proliferation of short-term rentals has driven up prices, squeezed out long-term residents, and turned its city centre into a “transient space for tourists."
Finnish law prohibits professional accommodation services in buildings intended for residential use, so campaigners are calling on authorities to act.
“The rules must be enforced better,” said Pakkanen.
ADVERTISEMENTNot everyone agrees. Mayor Ulla-Kirsikka Vainio notes some make “good money” on short-term rentals.
Either way, stricter regulations likely won’t be in place for this winter season, and despite the unease expressed by locals, mass tourism to Rovaniemi is probably only going to grow in 2025 - as visitors want to experience the unique atmosphere up north, especially during the holiday season.
“It’s Christmas time and we would love to see the Northern Lights,” says Joy, a visitor from Bangkok. “Rovaniemi seems to be a good place.”