Oulu drives Finland’s stronger summer tourism

Foreign tourist overnight stays in Finland rose by 3 per cent in July from a year earlier, with Oulu recording a 22 per cent increase, Yle reports. The city’s cultural capital year is credited with helping drive the growth.

Domestic overnight stays declined slightly. Domestic travellers accounted for 2.5 million overnight stays, compared with 750,000 by foreign travellers.

There were significant regional differences. Uusimaa recorded the most overnight stays among Finland’s regions, with 880,000, up 7 per cent. North Ostrobothnia ranked second with 290,000, down 3 per cent. In Oulu, the region’s central city, overnight stays nevertheless increased by 22 per cent year on year.

The average hotel room price across Finland was 117 euros. The highest average price was recorded in South Savo, where a room cost 179 euros.

Veli-Pekka Pohjola, owner and manager of De Gamlas Hem hotel in Oulu’s Heinäpää district, said the hotel’s occupancy rate had been about 95 per cent this summer. He said there had been considerably more foreign visitors than before, mainly from Central Europe, the Nordic countries and North America.

Many of the foreign guests were passing through Oulu on their way to Lapland, Pohjola said. Jyrki Kemppainen, head of tourism customers at Business Oulu, attributed the city’s strong summer, particularly the increase in foreign visitors, to its cultural capital year.

“Oulu has been featured in the international media on an unprecedented scale,” Kemppainen said.

Jenny Kurkela, restaurateur at Kurkela Lounge & Dine in Oulu, said the restaurant’s turnover and result were better than last summer despite poor weather. She said Finland could become a popular destination among foreign travellers, including through “coolcation” tourism, in which people from countries affected by summer heat travel to cooler Finland.

Kurkela said Finnish modesty was holding back the country’s branding. She argued that Oulu should highlight its nature and food offerings more prominently.

Y.T. Anderson, chief executive of Visit Northern Finland, said the summer had shown that Oulu needed more accommodation capacity. The city had been full during major events, which had also been reflected in prices. Several new hotels are currently being planned in Oulu.