Enontekiö plans Finland’s Monaco branding despite residents’ doubts

Enontekiö’s proposed municipal strategy calls the northern municipality “Finland’s Monaco”, but some residents say they do not understand the comparison. Yle reports that the plan, which runs to 2031, is now before the municipal council.

The strategy presents Enontekiö as a place visitors can dream of, highlighting tourism, open space and clean nature. Unlike Monaco, the municipality has plenty of room, the proposal says.

Resident Per-Henrik Tornensis said he was unsure what the slogan was meant to convey. “Things aren’t going badly here, but I don’t know what this comparison is trying to achieve. The temperature is different, too,” he said.

Ville Eskonen called the idea a bad one, saying the Monaco comparison had previously been used as a joke after Formula One drivers built holiday cabins in the area. He suggested it might have been better left as a joke. Formula One driver Valtteri Bottas has spent considerable time in Kilpisjärvi, the article says.

The name Monaco is used jokingly for places in several parts of Finland, sometimes to mock or belittle them. One Jyväskylä neighbourhood, for example, has been dubbed “Jyväskylä’s Monaco” in a joke that claims nobody there works or pays taxes.

Enontekiö municipal manager Eero Ylitalo said he was not worried the slogan would backfire. He argued that people understood it was not meant to describe reality, and that the municipality needed visibility in the media. He also welcomed the discussion, saying the strategy was deliberately made more striking than those of many other municipalities to get people interested.

The municipal strategy has already been discussed at village meetings. Ylitalo said those discussions highlighted the many positive things about Enontekiö that residents may sometimes overlook. The municipal council has yet to make its final decision.