Finland attracted over 6.8 million foreigntourists in 2018, with 53 percent coming from otherEuropean Union states.[1] In 2017, the value added by tourism was about €4.6 billion, or 2.6% of the FinnishGDP, providing approximately 140,200 jobs.[2]
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Most visitors arriving to Finland come from:[5][6][7]
| Rank | Country | 2017 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Russia | 821,698 |
| 2 |  Germany | 622,991 |
| 3 |  Sweden | 597,339 |
| 4 |  United Kingdom | 585,814 |
| 5 |  China | 389,826 |
| 6 |  France | 280,069 |
| 7 |  United States | 268,723 |
| 8 |  Japan | 238,278 |
| 9 |  Netherlands | 227,405 |
| 10 |  Estonia | 219,504 |
| 11 |  Norway | 199,353 |
| 12 |  Switzerland | 167,450 |
| 13 |  Spain | 162,361 |
| 14 |  Italy | 155,599 |
| 15 |  Poland | 116,874 |
| 16 |  Denmark | 113,580 |
| 17 |  Australia | 82,602 |
| 18 |  India | 78,634 |
| 19 |  Austria | 70,769 |
| 20 |  Belgium | 70,452 |
| 21 |  Latvia | 58,776 |
| 22 |  Israel | 57,494 |
| 23 |  Singapore | 54,964 |
| 24 |  South Korea | 51,605 |
| 25 |  Lithuania | 51,280 |
| 26 |  Canada | 45,745 |
| 27 |  Thailand | 43,081 |
| 28 |  Czech Republic | 38,806 |
| 29 |  Croatia | 38,081 |
| Total foreign | 6,742,834 | |
Finland is famous for its many lakes, nearly 200,000 of them (larger than 500 m2/0.12 acres).Tampere is the biggest city on theFinnish Lakeland with other major cities being Jyväskylä,Mikkeli,Lahti,Joensuu,Lappeenranta,Kuopio, andSavonlinna. Finland is also known to have excellent water quality, and green deep woods and forests around the sea, rivers, and the waterways.
In wintertime, Finland provides opportunities forcross-country skiing andalpine skiing. Many of the popularski resorts are situated north of theArctic Circle inLapland, but there are exceptions likeKuusamo in the northeastern part ofOulu Province and Himos inJämsä, only 200 kilometres (120 mi) north of Helsinki.
Throughout Finland,Santa Claus (Joulupukki) is commonly considered to live on theKorvatunturifell in Lapland. In addition, the largest town in Finnish Lapland,Rovaniemi, has twotheme parks dedicated to the character:Santa Claus Village andSanta Park. Finnish Lapland (Rovaniemi and surroundings) is also the best place in the country to see theaurora borealis.[8]
Another theme park in the country isMoomin World, located in the outskirts ofNaantali. The park is based on the popularMoomins franchise, created byTove Jansson.
The biggest picnic of the year calledVappu is held on April 30 - May 1. The celebration happens in every city and village across the country.[9]
Northern Finland, mainly Lapland, has a strong profile as an internationally popular winter holiday destination, which is why the nickname "winter wonderland" has also been used.[10] In the winter there is a largesnowcastle with anIce hotel built every year in the northern town ofKemi.Rovaniemi is a place from which to see theaurora borealis or northern lights. Tourists in the north of the country in winter often enjoy trips in reindeer sleighs withSami drivers, in dog sleighs, or on snowmobiles.
It is also possible to ski, with downhill resorts atSaariselkä andLevi, and many cross country ski tracks throughout the northern part of the country. Ice hockey is a popular sport in winter, and it is possible to go ice yachting, or ice skating on the ice. Most lakes are also frozen, soice fishing (pilkkiminen) is quite popular.
Helsinki, Finland's capital and largest city, receives many visitors year-round. During the summertime thousands of tourists approachHelsinki by cruising boats travelling across theBaltic Sea.Helsinki is known as a clean, modern, and safe meeting point between the east and west.
Other popular tourist destinations within Finland includeTampere,Jyväskylä,Turku,Oulu,Kuopio,Rovaniemi, andPorvoo.
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in the country, although it is relatively small compared to other European capitals.
Because Helsinki is located on the coast of theBaltic Sea and has many kilometres of coastline, most of its central districts are near the seaside. Helsinki is considered a maritime city and is popularly calledthe daughter of the Baltic.
Helsinki's coastal position makes it ideal to experience in the summertime from one of the many sightseeing ferries leaving from the port of Helsinki. Many of Helsinki's main attractions are also related to the sea, including theSuomenlinna naval fortress (aUNESCOWorld Heritage Site) and theSeurasaari Island with its parks and open-air museum. Locals often spend sunny days at theHietaniemi beach (often simply calledHietsu), Helsinki's main beach in the district of Töölö.
In the winter-time Helsinki's northern position makes it dark for most of the day, with lighting fixtures such asAleksanterinkatu's Christmas street (Joulukatu). During the coldest months of the winter, it is very common for locals to go for walks on the frozen sea, although authorities recommend caution when the ice is thin. There are also many places forice swimming along the coast, some with saunas.
Air travel to Helsinki is viaHelsinki Airport, situated in the neighboring city ofVantaa, a city part of theHelsinki metropolitan area. Helsinki also has popularcruiseferry links withStockholm,Sweden andTallinn,Estonia.Silja,Viking andTallink are the biggest ferry operators.
Helsinki is also the home of theLinnanmäki amusement park, which features five rollercoasters and many other rides, including the world's firstIntamin ZacSpin rollercoaster.
Helsinki is a safe city for tourists and a safe place to live. In terms of personal safety, Finland was ranked 14 out of 163 countries according to Global Peace Index 2019.[11]
Helsinki also has efficient tourist information system maintained by theCity of Helsinki Tourism & Convention Bureau located in the city center next to theEsplanadi park.
Helsinki was ranked 10th of the most expensive cities in the world according to UBS Group AG's Prices and Earnings report for 2018.[12] Travelers should plan to spend around US$216 or €199 per day on their vacation in Helsinki, which is the average daily cost of staying in a 4-star hotel, visiting 2 popular attractions, using public transportation, and eating out in mid-range restaurants with a glass of wine included.[13]
Tampere, also known as the "Manchester of Finland", has often been rated as the most popular city in Finland;[14] perhaps it is precisely for this reason that over the years it has grown into Finland's second largest[15] and the second best-known Finnish city in the world after Helsinki. The oldindustrial city built on between lakesNäsijärvi andPyhäjärvi, and alongTammerkoskirapids has also proved to be quite a significant tourist destination with its various national and international events,[16][17] museums (such asMoomin Museum) market places (such asTampere Market Hall[18][19]) and, of course, itsSärkänniemiamusement park, not to mention the world-acclaimed nature in Tampere.[20] Tampere's local traditional food "mustamakkara" in particular has aroused a lot of interest in the world, all the way tocelebrity chefAnthony Bourdain.[21][22] Tampere also have been officially declared the "Sauna Capital of the World".[23][24][25][26][27]
Many of Finland's most important highways between different cities intersect at Tampere, such as theHelsinki-Tampere Highway (part ofE12). Also, air travel to Tampere is viaTampere-Pirkkala Airport, situated in the neighbouring municipality ofPirkkala, a part of theTampere metropolitan area.
Tampere is also known for several educational institutions, such asUniversity of Applied Sciences andPolice University College; theTampere University, like the city, is also the second largest of its kind in Finland.[28]
Lonely Planet callsJyväskylä as aMecca for architecture lovers around the world for its large collection ofAlvar Aalto buildings. The city is the biggest city onFinnish Lakeland and capital ofCentral Finland.[29] Later, a modern architectArto Sipinen, a pupil of Aalto, has influenced in the cityscape since the 1970s by designing most of the new university buildings in the city.
TheAlvar Aalto Museum and the Museum of Central Finland form a centre of culture in the immediate vicinity of the historical campus of theUniversity of Jyväskylä. Both museums are designed by a functionalistAlvar Aalto. The Alvar Aalto Museum displays the artist's most important work and design. The Museum of Central Finland specializes in cultural history. It serves both as the town museum of Jyväskylä and the provincial museum of Central Finland.Nokkakivi Amusement Park is about 20 km from Jyväskylä.[30]
One of architect Aalto's most significant works Säynätsalo Town Hall is located inSäynätsalo island on LakePäijänne.
The city hosts theNeste Oil Rally Finland (formerly known as1000 Lakes Rally). It is the biggest annually organised public event in theNordic countries, gathering over 500,000 spectators every year. The rally has been held since 1951, first as a national competition, then from 1959 on as aEuropean Rally Championship event and since the introduction of theWorld Rally Championship in1973, as Finland's WRC event.
UNESCO World Heritage sitePetäjävesi Old Church is located in vicinity of Jyväskylä.
Porvoo has often been called an authentic small town[31] and has been chosen as one of the most beautiful towns in Finland on several occasions.[32] The city is one of the sixmedieval towns in Finland, first mentioned as a city in texts from the 14th century. At the beginning of the 19th century, the city played an important role in connection with theDiet of Porvoo, when Finland, which at that time was part of theRussian Empire, gainedautonomy in the form of theGrand Duchy of Finland.[33]
The Porvoo Old Town is a popular tourist destination, known for its well-preserved 18th and 19th century buildings and 15th century cathedral, thePorvoo Cathedral. The Old Town together withPorvoo River River Valley is recognized as historically and culturally significant as one of theNational landscapes of Finland. Porvoo is also culturally important in that many of the most significant writers, starting withJ. L. Runeberg, are largely from Porvoo or its immediate sub-region municipalities (such asJohannes Linnankoski fromAskola).
Attempts have been made to make the Porvoo Old Town aUNESCO World Heritage site, but so far it has not been qualified.[34][35]
Finnish cuisine includes fresh ingredients, particularly game and fish, foraged berries and mushrooms such asfalse morels, and evenreindeer. Alcoholic drinks of note areKoskenkorva, the salty liquorice-flavoredSalmiakki Koskenkorva and cloudberry liqueur.
The Finnish rail system is operated byVR. It offers InterCity and express trains throughout the country, and the fasterPendolino trains connecting the major cities. There are very large discounts (usually 50%) available for children (7-16 yr), students, senior citizens, and conscripts. Connections to Sweden are by bus due torail gauge differences. It's possible to take theSilja, Tallink andViking Line ferries from Helsinki toMariehamn in theÅland archipelago,Stockholm (Sweden),Rostock andTravemünde in Germany, and toTallinn (Estonia).Wasaline operates the ferry route from Vaasa toHolmsund inUmeå.
There are about 25airports in Finland with scheduled passenger services.Finnair,Blue1 andFinncomm Airlines provide air services both domestically and internationally.Helsinki-Vantaa airport is Finland's global gateway with scheduled non-stop flights to such places asBangkok,Beijing,Guangzhou,Hong Kong,Miami,Nagoya,New Delhi,New York,Osaka,Seoul,Shanghai,Tokyo andIstanbul. Helsinki has an optimal location forgreat circleairline traffic routes betweenWestern Europe and theFar East. Hence, many foreign tourists visit Helsinki on a stop-over while flying from Asia to Europe or vice versa. TheHelsinki-Vantaa Airport was ranked 18th in theSkytrax World's Top 100 Airports survey.[36]
On December 9, 2013, the City of Helsinki decided that all minors under the age of 18 and all pregnant mothers living in Helsinki without a valid visa or residence permit aregranted the right to the same health care and at the same price as all citizens of the city.
Volunteer doctors of Global Clinic have tried to help these people, for whom only acute care has been available. This means that theFinnish health care system is open for all people coming outside of the European Union.
