FINNISH SANTA CLAUS WILL BE ISOLATED FOR NEW YEAR HOLIDAYS

Travel industry of Finland is suffering huge losses due to the pandemic. Severe restrictive measures that the country's authorities imposed on travel around the country have closed it for the foreign tourists. The Finnish Santa Claus, Joulupukki, was affected as well, along with the entire business that had developed around his official residence in Lapland.

Finland has the lowest incidence of COVID-19 relative to other European countries (53 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants). At the same time, the entry of tourists even from the EU is strictly prohibited.

Mount Korvatunturi, located on the border with the Russian Federation, is considered the place of residence of Joulupukki.

The history of the "monetization" of the Finnish Father Frost's home dates back to 1927, when the local radio first announced the existence of a permanent residence and the possibility to send letters to Joulupukki and even visit him.

Last year, over 3 million tourists from different countries visited Lapland. Most of these visits took place precisely during the winter season associated with the New Year holidays (December-March), which brought more than € 1 billion to the country's budget. In total, about 8 thousand employees are involved in the industry associated with the main attraction of Lapland that draws up 7% Of Finland's GDP.

Earlier forecasts for the development of the industry this year did not come true - the country was closed for visits.

And if in the summer there were suggestions that the situation would improve by the New Year, now it has become obvious for tourism representatives that the situation should not be expected to improve.

Even those bookings that had been made by residents of the EU and Russia in advance were cut. The authorities of some countries (like, for example, Great Britain) completely stopped passenger traffic with Finland, and residents of France and Germany began to massively refuse from trips.

It is possible that the Christmas holidays will pass without Santa Claus. Recently, Joulupukki announced that he did not plan to travel around the world to personally visit the children awaiting a miracle. He added that he would send everyone "good will and mutual understanding" so that people can embrace the spirit of Christmas.

Those who wish will be able to contact the Finnish Santa Claus via the Internet by making an application to visit his residence online.

Experts have already calculated that in 12 months (from the start of the pandemic to March 2021), the tourism market of Lapland will miss about € 700 million, which is 70% of the expected profitability. This could result in bankruptcy of more than 60% of companies operating in the tourism sector.

Representatives of the professional association of travel companies in Lapland believe that if the measures taken by the country's authorities are prolonged after March, the business is unlikely to be helped by the state subsidies and other sources of financial assistance.