Even the home of Santa Claus is now suffering from overtourism

Shuffling across icy ground on a cold December afternoon, lots of tourist groups poured 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 home town of Santa Claus”.

The Santa Claus Village theme park. Rovaniemi, counted a record 1.2 million overnight visitors in 2023, almost 30 per cent growth on 2022, after rebounding from pandemic travel disruptions.Credit: iStock

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.”

Tourism is booming in Rovaniemi — which has hotel and restaurant owners, as well as city officials, excited as it brings lots of money to the town. However, not everyone is happy about the onslaught of visitors, 10 times the town’s population, each Christmas.

“We are worried about the overgrowth of tourism. Tourism has grown so rapidly, it’s not any more in control,” says 43-year-old Antti Pakkanen, a photographer and member of a housing network that in September organised a rally through the city’s streets.

Santa opens Christmas season at the Santa Claus Village.Credit: Getty Images

It’s a feeling that has been echoed in other popular European travel destinations, including Barcelona, Amsterdam, Malaga and Florence.

Across the continent, locals have protested against “overtourism” – which 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 chief executive Sanna Karkkainen says as she stands in an ice restaurant, where snow carvers are 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 adds.

Thirteen new flight routes to Rovaniemi Airport opened this year, bringing passengers from Geneva, Berlin, Bordeaux and more. Most tourists come from European countries such as France, Germany and Britain, but Rovaniemi’s appeal has also spread further.

Visitors queue to meet Santa Claus at the Santa Claus Village.Credit: Getty Images

Hotel availability is scarce this winter, and Tiina Määttä, general manager of the 159-room Original Sokos Hotel, expects 2024 to break more records.

Local critics of mass tourism say many apartment buildings in Rovaniemi’s city centre are also used for accommodation services during peak season and are thus 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,” Pakkanen says.

Not everyone agrees. Mayor Ulla-Kirsikka Vainio notes that some make “good money” on short-term rentals.

Either way, stricter regulations likely won’t be in place to affect this winter season, and despite the unease of locals, mass tourism to Rovaniemi is probably only going to grow in 2025 as visitors seek an experience of the unique atmosphere up north, especially during the holiday season.

“It’s Christmastime, and we would love to see the Northern Lights,” says Joy, a visitor from Bangkok. “Rovaniemi seems to be a good place.”

AP