Mobile phone data from the Christmas period has revealed there were fewer trips between regions this year compared to previous years, suggesting that many people in Finland chose to spend the 2020 festive season at home.
Approximately 1,995,000 trips were made between different regions across Finland in the week before Christmas, from 11 to 17 December.
That number increased, but only very slightly, in the week of Christmas from 18 to 24 December when approximately 2,062,000 trips were made.
The statistics are compiled from anonymised and aggregated Telia mobile phone data.
According to Traffic Management Finland, there were about 15 percent fewer inter-regional trips than usual in December this year compared to previous years.
"Christmas traffic this year was very moderate. There was very little congestion anywhere. The traditional Christmas traffic volumes did not materialise this year," according to the Helsinki Branch Manager of Traffic Management Finland Kari Tarkki.
Busiest travel day was 22 December
According to Telia's data, the busiest day for travel this year was 22 December, when more than 350,000 trips were made from one region to another. Slightly fewer trips (approximately 345,000) were made on the following day, 23 December.
This is quite standard for a normal weekend, but relatively moderate for Christmas.
For comparison, about 335,000 trips were made from one region to another on Friday 11 December.
The lowest number of trips this year were made on Christmas Eve, when the data suggests that only 172,225 journeys between regions were made.
