Lapland's pricey hotels prompt airlines to send flight crew hours away to sleep

A sure sign that the tourist season in Finnish Lapland is in full swing is high hotel prices.

Hotels are often so fully booked and pricey that foreign airlines have started transporting their flight crew away from the hubbub of Rovaniemi to hotels as far as 2.5 hours away by car — to Haukipudas, just north of Oulu.

This has been the case for the past couple of years, according to Jani Rissanen, who works as a taxi entrepreneur in Kemi.

Flight crews are also known to have spent nights in the region of Sea Lapland (Meri-Lappi), which is home to the cities of Kemi and Tornio.

According to the CEO of tourism outfit Visit Rovaniemi, Sanna Kärkkäinen, airline crews seek accommodations further afield when flight routes are added at short notice, and they haven't reserved rooms in time.

"In Rovaniemi, most of the season's hotel bookings are made up to a year in advance," she explained, adding that these sorts of situations are isolated cases.

However, hotel room prices in Finnish Lapland in December were nearly twice as high as the national average, according to Statistics Finland. That month, a hotel room in Lapland averaged about 282 euros per night, while hotel stays in Uusimaa — home to the capital area — had an average cost of 119 euros per room.

Statistics Finland has not yet published the average hotel prices specifically for Rovaniemi, the capital of Finnish Lapland. However, in 2023, the average price for a hotel room in the city in December stood at nearly 350 euros per night — and prices in the region have generally risen over the past year.

For example, the average price for a December hotel stay in Kittilä rose by 13 percent and in Inari by 15 percent, year-on-year.

The rising hotel prices are due to high demand, according to the head of the Lapland Chamber of Commerce, Hanna Baas.

"There are too few hotels in Rovaniemi," she explained.

A number of hotel construction projects are underway, but they are progressing at a slow pace.

The increased tourism and hotel prices have affected other sorts of events and organisations. Locals generally know not to plan events in the winter.

According to Kaisa Juupaluoma, who works as an events planner at the University of Lapland, it's not possible to organise international scientific conferences in Rovaniemi during the busy winter period.

She said that period has grown, and continues from November until March.

"Guests won't make the trips if hotels cost 400 to 500 euros a night," she explained.