Tourism is recognised as an important growth sector and contributor to the Finnish economy. In 2017, tourism amounted to 2.6% of Finland’s GDP and tourism consumption reached EUR 15 billion. Tourism exports have grown steadily and amounted to 18% of service exports in 2017 – the third largest service export. Tourism industries directly employed 123 500 people in 2017, equivalent to 5.5% of total employment, and it is estimated that this will reach 164 000 by 2028. Around 28 500 tourism-related businesses, many of which are micro in size, recorded a turnover of EUR 9.7 billion.
International visitor numbers have doubled since 2000, and these spent EUR 4.6 billion in 2017 in Finland. In 2018, 5.6 million tourists visited Finland, up 12.4% over 2017, and nights in all means of accommodation reached 6.8 million (+1.5%). The Russian Federation continued to be the largest inbound market (826 000 nights), followed by Germany (628 000 nights) and the United Kingdom (593 000 nights), which replaced Sweden in third place. High growth markets include the Netherlands (up 8.4% on 2017), Spain (up 8.3%) and the United States (up 7.5%). Domestic leisure trips reached 38 million.
In 2018, accommodation establishments in Finland recorded over 22 million overnight stays, up 1.5% on the previous year, of which domestic tourists accounted for around 15.4 million and international tourists 6.8 million. In 2018, 8.7 million domestic tourists were recorded, up 1.5% over 2017.
