Visit Finland Visitor Survey 2017

Visit Finland Visitor Survey 2017 Visit Finland Studies 9 Business Finland, Visit Finland Helsinki 2018

Foreign visitors in Finland in 2017

Contents Abstract 5 Introduction 7 Trips to Finland 10 Day and overnight trips 12 Finland as the main destination 13 Purpose of the trip 15 Organizing the trip 16 Duration of trip 17 Number of overnight stays 19 Overnight accommodation 20 Expenditures in Finland 21 Expenditure targets 23 Travel destinations in Finland 24 Travel destinations by country 26 Finland s popularity 27 How often in Finland 28 Recommending Finland 29 Activities 30 Interest in activities in Finland 31

5 Abstract TRAVELLING INCREASED BY 13% In 2017, foreign visitors made a total of 8.3 million trips to Finland, which is 13 percent more than the prior year. People living in Russia made about a third of the trips. Russian travel to Finland increased by 17 percent. Chinese travel increased nearly two-thirds (63%) from the previous year. From the EU countries, roughly four percent more trips were made than the previous year, whereas the number of trips from Asian countries grew by a third from the year before. FINLAND THE MAIN TRAVEL DESTINATION IN OVER 80% OF THE TRIPS 69% of tourists visiting Finland in 2017 did not travel to other countries during their trip. The main destination of the trip was Finland for more than 80% of travellers visiting here. NUMBER OF OVERNIGHT TRAVELLERS INCREASED NEARLY A FIFTH The number of day trips increased by about six percent and overnight trips by 18 percent. Russian and Estonian overnight trips increased by a fifth, British overnight trips nearly 50 percent and Chinese over 50 percent from 2016. Chinese day trips increased by 75 percent. Foreign tourists spent 36 million nights in Finland last year, which is up 46 percent more than in 2016. Overnight stays by Russian travellers increased by 0.5 million nights (22%). A good quarter of all overnight stays are made by holidaymakers. EXPENDITURES INCREASED A GOOD FIFTH Tourists arriving from abroad spent 2.60 billion euros in Finland in 2017, nearly 500 million (22%) more than a year earlier. Russian expenditure increased by over 180 million euros, from 471 million to 653 million euros and Chinese expenditure by over 110 million euros, from 225 million to 335 million euros. Visitors arriving from abroad spent about 441 million euros on accommodation, which is 64 million euros more than in 2016. Total purchases and groceries totalled 916 million euros, which is 207 million more than last year. Travellers spent an average of 318 euros per trip in Finland when advance expenditures were included. The highest amount of money used per traveller was by the Chinese (1 262 ).

6 TRAVEL EXPORT 4 BILLION EUROS When adding the Finnish export earnings (passenger transport revenue), estimated at 1.4 billion euros in 2017, to the travel expenses of foreign travellers from international passenger traffic, they will amount to 4 billion euros in tourism exports from 2017.

7 Introduction THE PURPOSE OF THE SURVEY The TAK Border Survey, of which the Visit Finland Visitor Survey is part of, is an on-going research project, which began in 1997. The purpose is to provide data on foreign visitors to Finland. The survey helps to identify, among other things, the annual number of visitors to Finland and the amount of money they spend in Finland. In addition, the study provides information on the profiles of incoming visitors from different countries: how long people stay in Finland, where they stay, why they come to Finland, how often they come to Finland, where they go during the journey, and what they do while in Finland. EXECUTION OF THE SURVEY The survey is carried out from January to December on different days and at different times by interviewing visitors over 14 years of age, residing abroad, and exiting Finland at the border stations. The interviewees are chosen using equally spaced sampling, e.g., by selecting every fifth traveller. Interview dates are selected at random for the entire year, except in Lapland, where the interviews are carried out during the winter season. Interviews are carried out at the Helsinki and Turku ports, at the Helsinki, Turku, Tampere, Rovaniemi, and Kittilä airports, as well as on the eastern border in Vaalimaa, Nuijamaa, Vainikkala, Imatra, and Niirala. At the eastern border the heavy-goods traffic is not taken into account, and in the ports of Helsinki, international cruise ships are not included. The survey covers 94% of the eastern border traffic through the five border stations included in the survey. The number of trips in the report corresponds to the number of visitors living abroad leaving Finland through the border stations included in the study in 2017. In 2017 a total of 35 720 travellers leaving Finland were approached. Of these travellers, 7 913 lived in Finland. The number of foreign visitors under 15 years of age was 570, and 9 467 refused to answer, did not have time to answer, or were not interviewed due to some other reason. A total of 18 822 interviews were completed during the year 2017. Transfer passengers travelling via Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, those who have stayed for a longer time in Finland, and those who have a job in Finland were excluded from the survey, which means the target group for the survey was a total of 14 883 foreign visitors. Tutkimus- ja Analysointikeskus TAK Oy is responsible for the practical implementation of the survey.

8 RELIABILITY OF THE RESULTS The results are weighted to match the actual number of travellers at airports, ports, and the eastern border, which are included in the survey. As regards to the Helsinki airport and ports, the passenger volume is weighted according to the travel destination (country). In addition, in the ports, the material is weighted to match the distribution of countries of residence from the shipping companies statistics. Transit passengers at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport, people who have a job in Finland, and visitors whose trip lasted a year or longer are not included in the report. The error margin resulting from the random sample of the survey results for the percentages of the entire material is at most ± 0.7 percentage points when including all travellers. In country-specific results the sample sizes vary between 95 and 9 828, resulting in country-specific margins of error ranging between ±1.1 9.7 percentage points. Most of the uncertainties are related to country-specific overnight stays and spending estimates. For these variables the distributions are oblique and, particularly in the small number of observations, the average estimate can vary greatly in different samples. COMPARABILITY OF RESULTS For the year 2017 the share of Helsinki-Vantaa Airport's transit passengers per travel destination was calculated from the statistics and not from the sample. For the sake of comparability, the same correction was made for the 2016 data, so all the results for 2016 were recalculated. For this reason, the 2016 figures in the report differ from the old (2016) report. Comparison to 2015 has not been done since in 2015 transfer passengers were included in the study s target group.

9 TERMS TRIP The number of trips in this report refers to the number of persons residing abroad who have left Finland. Figures do not include those working in Finland, or those staying in Finland at least one year, or transit passenger trips. TRANSIT PASSENGER Transit passengers are travellers leaving Finland who only changed planes at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport and did not leave the airport during their trip. TRANSIT VISITOR Transit visitors are visitors for whom Finland is not the main destination. Their main destination is thus elsewhere but they travel there via Finland. Transit visitors may however, spend time in and stay overnight in Finland before continuing their trips.

10 Trips to Finland

11 Trips to Finland A total of 8.3 million trips were made to Finland 3500 3000 3 128 2500 2 682 2000 1500 1000 500 2016 921 2017 912 856 844 389 396 245 344 164 150 183 187 432 265 0 Estonia Sweden Germany Great Britain France Russia Japan China Graph 1. Trips to Finland (Not counting those who work in Finland or trips that have lasted a year or longer, or transit passengers) In 2017 those who live abroad made a total of 8.3 million trips to Finland, which is 13 % more than the year before. People who live in Russia made little over a third of the trips, and they made 17% more trips than in 2016. Chinese people made around 432 000 trips (+63 %), and the Brits 344 000 trips (+40 %). From EU countries, around four percent more trips were made than the year before, and around a third more trips were made from Asian countries. Table 1. number of trips, thousand trips 2017 and 2016 and change (%)

12 Day and overnight trips A total of 3.3 million day trips and 5 million overnight trips were made 3 500 1000 trips 3 000 2 500 2 000 1 500 1 000 500 2016 Night 2017 0 Estonia Sweden Germany Great Britain France Russia Japan China Graph 2. Day and overnight trips ((Not counting those who work in Finland or trips that have lasted a year or longer, or transit passengers) The number of day trips increased about 6% and overnight trips increased by 18%. Russian and Estonian overnight trips increased a fifth, British overnight trips by almost 50% and Chinese by over 50% from 2016. Chinese day trips saw an increase of 75%. Table 2. Day and overnight trips 2017 and 2016, 1000 trips and change (%)

13 Finland as the main destination Finland was the main destination in over 80% of the visits 100 % 90 % 80 % 70 % Finland not the main destination 60 % 50 % 40 % Finland main destination 30 % 20 % 10 % 0 % only Finland; 2016 only Finland; 2017 Total Estonia Sweden Germany Great Britain France Russia Japan China only Finland Graph 3. Did they visit other countries and was Finland the main destination (Not counting those who work in Finland or trips that have lasted a year or longer, or transit passengers) 69% of visitors visiting Finland in 2017 did not travel to other countries during their trip. Over 80% of respondents reported that Finland was the main destination for their trip. Table 3. Those who only visited Finland during their trip in 2017 and 2016

14 Destination when leaving Finland A quarter continued their journey to Estonia When ignoring the visitors in Finland who returned to their home country, a quarter of travellers visiting Finland continued their journey to Estonia. Almost one quarter travelled to Sweden, and every tenth traveller to Russia. Graph 4. Destination when leaving Finland excl. country of residence (Not counting those who work in Finland or trips that have lasted a year or longer, or transit passengers) Destination 2017 2016 trips share trips share Estonia 636000 26 % 572000 28 % Sweden 573000 23 % 474000 23 % Russia 247000 10 % 180000 9 % Germany 157000 6 % 172000 8 % Denmark 125000 5 % 110000 5 % Spain 101000 4 % 31000 2 % Netherlands 93000 4 % 96000 5 % Great Britain 69000 3 % 55000 3 % France 56000 2 % 41000 2 % Greece 47000 2 % 11000 1 % Italy 44000 2 % 20000 1 % Iceland 42000 2 % 20000 1 % Latvia 35000 1 % 33000 2 % Portugal 35000 1 % - Norway 33000 1 % 31000 2 % Other countries 165000 7 % 225000 11 % Table 4. Destination when leaving Finland in 2017 and 2016

15 Purpose of the trip The number of shopping, vacation, and transit trips increased 2016 2017 1 273 1 103 1 317 1 324 1 759 1 826 2 001 2 827 648 724 221 235 Business trip Visiting friends or relatives Shopping trip Holiday trip Transit Other reason Graph 5. Purpose of the trip, 1000 trips (Transit= Finland not the main destination) Over 800 000 more holiday trips (+41%) were made to Finland than in 2016. The transit journeys (the trips in which Finland was not the main destination) and the shopping trips increased from the previous year. The results are not entirely comparable to previous years, since in 2017 the respondent had to choose one of the main reasons for the trip, whereas in previous years several reasons could be given. Business trips do not include trips made by those foreigners whose workplace is located in Finland. However, this is not necessarily always clear to participants in the study, so there is a need to take reservations in this regard. Table 5. Purpose of the trip, thousand trips (share of trips in parenthesis)

16 Organizing the trip Almost half of the Asians bought a package trip 100% 80% 2016 (used travel agency) 2017 (bought package trip) 60% 40% 20% 0% 2016 2017 Total Estonia Sweden Germany Great Britain France Russia Japan China Graph 6. Used the help of a travel agency in organizing the trip, % of the trips Approximately 13 percent of travellers visiting Finland bought their trip as a package from a travel agency, so that the price also included at least accommodation or some other services in Finland. A package trip had been bought by 25 percent of vacationers. In 2016 the question set-up was slightly different, so the figures for 2016 and 2017 are not completely comparable. In 2016: Used the help of a travel agency when organizing the trip. In 2017: Bought a package trip which included, in addition to the tickets, at least accommodation or other services at the destination. Table 6. Share of those who bought a travel package out of all travellers and holidaymakers.

17 Duration of trip

18 Duration of trip The amount of both day trips and overnight trips increased 2016 2017 3 126 3 302 904 1 217 820 953 1 162 1 251 1 345 1 591 one day trip 2 days 3 days 4-5 days longer than 5 days Graph 7. Duration of trip, 1000 trips 3.3 million day trips were made to Finland, which is around six percent more than the previous year. The increase was mostly due to the Russians, but also Chinese day trips to Finland increased. Also, trips that included overnight stays, especially one-night trips, increased from the previous years. Over half of the Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean visits were at most one-night visits. Instead, over 80% of those from Central Europe spent at least two nights in Finland. Table 7. Share of day trips, one-night trips and longer trips out of all trips in 2016 and 2017.

19 Number of overnight stays Foreign visitors spent 36 million nights in Finland 6000 1000 yötä 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 Other 2016 Holiday 2017 Other 2017 Estonia Sweden Germany Great Britain France Russia Japan Chinese Graph 8. Number of overnight stays (1000 nights) holidaymakers and other travellers Foreign visitors spent 36 million nights in Finland last year, which is 46 percent more than in 2016. Overnight stays by Russian travellers increased by 0.5 million nights (22%). The number of Swedish overnight stays in 2016 may be somewhat lower in the report than in reality, as the number of travellers by car in the 2016 study is likely to be too low. Nearly 60 percent of the nights spent were spent by students and those who visited friends. A fourth of overnight stays was made by those on vacation. For example, just over 15 percent of Chinese overnight stays were vacation stays. Table 8. Duration of trip on average (nights) and overnight stays in total all travellers and holidaymakers (year 2016 in parenthesis)

20 Overnight accommodation Almost 70% more visitors stayed in rental housing than before 2016 2017 2 000 2 227 483 585 270 458 1 225 1437 504 439 Hotel or motel Camping, hostel or rental cottage Rental flat Friends or relatives Other (e.g. own home or cottage) Graph 9. Overnight accommodation, 1000 arrivals to accommodation 11% more foreign visitors stayed in hotels and motels than in 2016. In rental housing (incl. Airbnb) the number of people increased even more, by almost 70%. Table 9. Overnight accommodation in Finland 2017 1000 visitors (% of visitors in parenthesis)

21 Expenditures in Finland

22 Expenditures in Finland Visitors spent 2.60 billion euros in Finland 700 M 600 M 653 500 M 400 M 471 300 M 335 200 M 100 M - 218 225 166 172 140 126 123 130 108 110 81 88 71 Estonia Sweden Germany Great Britain France Russia Japan China Graph 10. Expenditures in Finland Foreign visitors spent 2.60 billion euros in Finland during 2017, which is almost 500 million more than the prior year. Russian spending increased by over 180 million to 653 million and Chinese spending by over 110 million to 335 million. Chinese visitors spent the most money, over 1 200 euros per visit, with Russian spending remaining at over 240 euros per guest. In Finland, foreign visitors spent an average of 318 euros per guest. Table 10. Expenditures in Finland in total and per trip in 2017 and 2016

23 Expenditure targets Expenditure in shopping increased by over 200 million euros 2016 2017 448 638 377 441 333 339 709 916 151 131 35 77 70 58 35 39 Advance expenses AccommodationRestaurants and cafes Shopping and food Transport Cultural services Graph 11. Expenditures in Finland per target, million euros Entertainment Other Foreign visitors used about 64 million more than before for accommodation, and about 207 million more for shopping and food. The money used for advance payments also grew by 190 million euros mainly thanks to Chinese visitors. However, in the case of advance expenditures, the results are uncertain, as pre-costs are estimated for those travellers who do not spend money in advance for tickets or expenditure in other countries. Table 11. Division of expenditures, euros on average per visit

24 Travel destinations in Finland

25 Travel destinations in Finland Image 1. Travel destinations in Finland

26 Travel destinations by country 4.3 million visits were made to the Helsinki metropolitan area 100 % 80 % 60 % 40 % 20 % 0 % Helsinki Region 2016 Lapland Helsinki Region 2017 Coast Finnish Lakeland Total Estonia Sweden Germany Great Britain Lapland Graph 12. Helsinki metropolitan area as the destination France Russia Japan China Of the 8.3 million visits made by foreigners to Finland in 2017, 4.3 million visits were to the Helsinki metropolitan area, 1.9 million to the coast, 2.9 million to Lakeland, and 0.6 million to Lapland. More than 60 percent of Russian trips to Finland were in Lakeland, while every second Swedish trip to Finland was to the coast. Regarding Lapland, it should be noted that the sample is not representative at Lapland border stations. Table 12. Travel destinations in Finland, thousand trips in 2017 (2016 in parenthesis)

27 Finland s popularity

28 How often in Finland A quarter of the trips were made by first-time visitors 2016 2017 2 571 2 682 1 825 2 151 1 078 1 491 1 883 1 993 More than 4 times a year 2-4 times a year Once a year or less First-time visitor Graph 13. How often in Finland, thousand trips Although the number of first-time visitors to Finland has risen by 100 000 (6%), their share has slightly decreased from the previous year. This means that the people who visited Finland before have visited Finland more often. Table 13. Destination in Finland, thousand trips in 2017, (2016 in parenthesis)

29 Recommending Finland Finland s net promoter score (NPS) is 47 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% All Holiday trip All countries Estonia Sweden Germany Great Britain France Russia Japan China Graph 14. How likely they would recommend Finland as a travel destination net promoter score (NPS) The net promoter score (NPS) of visitors from the UK is 69, of travellers coming from Russia 57, and both the German and the French score is 54. Those coming from China and Japan, as well as those coming from Estonia and Sweden, the net promoter score is under 50, for the Swedes it is under 40. With countries marked with *, the number of visitors that answered is under 100, so the results can only be considered as indicative. Table 14. How likely they would recommend Finland as a travel destination net promoter score (NPS)

30 Activities

31 Interest in activities in Finland Interest in Finnish cuisine is on the rise 2016 2017 28% 31% 36% 33% 20% 15% 27% 21% 24% 24% Finnish culinary experiences Finnish sauna Wellness services and treatments Winter sports Other winter activities and experiences Graph 15. Which activities in Finland are you interested in? % of respondents The number of travellers interested in Finnish cuisine has grown since last year. However, interest in other compared activities seems to have decreased. Partly this can be explained with the strong increase in Russian shopping visitors: they are not particularly interested in different activities in Finland. Asian visitors, the number of which has greatly increased, on the other hand are not interested in Finnish wellness services. Table 15. Which activities are of interest and what they did in Finland, all travellers and holidaymakers; % of respondents

32 Business Finland, Visit Finland Porkkalankatu 1, PL 358 FI-00181 Helsinki www.visitfinland.fi/ ISBN 978-951-822-060-5 (electronic publication) ISSN 2342-8791 (electronic publication)