FINLAND: Warm weather conditions challenge local tourism in Northern Finland with companies still offering winter holidays despite the lack of snow

It's high noon in the Arctic Circle where there's only about four hours of cherished sunlight at this time of year. Most rivers in the north of Finland should already be frozen but recent warm temperatures have delayed a deep freeze. It takes around two weeks or so of temperatures near -15 degrees Celsius to solidify the strong river currents to ice. This year's warm weather contributing to a lack of snow has caused a headache for the local arctic tourism companies. Arctic locations such as Rovaniemi have become popular tourist destinations in the last decade. The town is usually buried in at least a meter of snow just before the Christmas season. There was snow in October, but it has vanished in the heavy rains that have fallen since. Only in the last few days have temperatures dropped to the normal level. People on package tours arrive from numerous European countries especially around Christmas time. Visitors are attracted by the promise of pristine snow-covered nature, visits to Santa Claus, and the chance for children to play in a winter wonderland. Rovaniemi, a town located right on the Arctic Circle itself, is also increasingly popular with tourists from Japan, China, and Singapore. While the warm weather has proved a concern for tourism companies, it has not deterred tourists from heading up north. "It's been very good, yeah. Its what we expected, what we thought it was going to be like except for when we first landed we thought everything was going to be really thick snow about a meter deep. And when we looked down it was like a dust in a hoover. Apparently they haven't had much snow at the moment but lucky enough last night we did get some snow and we managed to get out on the snowmobiles, which was good - you know," said Terry Wistanley, a tourist from the UK. Arctic Safaris is one of the Arctic tourism companies that have been stretched by the warm temperatures. This year the warm temperatures have forced the company to bus its clients to Pohtimo, a resort with higher elevation 40 kilometres north of Rovaniemi. The company certainly must think on its feet and act quickly to respond to Mother Nature's demands. In Pohtimo, a winter wonderland has been fabricated and maintained for hardy arctic tourists. Packages to the arctic were purchased in advance, so the tourist companies must fulfil their obligations. Arctic Safaris cater for around 100,000 people in the Finnish arctic. The mountain of snow in Pohtimo was built from fresh man-made snow. Snow cannons have been working through the recent two cold nights to create it -- and visitors don't seem to mind. "Its nice. Obviously like you say there was no snow a couple of weeks ago but we've got lucky and get on the snowmobiles and have some fun," said Lewis, a British tourist. Normally, the safari companies in Rovaniemi take their guests on long snowmobile drives -- but weather conditions have prevented them from doing so this year. Now, warnings to tourists are located by partially frozen lakes. Nevertheless, efforts have been made to ensure the visitors enjoy themselves. The snowmobile rides now are on a very tightly prescribed route -- a simple circle at the edge of the lake. But parents who have brought their children up for winter fun are thankful for the conditions. "I think we are lucky because last night or the day before yesterday they said there wasn't any snow but it snowed the day we arrived. The kids are loving the snow because we don't get it at home," said Lewis who came with his children from London. Local reindeer herders count on the winter tourist activity for extra income. Last winter, snow was piled high into a large hill, then covered with layers of sawdust -- and this time around the reindeer track was made from carefully conserved and hard-packed snow. There is of course some loss of snow due to melting, but locals have learned to plan for uncertainties brought about by unexpectedly warm weather.

ITN Source | December 28, 2006

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