Due to its regional coverage, the 2022 tourism income survey offers an opportunity for national comparison. In general, the year 2022 appeared to be a year of growth in almost all regions studied, when tourism began to recover from the aftermath of the corona virus.
In Uusimaa, where tourism income calculations were also carried out in 2021, a clear recovery of big cities from the problems caused by the corona pandemic for tourism was visible. At the same time, the growth/recovery of large cities (Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa) slightly ate up the tourism income of, for example, other municipalities in the Helsinki region, which was almost at the level of 2021. However, Lohja remained in a growth career also in 2022.
Uusimaa has not yet fully reached the pre-corona period, but the increase in tourism income was significant. Uusimaa's strong growth is partly due to the recovery of Helsinki-Vantaa Airport and Finnair. The importance of these to Uusimaa's tourism income is great: for example, Finnair's total turnover increased from 838 million to 2.36 billion, and the turnover of foreign operations even more proportionally.
In Eastern Uusimaa, Porvoo took its part in the recovery of tourism, but in Loviisa, the year 2022 meant a period of zero growth. In Loviisa's neighbor, Kymenlaakso, tourism income in Kotka and Hamina increased, although the closure of the eastern border to tourists probably slowed growth.
In Pirkanmaa, especially in the Tampere region, there was a strong growth compared to the previous survey time (2017), although due to the change in the calculation method, the numbers are not completely comparable. The growth of the city of Tampere seems to have dragged the rest of the region along with it, with a few exceptions. The changes in the rest of Pirkanmaa are not very dramatic, as the calculation has not been done during the corona period.
From Finland proper, Turku was included as a new region, whose direct tourism income is almost as large as, for example, the tourism income of the whole of Central Finland. Even in Central Finland, tourism has been on the rise since 2018, when corona years are not taken into account. There has been growth in all regional municipalities, although overnight stays have not increased in proportion to tourism income. The region of Jyväskylä is the engine of the region, making up about two-thirds of the tourism income of the entire province.
Hämeenlinna was also on the growth curve, whose tourism income increased significantly compared to the previous survey (year 2021). For the other districts of Kanta-Häme, data was now available as a basis for future comparisons. The Hämeenlinna region collects about 60 percent of the province's tourism revenue, with the rest being distributed fairly evenly to the Forssa and Riihimäki regions.
Oulu and Kuusamo were added to TAK Research's research as new regions. Oulu's tourism income in 2022 was roughly the same as the entire Jyväskylä region. In Kuusamo, on the other hand, it is remarkable that unregistered accommodation operators, whose turnover data do not appear in the structural statistics of companies, play a significant role in the formation of tourism income. Thus, calculations based on tourists' consumption give significantly more accurate information about the size category of tourism income than figures calculated directly from industry statistics as percentages. Kuusamo is indeed a significant player in North Ostrobothnia in terms of tourism income.
Monitoring tourism income offers an opportunity to illustrate the importance of tourism in the region, although tourism has more than just economic effects. However, without financial metrics, tourism can easily be overlooked as a real economic activity that has a significant impact on the vitality of regions and the preservation of services. The calculations made now and, for example, the share of tourism in the turnover/person-years of all industries presented in the reports in different regions help to place tourism in the region in the right magnitude and context.
Regional tourism income figures only in Finnish:
The research is conducted in yearly basis. For more information on the research, contact us at info@tak.fi