NEWS City of Rovaniemi Christmas News from To the joy of both guests and locals alike, 29.11.2008 The Grand Opening Rovaniemi the Rovaniemi has plenty of events during the of the Christmas Season in Christmas season: the official opening of Hometown of Santa Claus Christmas, Santa’s sendoff on his journey, the Rovaniemi Christmas market and concerts. As the year comes to a close it is time for Christmas, romantic twilight and beautiful And in Rovaniemi, Christmas isn’t limited to 5.12 - 18.12. The Wheel of Winter blue moments. In winter, Rovaniemi radiates the winter – you can see and hear Christmas – White Fantasy. with the Christmas spirit: glistening snow, throughout the year. Even in summer the reindeer running in the forest and Santa people go a bit crazy about Santa; they bring Rovaniemi Theatre, Lappia Hall greeting people. The people of Rovaniemi snow into the city centre and play winter consider their city the Christmas Capital of games like tobogganing! And of course, Santa A Christmas fantasy based on international the world. Claus is there with his elves and reindeer. stories about Christmas and Winter Solstice. The amazing adventure proceeds without Many other people quite agree. The first Naturally, in the beginning of winter and words carried on by the methods of circus Christmas visitors arrived from England around Christmas Rovaniemi is at its nouveau, acrobats, surprising mythical in 1984 when a British Airways Concorde most Christmassy; as this is the time for a creatures and magical theatre illusions. landed with 100 Christmas guests in the whole variety of Christmas related events. midst of this winter wonderland. Nowadays, Christmas bazaars, decorations adorning the city is host to tens of thousands of tourists streets and houses, theatre performances, 23.12.2008 Santa is on his way… who arrive on charter and scheduled flights concerts, and of course the numerous and special trains especially from the British Christmas parties between friends and Let’s wish bon voyage to Santa Claus when he Isles, Italy, France, Russia and Spain. colleagues fill the calendars of people of leaves to deliver gifts! Santa Claus leaves for Rovaniemi, while also providing plenty of his long journey to deliver gifts to children of entertainment for visitors to the town. the world in day before Christmas Eve. We all can be wishing him bon voyage and at the same time send Christmas greetings to all over the world. Santa is on his way... 23rd December 2008 at 7 pm in Santa Claus Village, Arctic Circle. Welcome to Rovaniemi, the heart of Lapland! More information: Rovaniemi Tourism and Marketing Ltd Marketing and communication manager Katja Eteläinen Tel. +358 40 532 5822 [email protected] www.visitrovaniemi.fi Differing views on the dip in travel agents. aim is to increasingly promote Levi and Lapland Christmas travel “Some travel agents have even done better in Central Europe. than in previous years, and are ahead in sales © Lapin Kansa Oy Christmas tourism: Interesting prospects for in comparison to last year. I still do believe that growth on the eastern rim of Europe the general financial situation in Europe, and Merja Vehmas in particular the British Isles, will take a toll on The Girl of the Golden West tourism in Lapland this December.” ROVANIEMI broadcast to a crowded square There are about a dozen major travel agents in Adrian Collins, Managing Director of Live show: The National Opera wrote history the Christmas tourism business in Britain. Canterbury Travel Ltd, a company that brought in Rovaniemi “They all don’t share an equally negative some 30,000 British holidaymakers to Lapland Veera Vasara idea of this Christmas, in light of the booking last year, estimated earlier this week that situation at the moment.” Lapland will see a fall in the number of British ROVANIEMI The British are the largest single group of tourists this year, and that the number of Britons The Girl of the Golden West gathered a Christmas tourists to Lapland. However, they visiting Lapland for Christmas on packages huge audience on the stands constructed in are not significant enough to, on their own, organised by his company will decrease by as Lordi Square; about a thousand people in all, cause the rise or fall of Lapland. many as 8,000 in comparison to 2007. according to the estimate of the organisers. The “Oh boy, no way! There are many market areas Collins’s predictions are both echoed as well as opera by Puccini was transmitted from the main where Lapland has only begun to raise interest met with doubt in Lapland. stage of the National Opera to the Rovaniemi and it is continuing its growth. Interesting Leo Pitkänen, Managing Director of Lapin audience with a giant screen and impressive indicators have appeared in the areas making up Matkailumarkkinointi Oy, and the Chairman of sound reproduction. the former Yugoslavia, and Romania, to name the Board of the Lapland Travel Ltd, states that The General Director of the National Opera, but a few”, says Posio. such predictions seem a bit silly. Päivi Kärkkäinen, was the opening speaker of “There is no need to start feeling gloomy. The “I haven’t heard about anything that would the event and said in her speech that it was her rise in flight prices, for instance, has more of an indicate a dip; it seem surprising to me that wish to have the opera broadcast to Rovaniemi impact on travel with destinations on the other something really extraordinary is about to of all the Finnish cities, as it is one of the places side of the ocean, rather than on travel within happen”, says Pitkänen. where it is not that easy to just hop in to see the Europe. For Lapland, this might at some point The previous day, he had been in contact opera. be a positive thing. And the decline in economy with the Finnish Tourist Board and campaign “The National Opera is determined to fulfil its does not influence everyone equally in Britain.” partners in the UK, the Netherlands and task as the opera for all Finns.” Another positive aspect is that, even though Norway. The Girl of the Golden West is, according to Ms snow has arrived late the last few years, “None of them stated that they are more Kärkkäinen’s estimate, particularly appropriate according to Posio Lapland still holds a worried than usual. We had the most ordinary to be shown in Lapland, because there is a gold- reputation that seeing snow is guaranteed. discussion on whether snow can be expected digger theme: the events are set in California in “You should bear in mind that the lack of or not. This time it was easy to say that at least the times stirred up by the gold rush. snow has primarily applied to the centre of it’s been cold. So we can expect snow”, says Rovaniemi.” Pitkänen and laughs. Sunny evening Overly dominant Rauno Posio, Marketing Director of Lapland The rainy day was only a memory when 7pm Jussi Töyrylä, Managing Director of Levi Tourist Safaris is, on the other hand, under the approached, and even the sun took to shining Office sees no signs of the drop in Christmas impression that this year will not be the easiest. before the autumn night fell. The audience came travel. “When it comes to British tourism, the prospects well prepared for the three-hour show with “At the moment, our sales for December are seem to be clearly less favourable than in warm clothing; even a fur cap was seen in the 20-30% ahead of last year’s.” previous years. crowd. British tourists have an important role in In our main market area, the British Isles, the The thermal insulation seat covers, distributed Christmas travel in the Levi region as well. customer figures have decreased by 25%, if not by the City of Rovaniemi, were more than useful Töyrylä says that the goal for the future is to be even a little more than that”, says Posio. in the chilly weather. able to put the eggs in more than one basket. We talked to a group of young people sitting in “The UK is overly dominating. Germany, New prospects the audience. They were intrigued by the unique France, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands are all Posio does say that it is important to bear in event, even though they did not confess to being countries where we want to gain more ground. mind that the decrease is, in part, specific to particularly fond of the opera. The World Cup project is part of this work. Our “Of course we had to come, and we are going Council, strongly related to cultural heritage. What is the...? to see the show from the beginning to the end”, The cornerstone of this indigenous people’s Katja Vikkilä and Eveliina Hokkanen said. cultural heritage is their relationship with the •Sámi Council......a cultural-political and Some of the people had indeed come to see the land. political-cooperative body of the Sámi in opera, but some random passers-by with their “The Sámi culture is often perceived as the Finland, Norway, Sweden and Russia. bikes or Nordic walking sticks had decided to language, the handicrafts, and art; in our stay and watch. perspective, however, the Sámi Land and the •Established in Karasjoki in 1956. In this sense, the art form returned to its roots, right of the Sámi people to decide on their land to entertain everyone. are the foundation of the Sámi culture”, says •The primary aim of the body is to supervise “It is something new and amazing”, was the Pauliina Feodoroff of Finland, Chairperson of the interest of the Sámi as a people and to comment of an elderly lady who had never been the Sámi Council for a few more days.