Finavia publishes inaugural trend report: Tourism growth continues

Finavia published (13-Jan-2025) its inaugural trend report and 2024 air traffic statistics, analysing changes in international and Finnish travel and air traffic trends. Highlights include:

• The COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's war in Ukraine have significantly reshaped air travel patterns;
• Leisure travel and interest in Finland as a tourist destination are growing, while business travel remains below pre-pandemic levels;
• Tourism driven routes, particularly to Lapland, are expanding due to strong demand;
• Finland's air traffic growth has been slower than the European average, impacted by the closure of Russian airspace;
• Finavia's airports recorded 19.6 million passengers, increased 7% year-on-year;
• Helsinki-Vantaa Airport handled 16.3 million passengers (+7%), but has lost its position as an intermediary for large passenger flows between Europe and Asia;
• Regional airports handled 3.3 million passengers (+10%), with European routes leading growth, particularly to and from Germany, Sweden, Spain and the UK;
• Lapland airports recorded 1.8 million passengers (+19%), with Rovaniemi Airport experiencing record growth (+29%);
• Passenger numbers have dropped by over 60% at smaller regional airports like Joensuu Airport, Jyvaskyla Airport and Kajaani Airport, due to declining business travel;
• Finavia stressed the need for market based air traffic to sustain growth, support infrastructure investments and enhance customer experience;
• The report underscores the role of seamless multimodal transport chains (air, train and bus) in ensuring sustainable and efficient connectivity.

Finavia CEO Kimmo Mäki commented: "Tourists maintain and increase routes to Finland and Finland's connectivity. Geographically, tourism in Finland is strongly affected by the polarisation of destinations: the growth of tourism in Lapland during the winter season is an international success story. On the other hand, tourism has the greatest potential to grow in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. All in all, an investment in tourism is an investment in Finland's growth and internationalisation". [more - original PR]