December 24, 2024, 6:38 am | Read time: 4 minutes
Many people automatically associate the thought of Lapland with Christmas. The region in the north of Finland is known for its magnificent snowy landscapes, and Santa Claus is also said to come from Lapland’s capital, Rovaniemi. But this year, there’s not much Christmas magic in Lapland. All the information on TRAVELBOOK.
As we all know, there is no guarantee of a white Christmas in Germany. The situation seems to be different in Lapland. In the region, it usually starts snowing in the fall, which is why it attracts numerous visitors every year with winter activities, such as sleigh rides, reindeer safaris, and a Christmas village. According to figures from airport operator Finavia, around 18.3 million passengers flew through the airports it operates in 2023, an increase of 19 percent compared to the previous year. In winter 2024, there will apparently be a few flights less and, therefor, fewer trips to Lapland than planned.
Overview
Tour Operator has Canceled Lapland Trips Over Christmas
As reported by “Euronews” and others, the tour operator Tui has canceled connections to Lapland. The reason: There is no snow. It will therefore not be possible to provide the “magical Lapland experience we had planned for you, including the tastings and pre-booked excursions”. Tui announced this in a statement and canceled all trips planned for the Christmas period.
It is true that the past few weeks have been unusually mild in Lapland, which is otherwise known for its high snowfall. A few days ago, temperatures reached around plus 5 degrees Celsius, according to “Wetter online“. Normal temperatures at this time of year in Lapland’s capital Rovaniemi would be between minus 6 and minus 12 Celsius during the day. Higher up in the north, it can sometimes go down to minus 20 degrees Celsius in December. In November, only a few centimeters of snow fell at most, and only in a few isolated places. “In the region around Kuusamo, which is popular with Christmas tourists and Aurora fans, there were only sparse remnants of snow,” says the weather data service, “instead there were puddles and slush.”
What Tui Says About the Canceled Trips to Lapland
The city of Kuusamo was also the one to which trips were canceled. TRAVELBOOK was informed of this by Tui. The city in the north of Finland is only served by British airports, according to the tour operator’s spokesperson. The canceled flights therefore only affect “a handful of flights from England to Kuusamo”. The lack of snow there is so severe, “even snow cannons won’t help,” the spokesperson assures. It was no longer possible to rebook guests to other destinations in Lapland. Everything was already fully booked. In addition, the suspension of connections only affected two days; travel resumed on December 8.
The news does not affect holidaymakers from Germany. However, this does not make it any less bad for those affected. They are now entitled to a refund of the total cost of the booked but canceled trips. Alternatively, they have the option of postponing their Kuusamo pre-Christmas plans to the same period next year – in the hope that there will be more snow then. Other providers are sticking to their booked Lapland travel plans for the time being. However, they are monitoring the weather situation closely, according to Euronews.
Even the “Christmas Village” is Hardly Christmassy This Year
As the latest pictures of the “Christmas village” Santa Claus Village near Rovaniemi show, visitors—of which there are currently only a few—are finding slushy wetness instead of snow. This naturally limits the appeal of a stay, as the operators of the hotels located near the village have to admit. According to a report by the British broadcaster LBC, they therefore point out to their guests “that there is currently no snow directly at the hotel”. In the surrounding area, however, where various Christmas excursions are undertaken, the situation is somewhat different.
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Reason for the Winter With Little Snow: Climate Change
According to employees at the Finnish Meteorological Institute, it is no wonder that it is like that this year. As they explained to the AFP news agency, there has been a consistent lack of cold spells, and climate change is to blame. Not only is this year’s winter far too warm, temperatures in the summer months were also up to 3.5 degrees Celsius above average.