Christmas Tourists’ Perceptions to Climate Change in Rovaniemi, Finland

Abstract

Rovaniemi in Finnish Lapland is the self-proclaimed ‘official home of Santa Claus.’ However, in recent years, after several warm and snowless season starts, Christmas tourism businesses have expressed concern about the future of the region's winter tourism industry. This paper examines the challenges of winter tourism operators to adapt to changing environmental conditions by surveying the responses of tourists to potential changes in winter conditions. In the light of climate change projections, maintaining the attractive image of a snow-covered winter wonderland may become impossible. Results indicate that tourists react negatively to estimated changes and planned adaptation mechanisms. This situation may force tourism entrepreneurs and destination managers to reconsider the consequences of current adaptation strategies and develop new attractions and marketing strategies in order to attract new markets and/or rebrand the destination.

Key Words:

• Climate change
• environmental change
• adaptation
• visitor perceptions
• Christmas tourism
• Finland

Acknowledgements

This paper is based on research funded by the Academy of Finland under the auspices of the FiDiPro programme ‘Human-Environment Relations in the North: resource development, climate change and resilience,’ and under the Academy's Ficca consortium ‘Impacts of climate change on Arctic environment, ecosystem services and society,’ and under the Academy's project 255424. The research is also part of the Chair in Artic Tourism project funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.