UK Tourists Visiting Santa Claus in Finland Put Out Because of Lack of Snow

Published November 21st, 2018 - 11:59 GMT
Santa claus village lapland finland (Shutterstock)
Santa claus village lapland finland (Shutterstock)

British tourists travelling to Finland to visit Santa Claus' 'official' home are facing disappointment due to a lack of snow.

Despite the Santa Claus Village's location above the Arctic Circle, in the far north of the Scandinavian country, snow has yet to fall in the area this season.

At least one British holiday company has cancelled its trips to northern Finland, this week as a result of the weather.

Tourists booked in to visit Santa's Village, which opened for the winter season on Saturday, have taken to social media to express their fears their trip may be snowless.

The official Facebook pages of Visit Rovaniemi and the Santa Claus Holiday Village have been inundated with worried tourists asking if there is any chance of snow in the next few days.
Tour operator Transun has cancelled two trips to Finnish Lapland this week and offered alternative dates or a full refund.

'It has been unseasonably warm in Lapland recently and there has been limited snowfall, a spokesperson for Transun, which offers tours to an area some 155 miles north of Rovaniemi, said in a statement.

'We are monitoring the weather in Lapland daily, and putting contingency plans in place should the warm weather continue.'

The Finnish Meteorological Institute's five day forecast offers some hope to tourists, with snow predicted to fall on Friday and Monday.

A ten-day forecast by the Finnish government's weather agency promises temperatures below zero from Friday and at least three days of snow before December commences.

 

Sanna Kärkkäinen, Managing Director at Visit Rovaniemi told MailOnline they are not worried about the weather - revealing that they are working on programmes to preserve pre-season snow in case none appears naturally.

'It looks promising in terms of temperature, but for sure, we wait for snow.

'The weather varies a lot in the beginning of the season and for many years we have been able started the winter activities in October/November.

'Nowadays the weather seems to be more unpredictable and we need to get prepared for that, for example storing and conserving snow over summer for the early start of winter activities.'

Rovaniemi and Santa's Village is a popular destination among Britons in the run-up to Christmas.

In November and December last year, 25,000 British tourists stayed overnight in Rovaniemi - and were the most common nationality among foreign visitors in December.

Many Britons also visit for the day and fly home in the evening on trips such as Thomas Cook's Sleigh Day, however it is not known if the lack of snow will effect upcoming trips.

MailOnline has contacted Thomas Cook and Visit Rovaniemi for comment.

 

This article has been adapted from its original source.

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