A cyclist passed by people sitting by Töölönlahti Bay in Helsinki on 22 July 2024. Hotels in the Finnish capital have become relatively affordable as the recent increase in hotel capacity has not been matched with a surge in visitors, according to Helsingin Sanomat. (Aada Petäjä – Lehtikuva)
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THE CONSEQUENCES of Helsinki’s recent hotel construction boom are becoming visible: although the number of visitors is forecast to increase from last summer, a significant share of hotel rooms are unoccupied, reports Helsingin Sanomat.
In May, hotels in the city had an occupancy rate of 59.9 per cent.
“Air traffic to Helsinki was clearly on the rise in June compared with May, based on flight data. Also domestic tourism is growing. I’d say we can expect a modest rise in the occupancy rate of hotels in June compared with May,” Mari Somero, a team lead in the tourism and destination management division of the City of Helsinki, said to Helsingin Sanomat on Monday.
The modest rise is not expected to result in a year-on-year increase in the occupancy rate, which stood at 64.4 per cent in June. The exact data for the summer months will not be released until August.
Helsingin Sanomat on Monday reminded that in the past year three large hotels have opened in downtown Helsinki: The Hotel Maria, Radisson Red and Grand Hansa Hotel.
The establishments are the products of a hotel construction boom that began before the coronavirus pandemic, buoyed by a widely shared view that the city lacked hotel capacity. The situation has since become difficult for hotel operators, as suggested by the ownership change of Hotel Ax in Jätkäsaari and the withdrawal of Primehotels from Grand Hansa.
Visitors from the US, Germany and Sweden were the largest groups of foreign visitors in Helsinki between January and May 2024. Americans will likely be at the top of the ranking also for the entire first half of the year, with flight data showing a slight up-tick in traffic from the US between May and June.
“We had a lot of American tourists also last summer. Russia invading Ukraine didn’t affect Americans’ willingness to come to Finland as much as feared. Americans aren’t afraid to visit Finland now that Finland is a member of Nato,” analysed Somero.
The occupancy rate for hotels in the capital city is nonetheless dragged down by the lack of visitors from Asia and Russia.
“You can’t fly over Russia from Asia to Helsinki, and this makes the flight time longer. That’s why Asian tourists have less time to spend in Helsinki,” she explained.
The low occupancy rate has also made staying in the city relatively affordable, especially on weekdays and outside major events. In May, a hotel room cost an average of 127.74 euros in Helsinki.
“It’s relatively affordable to stay in Helsinki, if you do so outside the weekend and no major events overlap with your stay. The prices do become higher during major events,” remarked Somero.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
