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Published: 6 February 2015

Trips to Spain and day trips to neighbouring countries increased in September to December 2014

According to Statistics Finland's preliminary data, Finnish residents made fewer domestic leisure trips with paid accommodation in late 2014 than in the year before. Overnight cruises to Sweden and Estonia decreased by almost one-quarter from the corresponding period in the year before. By contrast, day trips to Sweden and, in particular, to Russia increased from the previous year. More trips than in the same period in 2013 were also made to Spain but travel to Asian countries decreased.

Finns' leisure trips in September to December 2003 to 2014*

Finns' leisure trips in September to December 2003 to 2014*

In the last four months of 2014, Finnish residents aged 15 to 84 made more than 12 million trips when all domestic and foreign leisure trips, as well as business and professional trips are included. In addition to trips with overnight stay, the number also includes same-day trips abroad.

Altogether, 7.6 million domestic leisure trips with overnight stay were made in the September to December period. Of these, 6.0 million were trips with free accommodation. Trips with overnight stay at paid accommodation numbered 1.6 million and their most popular destinations were located in Uusimaa, Lapland and Pirkanmaa. The number of trips with paid accommodation recorded in the statistics was nearly five per cent fewer than in September to December of the previous year. However, the number of trips to Uusimaa and Lapland increased by over 20 per cent.

The warm and beautiful September was the most popular month for domestic travelling towards the end of 2014, as then good half a million tips with paid overnight stay were made.

Inclusive of trips with overnight stay in the destination country, cruises and same-day trips, leisure trips abroad numbered 2.3 million in the September to December period. November has usually been the month when cruises have been popular. Last autumn, November lost the first place as the month for cruises to October.

Our neighbouring countries of Estonia and Sweden attract Finnish leisure travellers irrespective of the season. In the last four months of the year, only 656,000 trips were, however, made to Estonia, which was 19 per cent fewer than one year earlier. Of these, 58 per cent were trips with overnight stay in the destination country, 23 per cent were day cruises, and 19 per cent were cruises with overnight stay on board. November was the most popular month of the period to visit Estonia.

During the autumn months, 518,000 leisure trips were made to Sweden, which was eight per cent fewer than in the corresponding period in 2013. Of these trips, 43 per cent were cruises with only overnight stay on board and 44 per cent were trips with overnight stay in the destination country. One in seven of the trips were same-day trips. The most favoured month for travelling to Sweden in late 2014 was also November.

A considerable change has taken place in travel to our eastern neighbour Russia during the year. During the autumn months, 31 per cent fewer leisure trips to Russia with overnight stay in the destination country were made than one year ago. Day trips that do not include overnight stay, in turn, nearly tripled in the last four months of the year.

Spain is a long-standing favourite for Finns during the autumn months as well, and five per cent more trips were made to Spain than in the corresponding period in 2013. The destination of 117,000 of these trips was the Canary Islands. Continental Spain has also established its place as a destination for Finnish travel in the last four months of the year, and a total of 124,000 trips were made to Continental Spain and the Balearic Islands in September to December. December was the most popular of the four months to travel to the Canary Islands and October to Continental Spain.

Altogether, 87,000 trips were made to Turkey, which was eight per cent fewer than one year earlier. In Central Europe, Germany increased its popularity and 89,000 trips were made there, which is 13 per cent more than one year earlier.

If we only examine leisure trips with overnight stay in the destination country, fewer trips were made than in September to December 2013, or 1.7 million. October was by a whisker the most popular month for such trips, as then the number of trips abroad with overnight stay in the destination country was 446,000. Almost one-quarter of the trips with overnight stay in the destination country were headed to Estonia, good one-fifth to the northern coast of the Mediterranean, and seven per cent to the Canary Islands.

In addition to leisure trips, 1.5 million domestic business or professional trips were made. Business or professional trips abroad (inclusive of trips with overnight stay in the destination country, cruises and same-day trips) numbered 0.7 million. The number of domestic business trips went up by two per cent and that of business trips abroad by three per cent.

These data derive from Statistics Finland's Finnish Travel survey, for which altogether 5,043 Finnish residents aged 15 to 84 were interviewed in October, November and December 2014 and in January 2015. Until 2011, data were collected from those aged 15 to 74.


Source: Finnish Travel, Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Taru Tamminen 029 551 2243, Mervi Härkönen 029 551 3254, liikenne.matkailu@stat.fi

Director in charge: Hannele Orjala

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Updated 06.02.2015

Referencing instructions:

Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Finnish Travel [e-publication].
ISSN=1798-9027. Summer (1.9.-31.12) 2014. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 29.3.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/smat/2014/15/smat_2014_15_2015-02-06_tie_001_en.html