Lapland in Northern Finland is now not only receiving large amounts of new tourists yet is also making large sums out of the film industry.
Although revenue in Northern Finland, or Lapland, in the area of film making amounts to 10% of net sales, experts say it could be more. Santa Park has been involved in a training scheme by the Finnish Lapland film commission to increase this lucrative area of business.
Even a small crew of 50-250 members can bring thousands of Euros to the region. As a concrete example: the last filming of Hanna starring Cate Blanchett and Eric Bana earned Kuusame a whopping million Euros plus a huge boost to its reputation.
The exoticism and romance associated with Lapland are its greatest assets, with the area being especially popular with children. Northern Finland has not only benefitted from its film industry yet the number of tourists from Russia and generally outside of Finland is sharply on the rise. 80% of tourists coming to Northern Finland come from outside the country itself, with 30% of the total arriving from neighboring Russia.
The ideal situation for the future is whereby film making in Lapland does not impede with the flow of incoming tourists, who visit for other reasons than to click on take two. The Finnish government wants to combine both these areas of tourism to make the absolute most of its famous northern area.
