Curiosities of Chinese and German Tourists

Hyvää Päivää!

We are back today with an interesting post! Here in Rovaniemi we receive lots of tourists from all around the world! But did you ever think about the differences and peculiarities that they have concerning their stay and leisure here in Lapland?

Here we are going to analyse two very different targets that represent a big part of the most upcoming nationalities, the Chinese and the Germans:

The Chinese Tourists: 

Chinese tourists were mostly coming in big groups of charters but in the last ten years the number of independent travelers has growth. They want to visit scenic spots, taste local food, join some leisure activities and buy local products. They use to stay in Lapland for 5 days and they demand deeper tourism experiences and closer contact with the local society.

The German Tourists:

Germans mostly come in summer months with leisure purposes. They are basically interested in local culture, summer activities, sauna, water activities and gastronomy.  They are always seeking excursions in national parks and natural areas, that's why Lapland is the second most visited region after Helsinki. They use to stay with their friends in camping areas, hostels or rented cottages.

We want to emphasise that in the last decades has growth the amount of Chinese tourists visiting Lapland. Despite the increasing number of chinese tourists who organise their trips by their own, the majority of them continue hiring the travel packs of the big touroperators, which result in a massive tourism in the region that isn't respectful with the nature and the local's values.

By contrast most of the german tourists come by their own, respecting the nature and trying to experience the local culture. This target of tourists promote a sustainable tourism around.

As a conclusion, coming from Spain we know before hand which are the consequences of the massive tourism model and we hope that the local organizations start committing to create a sustainable tourism model that helps to develope the economy of this beautiful region without damaging his best attractions.

Terveisin!