Government supports the recovery and development of tourism with additional funding of EUR 4.5 million

The Government supports the development of tourism in the regions by EUR 4 million. In addition, the Government will allocate EUR 0.5 million to a campaign to promote domestic tourism. The aim is to help tourism companies recover from the coronavirus crisis and increase tourism in Finland.

The additional funding allocated for tourism makes part of the fourth supplementary budget for 2020, which Parliament approved on 25 June 2020.

– By travelling in Finland, we can support local services and entrepreneurs. Tourism also contributes to the recovery and employment of many other sectors. However, in order to ensure a safe summer for all, tourism companies and tourists must remember to follow the health and safety guidelines. It is also important that tourism companies develop their activities in the longer term. This is why the Government is now investing additional funding in tourism, says Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä.

Call for funding for the development of tourism in the regions opens in July

The coronavirus outbreak has severely affected the tourism sector in particular. The Government's additional funding will support the regions' opportunities to develop tourism, strengthen management and coordination of tourism development and improve cooperation.

The funding is intended for regional tourism organisations and similar actors that develop the region’s tourism on a broad scale and support the activities of tourism companies. In general, tourism companies in Finland are very small and their activities are supported by various networks and organisations. Some 70 regional tourism organisations operate in Finland and they are responsible for promoting tourism in a certain limited area, such as a tourist centre, a municipality, a group of municipalities, a region or a county. The organisations have varying ownership bases and operating practices.

The funding authority for tourism organisations located in the regions of Eastern and Northern Finland will be the Regional Council of South Savo. The funding authority for regions in Southern and Western Finland will be the Regional Council of Southwest Finland. The call for funding will open in July. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and the regional councils will publish information about the launch of the funding and the application and evaluation criteria.  

Funding for marketing domestic tourism

According to Statistics Finland, the number of nights spent by domestic tourists decreased by 74% in May 2020 compared to the previous year. The Government allocates EUR 0.5 million for the support of domestic tourism as part of the recovery measures related to the COVID-19 crisis.

The funding will be used to implement a national domestic tourism campaign in connection with the ongoing 100 reasons to travel in Finland campaign by Suoma ry. The campaign aims to promote the presentation of domestic tourism offering and to help the recovery and sales of companies following the coronavirus crisis. Another objective is to extend the domestic tourism season as far as possible until autumn. More detailed measures of the campaign will be announced later.

Inquiries:

Jenny Hasu, Special Adviser to the Minister of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, tel. +358 40 658 3510
Sanna Kyyrä, Chief Specialist, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, tel. +358 50 358 9497