Santa Claus ‘hometown’ suddenly overrun with tourists — and locals are protesting in the streets: ‘It’s not anymore in control’
Overtourism has made it all the way to the “North Pole.”
A small city in Finland dubbed the “official hometown of Santa Claus” has been overrun with eager travelers this holiday season — and frustrated residents are adding them all to the naughty list.
Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland and home to the Santa Claus Village theme park, has recently become a festive beacon for Christmas lovers the world over — suddenly attracting a whopping million visitors per year.
“This is like my dream came true,” Elzbieta Nazaruk, a visitor from Poland, told the Associated Press. “I’m really excited to be here.”
But locals in the town of 65,000 are not feeling the holiday cheer, where hordes have packed hotels and vacation rentals that residents say is desperately needed as housing.
“We are worried about the overgrowth of tourism. Tourism has grown so rapidly, it’s not anymore in control,” photographer Antti Pakkanen, 43, who organized a rally in response to the overtourism trend, told the AP.
“The rules must be enforced better,” he insisted, citing laws against short-term rentals that are allegedly being skirted.
In 2023 alone, remote Rovaniemi saw 1.2 million overnight visitors — nearly 30% more than the year prior — and the Rovaniemi Airport has become a major hub for vacationers, with 13 new destinations added.
“It’s Christmas time and we would love to see the Northern Lights,” Joy, a visitor from Bangkok who did not provide her last name, told the outlet. “Rovaniemi seems to be a good place.”
The city is the latest in Europe to be hit with a massive influx of tourists, a post-pandemic phenomenon that has prompted neighboring countries to enact policies that dissuade travelers from visiting.
This year, Amsterdam banned the construction of new hotels in an effort to control how many tourists can be accommodated in the Netherlands’ capital.
Meanwhile, Greece wants to hike the price of traveling to the Mediterranean oasis with tourist taxes in certain cities.
Ulla-Kirsikka Vainio, the mayor of Rovaniemi, isn’t buying the Grinch-like hype.
Landlords can make “good money” on the seasonal short-term rentals, she told the AP. Tightening regulations would make it more difficult to accommodate the influx of yuletide travelers.
“Nordic is a trend,” Sanna Karkkainen, CEO of Visit Rovaniemi, agreed.
“People want to travel to cool countries to see the snow, to see the Northern Lights, and, of course, to see Santa Claus.”
