Current information about Spanish tourism

Updated December 2024

Finland's position in the market

Reputation as a Travel Destination: Finland is particularly recognized in Spain as a winter destination, especially Lapland, offering a unique, somewhat premium experience. While Lapland leads in the winter, there’s an opportunity to promote Finland as an all-year-round destination, especially with growing interest in Nordic countries.

Competitive Landscape: Finland competes primarily with Norway and Iceland, especially in nature-based tourism. There is potential to grow the summer market, particularly in regions like Lakeland and the Archipelago. Seasonal variations are significant, with winter months seeing peak visits to Finland.

•  2023, strong Growth for Spanish Tourism in Finland: Spain accounted for 178,060 overnight stays in Finland, marking an 11% increase compared to 2022 (160,344). This solid growth reflects the continued appeal of Finland as a top destination for Spanish travelers.
• 2024 Projection: with a projection of approximately 195,000 overnight stays for 2024, we anticipate an 10% growth for this year.
• Summer Growth: a notable highlight is the 30% increase in overnight stays during the summer months, emphasizing Finland’s growing popularity as a summer destination and supporting efforts to de-seasonalize tourism.
• In summary, 2023 showed strong results, and 2024 is set for further growth, especially during the summer, reinforcing Finland’s position as a sustainable and attractive year-round destination.
• From October 2023 to September 2024, Spanish travelers spent €146 million, with an average spend of €805 per traveler—22% higher than the European average, placing Spain among the top spenders per traveler.
• The number of charter flights to Lapland scheduled for the winter of 2024 is 20% higher than last year, making us the third most important market in terms of arrivals to Lapland.

Accessibility: Air travel from Spain to Finland remains strong, with increases in flight frequency and new routes from airlines like Finnair, Iberia, and Vueling. This boost in air connectivity is key to the growing Spanish market. Seat capacity for the Spanish market has grown by an impressive 11% between December 2024 and January 2025, compared to the same period last year, reflecting strong demand for Finland’s winter experiences. Spain ranks third in total share of European flights to Finland.

Finnair continues to strengthen its routes and frequencies from Spain, which were enhanced starting March 31, 2024. Coinciding with the launch of the summer season, the airline now operates over 30 weekly flights to its Helsinki hub, including new routes to Palma and Alicante, with one and three weekly flights, respectively. Daily flights from Barcelona, Madrid, and Malaga will be maintained, with double daily operations from Malaga during peak weeks in July and August.

LATAM markets show strong potential, led by Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico, with a 15% growth over 2019 (81,000 overnights). Travelers from these markets surpass targets in spend and average stay, outperforming European markets. By 2030, overnight stays are forecasted to grow 60-70% to 135,000. Spain, as a key hub, plays a vital role, and Visit Finland is actively working to expand this potential.

The Portuguese market, though one-sixth the size of the Spanish market, is growing steadily and is projected to reach 53,000 overnight stays by 2030—a 70% increase from 2023.

Visibility in the Market:
Finland has a strong presence in Spain across various media outlets, including TV, radio, print, social media, and travel fairs. This enhanced media visibility has significantly boosted Finland’s image as a safe, modern, and sustainable destination. According to our latest PR results for Q3, Spain ranks as the second-highest country globally in media hits.

Our country brand is visible across multiple channels thanks to collaborations with key local trade partners. We are also present at major B2B events like FITUR and IBTM. In Q3 2024, Spain ranked among the top 5 for brand-building impact, with over 243 million views.

The scope of our media coverage (press, radio, TV) and interviews has grown exponentially over the past year, thanks to the invaluable collaboration with our local PR agency. This partnership has created excellent opportunities to promote Finland’s brand and country image. Notable mentions include an article on Finnish saunas in El País, one of Spain's largest newspapers, in March 2024, as well as two episodes on Radio y Televisión Española about traveling in Finland. Finnish culture continues to attract media attention, offering significant visibility in the Spanish market. Over the past year, I also had the privilege of participating in several interviews on prominent platforms such as “Onda Cero Radio” and Forbes magazine, in addition to key B2B outlets.

Consumer trends and behavior

According to a study published by Booking in November 2024, Spanish travelers are increasingly prioritizing experiences that focus on wellness, mental health, and personal transformation. This trend includes a shift towards multigenerational travel, AI-assisted trip planning, and interest in neuro-inclusive tourism. Additionally, there is a growing desire for personalized travel, unique shopping experiences, and late-night tourism, highlighting evolving preferences in how Spaniards approach leisure and vacations.

Key trends for Spanish travel in 2025 include:

• Higher Travel Demand: Increased travel, driven by careful budgeting due to rising prices.
• Domestic and Nearby Destinations: Preference for Spain and neighboring European countries.
• Emerging Trends: Interest in "Heritage Holidays" (exploring family roots) and "Bravecations" (adventurous experiences).
• Priorities: Cleanliness, location, and price remain critical decision factors.
• Short Breaks: Focus on short, affordable getaways within Europe.

Spanish travelers primarily use online platforms, with a focus on social media, travel forums, and meta-search engines. Reviews on platforms like Google and Tripadvisor play a crucial role in decision-making. Additionally, there is a growing reliance on influencer recommendations and visually engaging platforms like Instagram.

Spanish travelers increasingly seek nature-rich destinations offering relaxation and social distancing, as evidenced by the rising popularity of "green Spain" regions. Key trends include slow, sustainable tourism, visits to smaller cities, luxury travel, wellness, and authentic cultural experiences.

Gastronomy plays a significant role, with culinary tourism driving spending in 2024. Travelers prioritize immersive, local interactions, embracing slow travel for deeper connections. These preferences highlight a strong opportunity to promote Finland's natural landscapes, sustainable tourism, and distinctive cuisine as a summer destination for 2025.

Spaniards have a strong interest in cultural experiences, particularly historic attractions, architecture, and classical culture. Finland’s blend of modernity and rich cultural offerings is well-positioned to appeal to these preferences. Travelers are drawn to destinations that provide unique attractions and authentic local experiences.

Travel agencies remain essential for recommending destinations like ours, but the sector faces challenges in digital transformation. Embracing digitization is crucial for aligning with evolving market demands and consumer behaviors.

Tailor-made trips are gaining popularity over traditional tourist packages. Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) are particularly influential in Spain, especially for booking customizable holidays like "fly & drive" options in Lakeland during the summer. As a distribution channel, OTAs are essential for developing dynamic packages, offering significant growth opportunities in the Spanish market, particularly in the peak summer season.

To serve Spanish travelers in Finland, emphasize nature, cultural experiences, local gastronomy, and wellness; offer flexible, customizable travel packages; ensure digital accessibility via OTAs; and highlight authentic, immersive small-town experiences.

Industry update and distribution channels

Visit Finland can capitalize on the current trends in the Spanish outbound travel market by highlighting the country’s sustainable tourism and nature-based offerings, which align with Spanish travelers’ growing preference for customized, immersive, and slow travel experiences. The rebound of the Spanish tourism sector, combined with increased spending, presents an opportunity for Finland to position itself as an attractive, affordable destination.

Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) play a crucial role in the market, especially for summer travel, offering Finland an effective distribution channel for dynamic, tailor-made packages that cater to the rising demand for personalization and digital engagement. With growing price sensitivity among Spanish travelers, Finland's competitive pricing can further appeal to those seeking quality experiences at reasonable costs.

In 2023, the main Spanish tour operators surpassed Finland’s sales from 2019, setting a new historical record for our destination. For 2024, they plan to continue expanding their offerings, improving sales tools, and diversifying products to cater to more experienced travelers. Over the past three years, new business opportunities have emerged, especially from OTAs and smaller tour operators specializing in luxury travel and adventure activities. Additionally, fresh players in the market are aligning their strategies around sustainability and digitization, which complement Finland's tourism offering well in the Spanish market.

The tourism sector is seeing growth globally, with the recovery post-pandemic continuing to outpace pre-crisis levels. However, the expansion has been uneven, with some markets benefiting more than others due to challenges like labor shortages and geopolitical uncertainties. Despite these issues, the overall trend is positive, and Spain, as part of the EU, continues to lead in international tourism, helped by favorable travel policies and strong infrastructure.

Big OTA´s like eDreams achieves greater personalization of trips thanks to Artificial Intelligence; by receiving tailor-made travel proposals, users are more likely to complete their reservations after doing a search. By receiving tailor-made travel proposals, users are more likely to complete their reservations after doing a search.

The last international edition of the Tourism Innovation Summit (TIS), held in Seville in October, has highlighted the importance of new technologies and sustainability for the travel industry and the interest of our B2B partners in developing these new technologies, including AI, to be more competitive and offer a personalized and 360-degree travel experience to travelers.

We recently held the latest edition of our workshop in Madrid on September 26, 2024, providing our Finnish partners with an excellent opportunity to meet new buyers.

Looking ahead, we are already preparing for the upcoming edition of FITUR, which will take place between January 22 and 26, 2025, and will feature a record number of Finnish partners in attendance. This exciting development highlights the growing interest in Finland as a destination and the continued expansion of our engagement in the Spanish market.

FITUR 2024 set new records, attracting over 250,000 attendees and featuring 9,000 companies from 152 countries. It continues to be one of Europe's largest tourism fairs, with expanded exhibition space and specialized sections like FITUR 4all and LGBT+. FITUR has become a key platform for Latin America to engage with European buyers, showcase diverse tourism offerings, and foster business partnerships. It plays a vital role in boosting tourism investments between Spain and Latin America, aiding both regions' economic recovery post-pandemic. FITUR 2025 is set to strengthen its position as a leading global event, focusing on sustainability, innovation, and expanding participation from Latin America and other global destinations, enhancing its role in promoting cross-continental tourism and fostering business connections.

Finland Convention Bureau (FCB) participated in IBTM World 2024 (November 19-21) in Barcelona. IBTM is one of the most important global events in the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) industry, offering a key platform for networking, business development, and showcasing innovative trends. It plays a critical role in connecting suppliers and buyers, promoting sustainability, and shaping the future of the corporate tourism sector. For FCB, this event is an ideal opportunity to strengthen Finland’s position as a premier destination for international business events.

Spain ranks 4th in Europe for seat capacity share, with an 11% increase for the period between December 2024 and February 2025, compared to the same period the previous year. This growth reflects the strong demand and expanding connectivity between Spain and Finland.

Finnair plays a key role in the growth of seat capacity between Spain and Finland for the 2024-2025 period, with an impressive 19% increase in its offering. This boost includes expanded services to major Spanish destinations like Madrid, Barcelona, Málaga, Alicante, Valencia, Las Palmas, Tenerife and Fuerteventura.

In addition to Finnair's 19% increase in seat capacity, Norwegian is also contributing to the growth, with a 16% increase in its offering for the 2024-2025 winter season, including flights from Alicante, Barcelona, Málaga, and Palma de Mallorca.

For the 2024-2025 season, airBaltic operates flights from Spain to Finland, including routes from Barcelona to Helsinki, Málaga to Helsinki, and Madrid to Helsinki.   Additionally, there are flights from Málaga and Gran Canaria to Tampere.

Ryanair also operates flights from Alicante and Girona to Helsinki.

Iberia will continue operating direct flights from Madrid to Rovaniemi in the upcoming winter season, with expanded frequency and an extended operational period. The flights will run from November 30, 2024, to March 1, 2025, offering four weekly services in December (Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays), and two frequencies (Wednesdays and Saturdays) in November, January, and February. This marks a significant increase in capacity compared to the previous year.

For the 2024-2025 season, Vueling will continue to offer seasonal flights from Barcelona to Rovaniemi, operating twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays. This route will run from December 2, 2024, to January 13, 2025.

Finland travel USP's

Nature, together with the pursuit of "Finnish happiness", are the main strengths of our offering as a travel destination. Finland is known as a country that has been leading the ranking of the world's happiest countries for seven years in a row and again in 2024! The happiness of Finns is linked to the Finnish way of life and culture (sauna, lakes, cottages, city life) is an interesting topic in Spain.

Nevertheless, we cannot forget that sustainability and responsible travel have gained a lot of strength during the pandemic. Santa Claus is one of the icons that has attracted the most to the Spanish travelers for many years. The Lapland region is the best-known area in Finland for the Spanish market.

Main USP´s in the Spanish market:

• Strong consolidated winter image in the market
• Quite positive country perception: reliable, safe (social distance guaranteed), reputable education, modern, clean air & water #Finland Works
• "Natural Luxury" – Unique experiences in nature.
• Finland as a sustainable leading country in the Nordics.

Finland is number one in terms of winter destination among the Nordic countries, thanks to its complete tourist offer and strengths. Connection with nature and the attractiveness of Santa Claus continue to be the two unique features. Santa Claus is an ambassador of goodwill and already well known in Spain. Winter vacations to Lapland are increasing at an accelerating rate and are attracting families to travel to Finland. Undoubtedly, these USP's are powerful sales arguments when deciding which destination to visit in the Nordic countries.

In addition to Lapland in winter, there is an exciting potential for further development of other geographical areas in Finland all year round and not only in winter. And that's where other USP's come into play, such as being the country of lakes and sustainability as an axis of development not only for the tourism industry but also as the Finnish lifestyle: live like a local experience.

Luxury, Culture & Lifestyle, Outdoor activities & Sports, Wellbeing & sauna are the strongest themes in the Spanish market.

Sustainability is an important factor for Spaniards when deciding on their holiday plans, with 69% stating that environmental considerations already have some influence on their travel plans. Nearly four in ten (39%) say they are aware of the environmental impact of their holidays, while 30% go so far as to say that environmental considerations determine their travel plans and that they only spend with companies that have a positive environmental impact. However, sustainability, by itself, does not represent a definitive factor when choosing a destination.

In any case, we must be able to adapt to the market and model our message on sustainability, considering that the Spanish market is not as mature in this regard, compared to other Central European markets.

Future outlook and upcoming season

As normalcy returns, the most sought-after experiences for Spanish travelers, both domestically and internationally, include culture and heritage, nature, big cities, and wellness.

The increase in capacity and connectivity from Spain, alongside efforts to de-seasonalize Finland and provide year-round tourism opportunities for local partners, positions us optimistically for the upcoming year. Additionally, the Spanish market remains a key focus for promoting Eastern Finland and Lake Land through targeted activities.

According to Oxford Economics, Spain has already reached pre-pandemic spending levels, with a 12% increase in expected average expenditure for 2024. Overnight stays exceeded 2019 levels in 2023, and for the upcoming winter season in Lapland, there is a 10% increase in capacity, with sales forecasts already exceeding those of 2023.

The Spanish market in Finland has rebounded quickly post-COVID-19, with Spain being the third-largest global market in Lapland by December 2023. Spanish overnight stays grew by 2% in 2023 compared to 2019, setting a new record, particularly in winter and autumn. While summer season stays remain lower than in 2019, the outlook for the upcoming winter season is strong, supported by increased flight frequency to Lapland.

The luxury segment and tour operators specializing in high-end travel continue to grow in Spain. Other promising offerings for Spanish visitors, such as cultural experiences, year-round outdoor activities, and wellness and sauna products, have a clear development path in the coming years. We expect sustainability to play an increasingly important role in driving Spanish travelers to Finland in the future.

The designation of Oulu as the European Capital of Culture for 2026 presents a significant opportunity for the development of new tourist products targeting the Spanish market. This event will spotlight Oulu and the wider region, offering a platform to promote Finland’s cultural richness, artistic vibrancy, and innovation. For Spanish travelers, this offers a fresh and exciting reason to visit Finland beyond the traditional Lapland experience, with Oulu serving as a gateway to explore Finland’s cultural heritage and contemporary scene.

Looking ahead, we aim to surpass 2023's record for Spanish visitors to Lapland, potentially becoming the second or third-largest market in December 2024.