Helsinki is the most popular tourist destination in Finland, and tourism continued to develop favourably over the past summer. Accommodation services in Helsinki saw record numbers of tourists in the summer.
The number of overnight stays in Helsinki increased by 5.6% in June–August, compared to summer 2024. The statistics for August showed an increase of almost 9%, with an increase of 17.6% in international overnight stays. The number of foreign visitors increased by almost 14% in June–August compared to the previous year.
“From an international perspective, the capital of Finland is an exotic destination that is not too hot in the summer and where you don’t see the same kind of mass tourism as in Southern Europe. The city works, we are world leaders in sustainability, and happiness in Helsinki is attractive to visitors,” says Tourism Director Nina Vesterinen from the City of Helsinki.
The numbers of domestic tourists have also remained more or less the same, which shows that Finns also continue to want to travel to the capital and find new things to experience in the city.
In June–August, upwards of 1.6 million overnight stays were registered at accommodation establishments in Helsinki, of which 42% were domestic and 58% foreign. The occupancy rate of accommodation establishments was around 77%, up nearly five percentage points from last summer.
An estimated 44% of all overnight stays in Helsinki take place outside accommodation establishments, for example in short-term rented accommodation or with friends or relatives. In addition to this, Helsinki also attracts plenty of day travellers, such as international cruise tourists.
In the summer, Helsinki Tourist Information served around 78,000 visitors. Ninety-six per cent of tourist information customers found the advice they received particularly or very useful.
Most foreign visitors to Helsinki came from Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom and Sweden. Japan has grown in importance, and was the fifth largest market in June–August. The number of visitors from Italy, Australia and Canada also increased significantly from last year.
“Foreign tourists did not seem bothered by the early summer rain. Due to changing weather conditions, interest in the Nordic countries and Finland is growing, and this will also be reflected in increased visitor numbers," says Tourism Manager Vesterinen.
“From a social and environmental sustainability perspective, the growth in the number of tourists can also have a flip side.In Helsinki, we want to focus on the quality of tourism, such as longer stays, instead of increasing the number of visits at the expense of sustainability,” Vesterinen says.
Helsinki is a pioneer in sustainable tourism. For the second year in a row, the city was ranked top on the international Global Destination Sustainability (GDS) index.
In addition to the GDS index, Helsinki has also performed well in other international assessments of the sustainability of tourist destinations this year. In March, Helsinki became the first city with over half a million residents to be awarded the Green Destinations GSTC certification, which has the strictest criteria in the world.
Some visitors stay in Helsinki for a longer time, and Helsinki Helpers – the travel guides assisting visitors on the streets – get more and more questions about activities that would span several days.
Longer stays outside the summer period are one of Helsinki's tourism objectives. It also shows that people want to invest in sustainable tourism. Instead of rushed visits to a city, tourists are increasingly focusing on spending quality time at the destination.
Helsinki contributes to the sustainability and responsibility of tourism in many different ways. In addition to extending the length of stays, the main objectives are to attract business events and congresses and boost the services built around them.
“We have really invested in developing sustainable tourism in Helsinki, and the feedback shows that tourists have taken notice. Companies offering sustainably produced products and services are highlighted in our tourist information. As a city, we have also supported local businesses in the tourism sector in sustainable development," Vesterinen says.
Helsinki's summer events attract visitors. Helsinki has a vibrant events scene and new events pop up every year. During the summer, congresses attracted tens of thousands of satisfied visitors to Helsinki.
Based on customer evaluation data from the summer months, Helsinki-based service providers are very good at meeting customer expectations. The sentiment score based on customer reviews on peer review channels, such as Google and Tripadvisor, saw an improvement of 0.2% compared to last summer. At the same time, the sentiment score is higher than in Helsinki's Nordic peer cities of Stockholm and Copenhagen.
Based on nearly 90,000 public customer reviews, services in Helsinki receive positive feedback on the quality of service, food, drink, facilities and other arrangements.
“What tourists value most is being taken care of and listened to. Many people prefer the Finnish polite and discreet style of customer service to annoying and intrusive hustle and bustle around them," says Tourism Director Vesterinen.
“ Not too hot, but not too rainy either. I would like tourists to explore Helsinki by staying with us for a while longer and visiting many different destinations, discovering all the things we have to offer. And I hope that they would come back for another visit ,” Vesterinen says.
“There’s so much to do and see in Helsinki, and the accommodation options in the city are top-notch. In line with the principles of sustainability, we are working towards an ever more attractive and distinctive tourist city.”
