Russia and the Russian tourist in Finnish tourism strategies–the case of the Karelian region

The Finnish travel sector needs more information about Russian tourists, because their importance has increased in Finland. In recent years, Russians have become the largest group of foreign tourists in Finnish accommodation establishments. For example, a total of 231,453 overnight stays were reported for Russian tourists in January 2011. This was almost 51 per cent of all overnight stays. Also, in 2009 the proportion of Russian tourists contributing to Finland's two-billion-euro income from international tourists was 31 per cent. The main purpose of this study is to describe how Russia and Russian tourists have reacted to tourist-related strategies in Finland generally, and especially in Karelia, which is a Finno-Russian cross-border region. The qualitative research is based on official Finnish tourism strategies and the Karelia region's official tourism strategies (n=5). According to the results, one of the advantages of Finland is its close proximity to Russia, which means easy access for Russian tourists. The main strategic goal in Finland generally and especially in the Karelia region, is to extensively exploit Russia's markets and the purchasing power of Russians. The strategic goals emphasise such things as infrastructure, services development and cooperation between the different actors in Finland and Russia. Knowing the mutual history of Finland and Russia is remarkable that Russian tourists are mentioned by name in tourism strategies.