US visitors spent almost 500,000 nights in Finland in 2025. In Lapland their nights have nearly doubled since 2019, and three in four fall in winter.
Americans have become Finland’s biggest long-haul market. On 17 September Yle reported that
visitors from the United States now spend more nights in Finland than visitors from any
other country outside Europe: about half a million last year. Statistics Finland’s
accommodation statistics put the 2025 total at 494,848 nights, 60% more than in 2019.
Most of them come for two places. According to Yle, an American visitor often combines the
Helsinki region with Lapland, usually spending three days in the capital region and three to
four in the north. Tarja Koivisto, Visit Finland’s country manager in New York, told Yle that
visitors now stay in Finland longer than before and that Lapland in particular interests
According to Koivisto, the typical American traveller to Finland is well educated and
Finland, 2025: 494,848 nights by US visitors, more than from any other country outside Europe.
Lapland, 2025: 80,350 US nights, up from 43,146 in 2019. That is 16% of all US nights in Finland.
January–July 2026: US nights in Lapland up 25% on a year earlier, while all foreign nights grew 2% (preliminary figures).
Rovaniemi: Americans were the third-largest group by nights in January–July 2026, behind Germans and French (Yle).
Timing: three in four US nights in Lapland fall between November and March.
Lapland: a small group that is growing fast
In Lapland itself, Americans are still a modest group. In 2025 they accounted for 3.8% of
foreign overnight stays and ranked seventh, after visitors from the United Kingdom, France,
Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Switzerland.
What has changed is the pace. Between January and July 2026, American overnight stays in
Lapland rose 25% on the same months of 2025, while the total for all foreign visitors grew
2%. In Rovaniemi , Yle reported, Americans
climbed to third place over the same months, behind only Germans and French. Sanna
Kärkkäinen, CEO of Visit Rovaniemi, told Yle that NATO and business travel explain part of
the American growth, especially in summer.
For anyone planning a winter trip, the timing matters more than the totals. In 2025 three
in four American nights in Lapland fell between November and March. For all foreign
The winter peak is built from different markets. In December the British alone accounted
for 210,713 of Lapland’s 554,530 foreign nights, in January and February the French were
the largest group, and in March the Germans. American stays are spread more evenly: in
September and November 2025 Americans were already Lapland’s third-largest foreign group.
What it means if you are planning a trip
Travelling in December, February or March? You are booking against
several markets at once. Reserve accommodation and flights as soon as your dates are
fixed, and book the activities you care about most at the same time. Our piece on
shows how early the most popular tours go.
Combining Helsinki and Lapland? The long leg between the capital and the
Helsinki to Rovaniemi by train, plane or bus
compares the options, and our Helsinki guide
Flexible dates? April to October accounted for fewer than one in five
foreign nights in Lapland in 2025. Our guides to