Finland’s image has been improving rapidly in Sweden. Finland now has a golden opportunity to increase tourism from Sweden, says Finnish Ambassador to Sweden, Maimo Henriksson. 

“Finland is now in,” says Ambassador Maimo Henriksson on the phone from Stockholm. She has been representing Finland in Sweden since 2021, so she knows what our neighbours think of us.

Henriksson says that Finland has featured in the Swedish media quite a lot recently. 

“In the current global political situation, societies need to invest in both security and security of supply. Here, people think that Finland has done a much better job of that than Sweden,” says Henriksson. The Finnish education system is also of interest, as it is clearly superior to Sweden’s in international comparisons. 

“In the past, Finland may have been perceived as being a little bit old-fashioned, but then people here noticed that we had a government led by five women during the pandemic,” says Henriksson. Sanna Marin and her leather jacket were an important part of the emergence of a new generation. 

Whereas the Finnish-Swedish band KAJ, which won Melodifestivalen, represents the fun and humorous side of Finland.

This favourable image of Finland should also translate into a greater desire among Swedes to travel to Finland. 

“In these times of instability in many parts of the world, Finland offers a safe environment for tourists, good transport connections, and sustainable tourism in clean surroundings.”

Henriksson, who is originally from Helsinki, lists the jewels in the capital’s crown that she is always recommending to Swedes: the Ateneum, Kiasma and top art exhibitions; a broad range of excellent concerts; Helsinki Central Library Oodi, Allas Sea Pool and Löyly, Eira and Helsinki’s coastlines, the Empire Centre … Helsinki also has great restaurants that are still completely unknown in Sweden, she says.

But the question is, is Finland investing enough in promoting tourism?

“In my personal opinion, closing the Finnish Tourist Board was a big mistake. Tourism is a big business – it’s a major trend and its importance will only grow,” says Henriksson.
According to Statistics Finland, the number of overnight stays from Sweden to Finland has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Fortunately, Viking Line reports that passenger numbers are on the rise, and particularly on the Stockholm–Turku route, which is served by Viking Line’s new flagship vessels, Viking Glory and Viking Grace. They’ve brought both a welcome upgrade and a touch of luxury. Henriksson is delighted that these ships boast plenty of great views, both out to sea and across the archipelago.

“And that is the greatest luxury of all.”

Now we just need to get new ships on the Stockholm–Helsinki route as well.

“This is a clear bottleneck that’s worth investing in,” says Henriksson.

Cruises between Finland and Sweden are also of personal importance to the Ambassador.

“My sister and I, along with our families, share a summer place in the Stockholm archipelago It’s always the highlight of the year when we board a ship in the Port of Helsinki and set out on our summer vacation. That’s the moment when our holiday begins.”