Arctic town cashes in on Santa Claus

SantaSport, SantaFood, SantaPark, Hotel Santa Claus, Santa Hair Center. In the Finnish Arctic town of Rovaniemi, Father Christmas is everywhere, milked to the max by local businesses.

"Christmas tourism is a magnet for investments," says Tuula Rintala-Gardin, the head of tourism for the municipality of Rovaniemi, a town of 60,000 people built on the geographical Arctic Circle.

Since 1927 Finnish legend has it that Santa Claus, or "Joulupukki" as he is known here, lives in a cabin atop the nearby Korvatunturi mountain.

But it was only in the mid-1980s that Rovaniemi launched itself as the home of the "real" Father Christmas.

The town has since fended off fierce competition from towns staking the same claim in Sweden, Norway and Greenland, and appears to have emerged victorious.

Twenty years later, Santa now rakes in 235 million euros of direct and indirect revenue for the region of Lapland.

The windfall is crucial, as Rovaniemi suffers from high unemployment amid a population flight to more urban areas.

People in the region live off the forestry and mining industries, reindeer herding and niche sectors such as Bombardier snowmobile production.

"Our strategy counts on almost double the number of tourists 10 years from now," said Erkki Kautto, the director of business development at Rovaniemi city hall.

'Official home'

Rumor has it that city officials have tried to get the European Union to declare Rovaniemi "the official home of Santa Claus", though they have denied it, saying that with growth of seven to 10 percent per year they have no need for such a title.

Santa Claus' Village, open year-round, attracts some 340,000 visitors each year from Finland and abroad.

The site is made up of about 20 log cabins housing restaurants, cafes and souvenir shops, as well as the main attractions, Santa Claus' Office and his official post office, which receives 500,000 letters and wishlists from around the globe each year.

"Twenty-five family businesses employ 60 people in full-time jobs and twice as many in winter, accumulating sales of 12 million euros," said Jarmo Kariniemi, the owner of Santa Claus' Office.

His business is profitable, he said, yielding sales of 2.5 million euros in 2008.

Inside, sitting on Santa's knee is free but a picture or video taken with him costs 30 to 45 euros. The gift shop also offers an assortment of products, including stuffed toy teddy bears or reindeer sold for 25, 30 or 35 euros depending on the size.

The Santa goldmine enables Rovaniemi to finance part of its social benefits - costly in this town where one in five residents is over the age of 64 - and its development.

The town, razed by the Nazis in 1945, is growing and being modernized.

"This street was just redone, and this one will be done next year," the head of regional development Juha Seppaelae said during a tour of the town.

Shopkeepers, hoteliers, restaurateurs, tourism agencies - all want a piece of the lucrative cake.

AFP

(China Daily 12/20/2007 page16)