Image: Annu Passoja / Yle
Skiing holidaymakers from southern Finland pack their bags and head to Lapland despite recommendations from the THL Health Agency and the Lapland Hospital District for the residents of Uusimaa to stay put.
THL officials were summoned to the Department of Social Affairs and Health on Friday to discuss the comments, which the government said could disrupt public health messages.
However, it seems to have had little effect. Finland enters the winter ski holiday season from Monday, with schools in the Helsinki region for the holidays and weeklong vacations in different regions over the following three weeks.
According to Visit Levi’s sales manager Katja Rauhala, only a dozen cabin reservations were canceled after the THL recommendation.
At the same time, new bookings have also been made for the next week.
Pyhä-Luosto Matkailu Oy said no reservations have been canceled for next week. General manager Päivi Hannula said a few people called to ask about the epidemic situation in Lapland, but no one canceled.
No refund
Chalet reservations for ski vacation weeks are generally non-refundable.
“You can’t just change the reservation at the last minute if you feel like it, but if the authorities banned travel to the area, reservations could be changed,†Hannula said.
This is what happened last spring when non-essential travel from the Uusimaa area was banned.
At Levi & Ylläs, 28 days notice is usually required for a refund. A recommendation alone is not enough to circumvent these rules.
Travel insurance policies usually don’t offer a refund either, in a situation like this. Compensation would likely not be awarded even if authorities introduced travel restrictions.
Still room in hotels
Destination Lapland and Lomarengas offer around 750 chalets in the Ylläs region and do not report any cancellations. Visit the Managing Director of Ylläs Janne-Juhani Haarma said people booking cabins want to know about cancellation policies, so people should generally be aware of their rights.
In terms of cottage bookings, domestic demand has already made up for the lack of foreign visitors to Levi at least.
Hotels have more spare capacity and more difficulty providing physical distance between vacationers.
The Lapland Hotels chain says bookings are around half of normal levels in Ylläs and Levi for next week, which is traditionally one of the busiest of the year.
