08/05/2026
INSIDER STORY: Finland broke my perception. As a Swede, that stings.
I just returned from a famtrip through Finnish Lapland, organised by Aleksi Pitkänen, founder of Sumama — The Nordic Matchmakers. 26 travel agents, 5 days of nonstop site inspections, ending with two days at VIP Travel North 2026 in Levi where around 100 buyers and suppliers came together to do real business.
I attended as a buyer with zero prior knowledge of the Finnish market. Every time clients asked me about Finland, I redirected them to Swedish Lapland — simply because I have a strict personal policy: I never recommend what I haven’t seen myself. Sumama gave me the opportunity to finally fix that. And now I’m frustrated. Let me explain.
After 4–5 days I can say with full conviction: Finland is 20 years ahead of Sweden in luxury wilderness hospitality. Finnish Lapland has an endless variety of architecturally stunning, thoughtfully designed accommodations — glass-roofed cabins, mirrored forest boxes, igloo resorts, luxury villa retreats, boutique sauna lodges — with more being built as we speak. Sweden has the Ice Hotel, Arctic Bath, Villa Äng and Tree Hotel — unique, yes — and one genuine luxury cabin retreat, Arctic Retreat outside Luleå. That is more or less it.
The deeper problem is cultural. Sweden is anchored in “lagom” — just enough. We sell a simple wooden cabin under the stars for a very high price tag and call it luxury because the trends say so. It’s the equivalent of paying 10,000 SEK per night in the Maldives and being shown a beach hut while the staff points at the turquoise water. You still want the overwater stilt bungalow. We remain a ”STF destination” — where Swedes bring their own sheets to a forest cabin and clean it on checkout — while Finland fills luxury retreats at €1500 a night or more with international guests who came specifically for the high standard of accommodation.
The luxury travel segment selects a destination based on the hotel first. The experience follows. Until Swedish hospitality entrepreneurs truly understand that, we will keep attracting hikers and self-caterers while Finland takes the jetsetters.
Then there’s the connectivity — and the numbers are damning. Swedish Lapland receives a handful of direct international flights in winter: Düsseldorf, Paris, Zurich, Munich, Hanover and Copenhagen connecting to Luleå and Kiruna via Eurowings, Air France, Transavia, Edelweiss and SAS. Welcome progress — but Rovaniemi alone handles up to 60 flights a day during peak season, with direct connections spanning the entire global map. And between Swedish Lapland and Finnish Lapland? Not a single scheduled direct flight. Zero. Two regions sharing a border with no airbridge whatsoever.
In practice this means tourists fly into Rovaniemi, explore Finnish Lapland, then continue directly to Tromsø or Kirkenes — because established flight connections exist between them. Sweden is simply not part of that Arctic loop. We have opted ourselves out of it.
What overwhelmed me most during the famtrip was the feeling of abundance. Beautiful, distinctive properties one after another — each with its own identity, its own story, its own architectural language. I felt genuine happiness discovering so many places I can now confidently stand behind and offer my clients. That is a rare feeling in this profession.
And the Finnish people. Finland has been ranked the world’s happiest country for eight consecutive years. I was sceptical about that until this trip. Finns are not the most expressive people on the surface — but every single person we encountered, waiters, activity guides, hotel owners, Sami hosts, local entrepreneurs, was humble, kind and quietly proud of what they have built. There is a warmth beneath the reserve that you feel rather than see. Many expats came for a season and simply never left. Once you arrive, you understand exactly why.
Finland is already fulfilling the criteria of the high-end travel segment. Their retreats appear in the portfolios of VIP travel designers worldwide, presented like real estate editorials. Sweden appears on pages dedicated to outdoor activities, hiking and self-catering. That gap will not close by itself.
Massive thanks to Aleksi Pitkänen and the entire Sumama team for creating this format and for opening my eyes. VIP Travel North is exactly the kind of intimate, high-quality B2B event the Nordic market needs more of.
Finnish Lapland is now firmly in my portfolio. It was long overdue.
VisitSweden I wish I was in Finland
