World stars discovered Lapland – Gordon Ramsay’s visit brought a new spike in demand

Influencers and the number of celebrities in Finnish Lapland has been constantly increasing, says the CEO of Visit Rovaniemi Sanna Kärkkäinen.

“Yes, there has been a clear change in the last few years. The numbers have increased in the last three years, it has been striking. We have also had a growing number of mega-influencers,” says Kärkkäinen.

For example, recently HS reports Manchester City football star Phil Foden About visiting Lapland. Also a top chef Gordon Ramsay visited the North with his family on Christmas Eve, and last year the football star Christiano Ronaldo drive among other things, Levi spends time with his family. In addition, Formula 1 world champion Lando Norris visited Lapland after the turn of the year.

Still, it is difficult to get exact figures on the increase in celebrity tourists in Lapland.

Celebrities posts and especially mentions are important for industry players. Executive director of the Lapland Tourism Industry Association Nina Forsell points out, however, that it is difficult to assess the real effects of, for example, Ronaldo’s trip to Lapland.

“He has millions of followers, someone might make the trip now or in five years. At the point when the trip is bought, there is no information about where the first inspiration came from.”

Still, posts on social media can momentarily cause spikes in the booking calendars. For example, top chef Gordon Ramsay, who recently visited Lapland, brought a spike in demand for Kärkkäinen.

“Business leaders became active and we have received quite a lot of high-level inquiries after this visit. I traced it to this event,” Kärkkäinen estimated.

Visit Rovaniemi monitors social media statistics closely. According to Kärkkäinen, the reach readings on social media are huge at the moment.

For example, Ramsay’s visit to Lapland has brought more than 80 million mentions to social media.

“We immediately see direct spikes on social media, but the visits have quite long tails.”

International interest in Lapland has grown. For example, according to Statistics Finland, overnight stays by foreigners in Lapland have been increasing for the past four years.

The number of flights to Lapland has also been increasing. On Friday of last week, Rovaniemi airport was violated recordswhen the millionth passenger of the year arrived at the airport. Last year, the record was close, when the number of passengers increased by 30 percent and a total of almost 950,000 passengers passed through the airport.

This year, Rovaniemi Airport had a total of more than 810,000 passengers between January and November 2025 alone, which was 20 percent more than at the same time last year.

Almost half of the passengers were passengers on international flights. Most of the passengers on international flights arrived from Britain, France and Italy.

Visit Rovaniemi cooperates with international influencers throughout the year. They organize trips for them and show them the sights of Lapland.

Christmas is the busiest season. Kärkkäinen says that he just received a call from a Brazilian influencer with millions of followers asking for cooperation.

According to Kärkkäinen, there will be a lot of cooperation surveys, but it is not possible to participate in all of them. They evaluate with whom cooperation would be most effective.

“Not everyone has a large number of followers, but the right type of target group can be interesting to us.”

Kärkkäinen suggests that they see value in influencers whose target audience can be interested in Lapland in seasons other than winter.

“We don’t pay for joint work, but if the area and the company gain visibility, then for example accommodation or an excursion can be offered,” says Kärkkäinen.

A particularly successful collaboration for Rovaniemi took place in November, when an American influencer Giselle kiss made a cooperation visit and brought “particularly good visibility” to the city, Kärkkäinen says.

Nina According to Forsell, for many famous people, an important part of tourism in Lapland is that they are allowed to be in peace and are served confidentially.

According to Kärkkäinen, a lot of public figures travel to Lapland, and you don’t necessarily hear anything about them, and “you don’t necessarily even recognize them by wearing a beanie”.

There is an unwritten rule in the tourism industry, where the visits of public figures are not discussed, unless they bring it up in some way on social media.

According to Kärkkäinen, influencers and celebrities give Lapland a certain level. In fact, the culture of luxury tourism has reached Lapland, as the number of high-class lodgings has increased.

Fast forward and according to Forsell, the influence of celebrities on tourism in Lapland is undeniably great.

“It’s important visibility and many people want to do the same things they do,” says Forsell.

According to Kärkkäinen, it is “one of the most important forms of tourism marketing.”

Kärkkäinen gives an example of an Indian Bollywood star Anushka Sharmasta and a top level cricketer About Virat Kohliwho were on their honeymoon in Lapland about nine years ago.

“From that visit to this day, the Indians still remember it. The fan culture and the associations are so strong, it’s been unbelievable.”