English - Svenska

Press release 10 November 2008

Changes in Lapland travel -
New centre of Levi to challenge international resorts

“The new town-like, lively centre of Levi makes it the most European and modern active holiday resort in Finland, and is sure to raise international interest as well”, says Mr. Vesa Heikkinen, Research Manager for Lapland Travel. “In the future, we are proud to compete against top international resorts”, confirms Mrs. Ulla Peltoniemi, Director of Hotels and Restaurants for Osuuskauppa Arina.

The new centre of Levi celebrates its opening today. The Levin Tori Hotel and Business Centre in the area is the largest single travel investment in Finland, bringing Levi to among the top international resorts. In the heart of the centre, immediately next to the Levi slopes, is Sokos Hotel Levi, with other top-class services, such as restaurants, commercial and residential facilities, surrounding it. The latest and northernmost hotel of the Sokos Hotels chain aims for the number one spot among hotels in Lapland.

“Introducing resorts such as Levi to offer active and experiential holidays into the market is a key aspect in our hotel and restaurant business, as hospitality services are one of the fastest-growing areas in the services industry", says Mr. Pekka Ruuth, Sales and Marketing Manager for the S Group’s tourism and hospitality business. “We want to be pioneers in new ways of offering services, and thus serve our customers, and especially our members, as well as possible."

The atmosphere at Levin Tori will be quite international. “Levin Tori will bring Levi to a whole new level as a travel destination, and it can proudly compete against other top international resorts. Levi now has a great setting for World Cup level sporting events, for example”, says Mrs. Ulla Peltoniemi, Director of Hotels and Restaurants for Osuuskauppa Arina.

Levin Tori is the largest individual construction project ever in Lapland. Alongside Osuuskauppa Arina, the owner of the new Sokos Hotel Levi, other key partners in the town-like active holiday resort include Hullu Poro Oy and LTA-Group.

Growth from Central Europe

At the moment, ca. half a million travellers visit Levi each year, a quarter of which come from abroad. The summer season is still dominated by domestic travellers, but during the winter months, the atmosphere is already rather international. Levin Tori will make its international debut in the weekend following the opening ceremonies, when an Alpine Skiing World Cup event will be hosted.

According to Research Manager Vesa Heikkinen from Lapland Travel, the overall outlook for travel in Lapland is positive: “Volume is definitely increasing for travel in Lapland, although at the moment, the international economic situation is creating an unpredictable atmosphere. Overall, during the first half of the year, hotel stays in Lapland have increased by 5.8 per cent, with a remarkable increase of 9.9 per cent for foreign travellers", Heikkinen concludes. “At the moment, most travellers come from Great Britain and Russia, and their peak season is during Christmas and New Year. In terms of international travellers, growth can be expected from France, Spain and the Netherlands”, he predicts.

For Levi, the growth in number of travellers has been even greater than the overall growth in Lapland travel. Measured by hotel stays, Levi was the largest travel resort in Finland between January and April 2008, and growth in the number of customers was the strongest at Levi (+27.8%). The number of hotel stays by international guests between January and April 2008 was also the highest at Levi (124,600), with an increase of 32.9% from last year.

Year-round hospitality, excellent location

“The best feature of Levi is its location: in the north and near an airport. As the snow-covered area shifts north, charter flights fly further, and travellers appreciate the fact that the destination is within easy reach. A direct flight takes you near the resort”, says Heikkinen.

According to Heikkinen, positioning Levi as an all-year active holiday destination corresponds perfectly to a change in consumer trends, creating more diverse and demanding customer needs: “Winter will remain the peak season, but the varied services will keep extending the season towards the summer", he summarises.

Read more: Sokos Hotel Levi to provide luxurious accommodation to active holiday-makers (pdf) 

Further information: 
Osuuskauppa Arina, Business Area Director Ulla Peltoniemi,
tel. +358 500 516 855, ulla.peltoniemi@sok.fi
Hotel Manager Katja Laitinen,
tel. +358 50 388 3051, katja.laitinen@sok.fi

Osuuskauppa Arina is a growing company in Northern Finland offering services in the market and special retail, service station and fuel retail and tourism and hospitality business. Arina is owned by nearly 120,000 members from Northern Finland and it employs over 1,600 professionals in the service sector.

Sokos Hotels, the leading hotel chain in Finland, has expanded rapidly of late. Sokos Hotel Aleksanteri has been opened in Helsinki, Sokos Hotel Flamingo in Vantaa and Sokos Hotel Olympic Garden in St. Petersburg, Russia. Towards the end of the year, a renewed Sokos Hotel Tapiola Garden will open in Espoo and Sokos Hotel Vasilievsky will be opened in St. Petersburg. Sokos Hotels already has holiday resorts in Koli, Kuusamo, Tahkovuori and Vuokatti.

All editors and reporters publishing our material are kindly asked to inform us by filling out the form below.

I will use the material above in a publication. The fields with bold text are required.