The travel restrictions between Sweden and Finland are hitting the \u00c5land tourism industry hard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201d"For those of us who have businesses in \u00c5land, the summer season is simply vital," says Michael Bj\u00f6rklund, chef and restaurant entrepreneur, to TT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The \u00c5land tourism industry is experiencing a different summer this year after Finland introduced strict travel restrictions this spring, which put an end to the hordes of Swedish tourists who usually disembark daily in the ports of Mariehamn and Ecker\u00f6 during the summer season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The industry also suffered a setback in the spring after Finnish restaurants were forced to remain closed for two months to stop the spread of the coronavirus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Michael Bj\u00f6rklund, chef and owner of several restaurants in Finland, including Smakbyn in the \u00c5land town of Kastelholm \u2013 and also winner of this year's edition of "Robinson" \u2013 describes how he already felt strong anxiety about the coming summer during the spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201d"Spring was a disaster - and for those of us who have businesses in \u00c5land, the summer season is simply vital. So it's clear that people were very worried," he tells TT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The strict restrictions that the Finnish government has imposed on travelers from Sweden have also hit the \u00c5land tourism industry hard during the summer, says Michael Bj\u00f6rklund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201d"In Finland, they did some advertising for \u00c5land during the spring when they couldn't do it for the Swedish market, which has meant that we have had some guests from the Finnish mainland. But since \u00c5land is closer to Sweden, it has definitely been noticeable that Swedish tourism has only been marginal this summer."\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Olof Salmi, who owns and operates Sand\u00f6sund's campsite on the island of V\u00e5rd\u00f6, also agrees that the tourist loss has been significant during the summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201dCompared to previous summers, this one has been very quiet \u2013 we have only had ten percent occupancy compared to normal,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The strict entry restrictions from Sweden have also had a domino effect, as they have put a stop to the normally important tourist influx to \u00c5land from other European countries, according to Olof Salmi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201d"At this time of summer it's usually packed with Germans and Dutch here, but this year only 15 German teams have managed to get here. Some have gotten here via the Baltics or via the ferry that operates between Travem\u00fcnde and Helsinki. But getting in via Sweden \u2013 that's not possible."\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regarding the future, Michael Bj\u00f6rklund says that he himself plans to reduce the opening hours of his restaurants during the autumn due to the current situation - and adds that the biggest concern for the \u00c5land economy at the moment is the crisis in shipping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201d"We have survived other economic crises before, but for the first time our important shipping industry has taken a real hit, and it is hitting \u00c5land society hard," he says and continues:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201d"Now we have to start thinking in new ways and sort this out together. But in the restaurant business, we have always longed for the Swedes \u2013 we are like a small suburb of Sweden."\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Source: TT<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Reserestriktionerna mellan Sverige och Finland sl\u00e5r h\u00e5rt mot den \u00e5l\u00e4ndska turistn\u00e4ringen. \u201dF\u00f6r oss som har f\u00f6retag p\u00e5 \u00c5land \u00e4r sommars\u00e4songen helt enkelt livsviktig\u201d, s\u00e4ger Michael Bj\u00f6rklund, kock och restaurangentrepren\u00f6r, till TT. Den \u00e5l\u00e4ndska turistbranschen upplever i \u00e5r en annorlunda sommar efter att Finland i v\u00e5ras inf\u00f6rt str\u00e4nga reserestriktioner som satt stopp f\u00f6r de horder av […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[992,417],"class_list":["post-236721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-travel-report","tag-aland-2","tag-sverige"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n