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Rovaniemi rated as Christmas destination
ROVANIEMI TOURISM & MARKETING LTD
Rovaniemi scores highly as a Christmas venue
Three global publications have ranked Rovaniemi in their top ten Christmas break destinations. The capital of the Finnish part of Lapland is located on the Arctic Circle, approximately 800 kilometres north of Helsinki.
In its list of the ten most festive Christmas venues, Reader’s Digest ranked Rovaniemi fourth after New York, Montreal and London, advising its readers to travel there for holiday memories that will last a lifetime.
— For a storybook Christmas, Rovaniemi is hard to beat, the magazine says, adding that the city becomes a winter wonderland when blanketed with crisp, white snow and illuminated by the spectacular northern lights glowing overhead.
In its top travel destinations for Christmas, the Asian edition of Tatler ranked the Finnish city third behind London and Dresden.
— This year, instead of queuing for hours at a shopping mall to meet Santa Claus, travel with your children to the big man’s home patch of Lapland, deep inside the Arctic Circle, says Tatler.
Forbes worked with travel experts at Lonely Planet and Frommer’s to compile a list of holiday destinations which celebrate Christmas festivities unlike any other, placing the Santa Claus Village and Santa Park sixth on its list.
Interest in the city has increased significantly, Tourist Board Director, Sanna Kortelainen told Finnish media. International media visits have increased by a fifth compared to last year.
www.visitrovaniemi.fi/In_English.iw3
www.santaclausvillage.info/
It’s official! On Tuesday, Feb. 9th Google Street view was released for Finland. You can now search for addresses in Finland and by clicking ‘street view’ zoom into street level to see your search results as if you were walking down the street. I’ve noticed in most places (all so far) that the street views are from Spring/Summer/Fall (having seen any snow in places 
) But it’s pretty cool. Same objections are likely to rise up regarding privacy concerns for people who live in those areas (in the U.S. and pretty much every country other country that has street views it’s happened) but for travelers it really is a valuable tool.
Finland To Raise Gambling Age Limit:
Published: Tuesday, June 24, 2008 Online-Casinos.com
Anyone who has been to Finland knows there are slot machines EVERYWHERE. Grocery stores, gas stations, pizza places, restaurants, malls; Just everywhere. Kind of like arcade machines or those small candy dispensers you find in grocery stores in the United States that are some how just put up everywhere. It’s like flying into Las Vegas and being greeted by a row of slot machines at the airport and indulging in gambling anywhere anytime. I tried to find more information on this new initiative but had little success. Feel free to post if you have found something.
Use SMS to Unlock Public Toilets in Finland:
Finland’s Road Administration has started locking its isolated roadside toilets – and unlocking them via SMS. In response to incidents of arson and thefts, the transport authority came up with the novel solution which increased security, without reducing access for the public. read more
Technorati Tags: Finland, Turku, technology
Since Columbia, MO (where I am from) just initiated this I thought it would be of interest to mention the spreading trend here in Finland.
Article from Helsingin Sanomat (Friday June 1 Edition)
Cigarettes to be stubbed out in Finnish bars and restaurants tonight
Mixed feelings among users, but most anticipate it will not affect their restaurant visits
Cigarettes will be stubbed out once and for all in nearly all Finnish restaurants and bars at midnight when the amendment to the law on smoking in public areas comes into effect.
Only a few Helsinki restaurants have applied for a two-year transition period over smoking or for a permit to construct a designated smoking booth. In the entire country, only around 100 restaurants have applied for a transition period.
Clients Anna-Kaisa Tuomi and Marjut Ruokonen are satisfied with the amendment to the law, as all their friends are non-smokers and they always choose the smoke-free zone anyway.
“Considering the health of the restaurant workers, it is fair and just that the law was amended”, Tuomi and Ruokonen conclude.
Read the rest of the article on the Helsingin Sanomat Website
