Borders need to reopen for business, vibrant tourism: LCC leaders

Leaders of the Lapland Chamber of Commerce see border restrictions as the main obstacle to keeping trade and business, especially tourism, alive in COVID-19 times.

The outgoing President and Chief Executive Officer of the Lapland Chamber of Commerce, Timo Rautajoki and the incoming President and Chief Executive Officer, Liisa Ansala, scheduled to take over at the beginning of July, spoke to the Daily Finland and made comments on the business situation in Lapland amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

With a focus on huge financial losses caused by the pandemic, they suggested the removal of all possible restrictions on borders immediately to restore a congenial atmosphere for normal business.

They, however, expressed hopes after the improvement in the COVID-19 situation and the progress in the vaccination process.

“The costs of the pandemic for companies in Lapland estimated on the total turnover were about 3 billion euros in 2020. More losses are likely by way of unemployment,” said Rautajoki, adding that the economic situation is now improving and many areas have seen a good recovery.

“It depends on the field. Of course, tourism and travel services are an exception. But when we talk about hardcore industries, there is a growth,” said Ansala, adding that Finland has done better than expected during the crisis.

Terming Finland as one of the winners globally, Ansala said that none was a winner and every country is suffering.

“There are no winners. Everybody lost growth and the turnover has been negative in the whole world. But Finland is one of the survivors with the smallest negative impact,” she said.

Companies especially in Lapland had been growing for five years before the crisis which helped them to survive during the pandemic. Rautajoki, however, warned that “this impact is not going to last forever. We do not know how long the pandemic will continue.”

Both the leaders said that the biggest problem now was the closed borders.

“We are afraid that tourism will fall to the same level as it was at the end of the 1990s. It has now reached the level of 2013. But we must remember that the two first months of 2020 were the best months ever. I think that problems come when we now look at the numbers. Because, we don’t know when this market is going to open,” said Rautajoki.

He emphasized easing restrictions in the borders for tourists during the summer as it is down in neighboring Sweden and Norway.

“The competition is becoming tough. In Lapland, many people in the tourism sector are now unemployed and some have already changed to other jobs,” he said, adding that he does not see any reason not to re-open the borders when vaccination is going on.

He said that nobody is asking to open up immediately for travelers from all over the world.

“Our companies need to know when it is going to happen and with what kind of measures. It would be very urgent for the government of Finland to announce,” Ansala said.

Rautajoki. also explained the border situation for the region up to the north.

“People are working on the other side and go shopping there as part of their daily lives. In Tornio Haparanda, shops are the same. It is the same city and now it is like East and West Berlin and this is not good.”

Even though the Lappish borders to neighboring countries are not completely closed, there is a mandatory health inspection that makes it, as Ansala said, “basically impossible” for people who need to cross the border daily. She thinks that the issue had not been adequately discussed by the government.

Looking back at more than 30 years of experience in the service, Rautajoki said that the biggest issue for the Lapland Chamber of Commerce had always been a lack of government recognition.

“We don’t always feel like the government understands our situation or that we are important. It forgets about us in making decisions for the Southern regions,” he added.

Both Ansala and Rautajoki see it as extremely important to learn from the pandemic crisis for the future.

“There were discussions about this issue between the authorities of Finland and Sweden. At the moment it feels like we have learned nothing. We must work on that because people must be able to cross the border in any case,” Rautajoki said.

Ansala said that this pandemic at least brought to the fore the need for a better preparation for crisis management in future.

Even if the pandemic would end soon, Rautajoki sees the need for Finland to change its policy and get more active about building a perspective for young people. This includes decisive action against climate change as well as investments in the job market.

“In the north of Sweden, thousands of jobs are created. In the 1960s, 300,000 people from Finland moved to Sweden for work. It does not need to happen again but Finland should take action to give a better future to the young people,” the outgoing Chamber president said.

The new president and CEO Ansala sees the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic as her biggest challenge and her going into the field to be able to promote the agenda of the Lapland Chamber of Commerce as her personal challenge.

“There will be a lot of climate regulations coming and we need to be heard. In general, green economy and digitization need to be taken up seriously,” Ansala said. “We see a great future in using the natural resources in a sustainable way that brings work and new life to Lapland. That is absolutely doable.”