By Lotta Haukipuro
Lapland beyond mass tourism
When most people picture Lapland, they picture Santa Claus. They picture Rovaniemi — the Arctic Circle capital that has become so overwhelmed by tourists that local authorities are quietly sounding the alarm.
Housing prices have surged. Healthcare services are stretched. The city built its brand on Christmas magic, and now it is struggling under the weight of its own success.
So where does Lapland go from here?
The answer, increasingly, lies just 120 kilometres southwest of Rovaniemi, in a place that has its own deep tourism history yet has remained, for now, beautifully unhurried.
Welcome to Torne Valley.
A Border Region with a Soul of Its Own
Torne Valley straddles the Tornio and Muonio rivers along the Finnish–Swedish border, a landscape of pine forests, free-flowing water and quiet hills that experience the midnight sun in summer and a winter wonderland during the colder months.
The region is home to one of Europe’s last major free-flowing rivers, a UNESCO World Heritage-listed geodetic landmark at Aavasaksa Hill, and a living cross-border culture that does not fit neatly into any national tourism brochure.
That culture has a name of its own: Meänkieli — “our language” — a blend of Finnish and Swedish with its own vocabulary, grammar and humour. It is spoken on both sides of the river, in communities that have long regarded the border as a detail rather than a dividing line.
“Torne Valley is sold with the same wild and remote Lapland imagery — reindeer and huskies,” says Hannu Alatalo, a local cultural historian, playwright and Meänkieli expert. “Those images aren’t true. We have a unique cultural identity shaped by two nations.”
That unique identity is precisely why CROCUS chose Torne Valley as one of its Living Lab locations.
What CROCUS Is Doing Here
The CROCUS project — an EU-funded initiative coordinated by Aalborg University in Denmark, with the University of Oulu as a key partner — works across nine European countries to develop culturally sustainable and community-led tourism.
Torne Valley was selected for a rare combination of strengths:
- A long and rich tourism history
- A genuine cross-border identity
- A community with a clear vision for its future
During the summer and autumn of 2025, the University of Oulu team organised open workshops in the neighbouring municipalities of Ylitornio (Finland) and Övertorneå (Sweden).
These activities were complemented by extensive surveys involving residents, cultural actors, associations, local entrepreneurs and visitors.
The findings painted a clear picture.
“Torne Valley residents do not want Christmas-commercialised mass tourism like the one in Rovaniemi,” says Iida Pyykkö, project researcher at the University of Oulu, who has been leading the community engagement work.
Enthusiasm, With Conditions
The community’s response was not a rejection of tourism. Far from it.
Local people see significant potential in the valley’s natural assets, including:
- The white-water rapids at Kukkolankoski
- The panoramic hilltops of Luppio and Aavasaksa
- The tranquil riverside paths
Residents welcome visitors who want to genuinely experience the place. What they do not welcome is the model that has hollowed out other destinations.
As Professor Jarkko Saarinen, expert in Human Geography and Sustainable Tourism at the University of Oulu, explains:
“Mass tourism generates income and new jobs, but these do not always primarily benefit local residents and businesses. The destination images tourism uses and creates can also differ significantly from the identity of the local population.”
The priorities expressed through the CROCUS workshops and surveys were remarkably consistent:
- Year-round tourism rather than seasonal peaks
- Improved cross-border transport connections
- New recreational development along the river
- Protection of cultural heritage and the natural environment
Many residents are also concerned about recent proposals to install wind turbines in the area, fearing they could undermine the very qualities that make Torne Valley attractive to the growing “coolcation” traveller — someone seeking tranquillity, nature and a genuine sense of place.
One survey respondent summarised the sentiment succinctly:
“Torne river valley is not just a travel destination — it is a beloved home to many. Overly commercial and intrusive tourism is also a threat.”
What Comes Next
CROCUS is now moving from listening to designing.
The next phase of the Living Lab will focus on:
- Developing new cross-border cultural tourism routes
- Creating and enhancing visitor attractions
- Mapping local creative and cultural actors
- Strengthening collaboration across the Finnish–Swedish border
The objective is to build a tourism offer that reflects Torne Valley as it truly is: a place of genuine calm, midnight sun over flourishing riverside landscapes in summer, snow-covered silence in winter, and a culture that is proudly neither purely Finnish nor purely Swedish, but something richer and more distinctive.
Aavasaksa and a New Opportunity
The fastest-growing attraction in the area today is Aavasaksa Hill, where 80 new accommodation cabins and a 1,000-square-metre main building have recently been completed.
The hill forms part of the UNESCO-listed Struve Geodetic Arc — an invisible thread linking Torne Valley to a broader European heritage story that many visitors have yet to discover.
CROCUS intends to change that.