Tourism in

Åland Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an autonomous and demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1,580 km2, and a populat ...

revolves around the Åland Islands and various attractions in the capital of Mariehamn. About 44% of tourists are from Finland. Tourism is promoted by Visit Åland, the official tourism organisation of the Åland Islands.

Attractions

Åland's major tourist attraction is the mild nature of its seasons compared to other parts of

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

experiences more sunshine hours per year than any other place in the region - in

midsummer Midsummer is a celebration of the season of summer usually held at a date around the summer solstice. It has pagan pre-Christian roots in Europe. The undivided Christian Church designated June 24 as the feast day of the early Christian martyr ...

, the sun rises at approximately 3:30am and sets at about 10:00pm. In addition, Åland's summers are comparatively warm and its winters comparatively mild, making it a popular holiday destination among neighbouring Swedes and

Finns Finns or Finnish people ( fi, suomalaiset, ) are a Baltic Finnic ethnic group native to Finland. Finns are traditionally divided into smaller regional groups that span several countries adjacent to Finland, both those who are native to these ...

. Åland's capital, Mariehamn, has a long maritime history chronology. Primarily a shipping town, Mariehamn is home to a museum ship still in its original condition as a cargo carrier. The Åland Islands are a collection of islands in an

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...

, and the eight inhabited islands in the archipelago are home to a number of small villages, many with architectural monuments to the Åland Islands' past clearly evident in the form of ruined abbeys and castles.

Kastelholm Castle Kastelholm Castle ( sv, Kastelholms slott) is a Swedish people, Swedish-built medieval castle located off Road 2 in Sund, Åland, Sund, Åland, Finland, approximately northeast of Mariehamn, overlooking a fjord to the south of the village of Kas ...

, dating back to the 16th century, is a popular attraction bordered by two golf courses. Åland also draws a number of tourists looking to participate in outdoor activities, with diving, climbing, paddling, hiking, camping and horse riding popular with visitors. Hunting is also possible in Åland, and is actively encouraged by Visit Åland.

Statistics

207,566 tourists arrived in Åland in 2009. This was a 9.9 percent decrease from the number of tourists arriving in 2008. 44.3 percent of the arriving tourists were from

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, 43.9 percent of the arrivals were from Sweden and the remainder, 11.9 percent, were from other countries. The average stay for tourists in Åland was 2.1 nights, with the figure slightly lower for tourists from Finland (1.9 nights), the same for tourists from Sweden and higher for tourists from other countries (3.2 nights). 108,241 of the total number of tourists arriving in Åland in 2009 stayed in hotels, 26,072 stayed in guest houses, 39,620 stayed in cottages while the remainder, 39,620 visitors, camped as their form of accommodation. The number of guests from countries other than Finland and Sweden staying in hotels increased by 77.8 percent from 2008.

References

External link

Visit Aland
- English {{DEFAULTSORT:Tourism in Aland Aland Tourist attractions in Åland