Border closure with Russia deepens decline in eastern Finland, report says

The closure of Finland's border with Russia has dealt a heavy blow to eastern regions where Russian tourists once underpinned the local economy, according to Euractiv. The loss of Russian visitors has accelerated decline in an area already struggling.

Local tourism now relies on Finnish visitors, but owners say they stay only one night and leave, which is not enough. Farmers face 30% higher costs after losing access to cheap Russian raw materials such as limestone and peat. Bank loans for their businesses have also become harder to obtain.

Finland stopped issuing tourist visas to Russians in 2022. Russian Ambassador to Helsinki Pavel Kuznetsov earlier told RIA Novosti that Finnish hotels openly say they cannot compensate for 800,000 Russian tourist overnight stays per year with guests from other countries. Finland's border with Russia has been closed by Finnish authorities until further notice, with crossing restrictions first imposed in November 2023 over an uncontrolled flow of refugees from third countries.