Two German tourists entered the Salla border zone without permission, apparently with the aim of seeing the Russian border. Both Germans were fined approximately 500 euros each.
The Lapland Border Guard caught them on 2 February. The tourists had driven to the border area and walked into the forbidden frontier zone.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Mikko Kauppila, Deputy Commander of the Lapland Border Guard, the tourists were several hundred meters from national border line, apparently motivated by "their interest in the eastern border".
Just two weeks earlier, the Finnish Border Guard caught three young German men suspected of illegally crossing the border on snowshoes into Russia from Kuusamo.
Kauppila said that similar incidents of unauthorised "border tourism" occur up to 10 times a year, usually when temperatures are milder. The trespassers include Finns and foreigners, he added.
Access to "Santa’s Mountain" by special permit
In Kirkenes, northern Norway, there are lookout points where visitors can look into Russia. Tourists are also offered guided border tours.
In Finnish Lapland, it is possible to take a look at the Russian side by hiking at Korvatunturi in Savukoski. The fell is known in popular mythology as the home of Santa Claus.
It lies within the border zone, so can only be visited with a special permit from the Lapland Border Guard.
"Approximately 150–200 border zone permits to visit Korvatunturi are issued annually. Since the one permit can cover several people, I estimate the annual number of visitors to be around 500 people," Kauppila told Yle.
Tourism has increased workload
The work of the Border Guard also reflects the rapid growth of tourism in Lapland.
External border checks, i.e. checks on foreigners arriving from outside the EU, increased by 37 percent in February compared to a year earlier.
"The number is three times higher than in February 2020, just before the coronavirus pandemic. It seems that the Christmas season is spreading into January and February," he said.
Russian denied entry
In February, the Lapland Border Guard refused entry to a Russian at Rovaniemi Airport. According to Kauppila, the visitor had a Schengen visa but no specific reason to come to Finland.
A similar incident occurred in December at Rovaniemi and Kittilä airports when five Russian tourists attempted to enter Finland.
Tourism has not been considered a valid reason for Russians to visit Finland since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago.
