Arctic Circle needs new magic to attract more tourists
Rovaniemi design week ponders how Santa could be made into a more attractive figure
By Hannu Pöppönen
A cap has been placed on the head of a mannequin with a version of the familiar Playboy logo. However, instead of a pair of rabbit’s ears, there are a pair of reindeer antlers.
The cap can be bought at a gift shop on the Arctic Circle, where the atmosphere is something like that of a flea market, or an Asian bazaar where haggling might take place. The piles of goods manufactured in Asia, Eastern Europe, and Finland are arranged in a haphazard manner making it difficult to walk among them.
Merchandise includes toys with Mumintroll, and The Simpsons themes, There are rolls of Christmas toilet paper, items from the Danish designer Georg Jensen, as well as some handicrafts made in Finnish Lapland. Nothing stands out, nor does Finnishness, nor is the local culture of Lapland emphasised in any way.
Better shops exist at the Arctic Circle, but in the Santa’s Workshop area there are not many tourists yet. Christmas music plays nonstop over the sound system, even though it is just the beginning of October.
In the post office, Olive Chan from Hong Kong, is writing post cards.
She has travelled to Rovaniemi for a day, taking the night train from Helsinki. She says that Rovaniemi is the last location on her northern tour.
“The Northern Lights and Santa Claus” is her answer when asked what brings her to the north.
Those are the two reasons why many come to the Arctic Circle, both in summer and winter. During the Christmas season the feeling might be cosier, but in early October, the atmosphere is impersonal and bleak, especially as there is no snow on the ground yet.
The importance of Santa Claus around the world is indicated by the fact that he gets more than half a million letters from around the world each year.
Heidi Mustonen, who works in the warmly lit post office, cannot help but be moved as she describes a letter from the former Yugoslavia, where the children told about relatives who were killed in the war, and who wanted only good cheer for Christmas.
“When I looked at the website for Lapland, it said that ‘we have excellent conference centres, our personality is a bit of the west, a bit of the east, and a little bit of north and south’. In other words, it does not say what you really are. Perhaps this is a great conference centre, but they have them in other places as well”, says Jonathan Sands.
Sands is the head of the Elmwood brand consultants, who have worked on establishing the brands for institutions ranging from the BBC, to various branches of the British government, and Nike.
Sands was invited to speak at the Rovaniemi Design Weeks organised this past week.
He is in Finland for the first time, and in this sense, his view was that of an outsider.
Sands says that his first reaction when he got there was that Lapland is a very special place.
However, instead of concrete matters, such as snow, he emphasised the importance of the ambiance and experiences. Finland is not the only place where there is snow.
“If I were to brand Lapland, I would describe it as a magical kingdom of colour and light.”
For Sands, colour and light apply both to what is seen in nature, as well as the hospitality of people. Magic is linked with Santa Claus.
But the Santa Claus of the Arctic Circle should become more magical, Sands says. Santa can be seen before Christmas in stores and in villages around the world, but the Father Christmas of the Arctic Circle should be special and authentic.
The present system, in which tourists line up to see Santa to have their picture taken with him is too mechanical and works only during the Christmas period, Sands says. And it is not possible to leave Santa and go outside without walking through the store.
“What does Santa do the rest of the year? As he is a mythical figure, could he convene a conference of other mythical figures in the summer -such as Batman or Superman? I think that there would be many ways to make Santa Claus a more special, year-round experience.”
Sands feels that the same idea could apply to clothing. Lapland could have a clothing brand of colour and light, which would be based on a true story, and the area’s genuine tradition.
“In Norway, fishing is one of the key means of livelihood, and Helly Hansen is a world famous clothing brand. The brand is based on the fact that Norway is a fishing country.”
Sands was not the only one to ponder how the cliché image of Lapland could be moved in a more modern direction.
As part of the Rovaniemi Design Week there was a competition on developing the area, with two companies from the north of Finland and two others from Helsinki invited to take part. The Helsinki companies included Hahmo Design, which had designed the visual appearance of the Helsinki Music Centre, as well as Muotohiomo, which worked on exhibition planning at the Shanghai World’s Fair.
The purpose of the competition of ideas was to bring together in some way the approximately 50 companies in the Arctic Circle area, the airport, the technology park, the Santa Park, which was built in a bomb shelter, and the Santa’s Workshop Village with the help of a common visual theme.
“I think that if this were a real project, the greatest problem would be, who owns the project”, says Pekka Toivanen, CEO of Muotohiomo.
One of the proposals of Toivanen’s company was that the Finnish pavilion at the Shanghai Expo would be taken to the Arctic Circle, to be converted into a new Santa’s Workshop. The magical character of the area could be increased by using lights, for example, and the area should be made much more attractive, internationally as well.
“It is quite clear that there is a certain aesthetic linked with Santa Claus, and it will stay, but it would be really nice if a wow factor could be established there through design and architecture”, Toivanen says.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 5.10.2009
HANNU PÖPPÖNEN / Helsingin Sanomat
hannu.popponen@hs.fi
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| 6.10.2009 - THIS WEEK |
 Arctic Circle needs new magic to attract more tourists |
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