This poster is probably the first poster about Lapland and Finnish winter after the wars. Already in the winter of 1944–45, all Finns realized the unpleasant side of things, when newspapers reported in tourism contexts that "Northern Finland will be a lost paradise for a long time". In his presentation at the general tourist association of Helsinki, Jorma Tolonen, one of the leading tourism activists, also said: "Nothing has escaped the destruction of the retreating German forces. Lapland's highest network of tourist lodges and hotels has been burned and destroyed. There is not a single place to stay."
Terijoki, Suursaari, Petsamo and Viipuri - all beloved tourist destinations - were thus lost. Lapland had been blown to the ground. The money was gone. In the end, the focus of tourism had to be shifted from the east and north to the west, south and inland. It was assumed that the future was in the archipelagos and lakes, Lapland was allowed to wait.
But things didn't quite go that way. A new, sympathetic hotel was soon built in Pallas, Rovaniemi's Pohjanhovi was rebuilt, fell tourism refused to sink into oblivion. Enough souls simply realized that it was important to get tourism back on its feet. Tourists would bring what the nation desperately needed: foreign currency and good international PR.
- Artist: Osmo K. Oksanen
- Originally published: 1948
- Best regards! The postcards are printed with offset technology in Finland on high-quality Finnish cardboard.
