Published 24.9.2024

The new visitor monitoring service conveniently provides information on the number and trends of visits to destinations

Information on the number of visits to national parks, hiking areas and other National Parks Finland destinations and visitor centres can now be found in the new online service: https://www.metsa.fi/status-of-visitation-numbers/.

Two adults and three children are walking on a path in the forest. In the background is a large boulder.
Photo: Jaakko Posti/Metsähallitus.

“The new service provides a better overview of hiking trends. We have produced data on the number of visits to national parks for the annual reporting of nature conservation since 1990. Now all the data collected can be utilised by the public, local entrepreneurs and anyone else interested,” explains Product Owner Liisa Kajala of Parks & Wildlife Finland.

Metsähallitus Parks & Wildlife Finland has previously published information on the annual number of visitors to its destinations on its website. In the past, the information on the number of visits was available online in PDF form, but it provided less information than offered by the new service.

The visitor monitoring service is updated as data is collected from the field

The new service makes information on the number of visitors to destinations available more quickly than before.

“For hiking destinations where visitor counters are read several times a year, there is no need to wait until the turn of the year for information on the number of visits. Visitor numbers for some of the hiking destinations are reported to the service every month,” says Kajala.

This year, from January to July, information on nearly 30 destinations and nearly all visitor centres is available. You can also find information from August at eight destinations (status as of 18 September). The monthly number of visits during the first half of 2024 is available for a total of 22 national parks.

You can find this information in the visitor monitoring service

  • The annual number of visits as far back as the statistics have been produced. The oldest annual calculations of the number of visits date back to 1990.
  • Information on the monthly number of visits for most destinations and visitor centres spans several years.
  • As of 1 January 2024, the number of visits on a daily and hourly basis at trail entrances for some destinations.
  • It is also possible to obtain information on the number of visits from the service in Excel format, upon request.

More information

  • Visitor monitoring service
  • Product Owner Liisa Kajala, liisa.kajala@metsa.fi
  • Senior Specialist, Recreational Amenities Erkki Ollila, erkki.ollila@metsa.fi