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Rovaniemi’s official ‘Santa Claus’ airport will receive 120 fewer charter planes this year than last Christmas as the recession bites in the most Santa-avid countries.
 Santa Claus (Wikipedia)
Only 350 charter planes are scheduled to drop-off enthusiastic youngsters and their families in the Lapland capital this year so that they can go and meet Father Christmas, claims Business Portal E24.
The majority of the ‘Santa Claus’ charter planes come from Britain. The UK has been acutely hit by the economic downturn with the value of the pound plummeting against the euro. This has persuaded Britons to tighten their belts and made holidaying in the Euro-zone’s pricier countries prohibitively expensive.
According to a spokesperson for Rovaniemi’s ‘Clarion Hotel’ (which promotes itself as the ‘Santa Claus Hotel,’ bookings from UK customers are markedly down on last year, they are booking much later and the hotel is negotiating with travel agents to allow them to book later still in order to fill the rooms.
A room at the hotel over the Christmas period for 2 adults and a child is 203 euros per night. However, it may be a little as half of that if booked as part of a package through a travel agency.
The ‘Santa Claus special’ includes Father Christmas coming to the hotel with his reindeer and presents for the children as well as a ‘traditional Finnish Christmas dinner’ and even a ginger-bread making course. Participants have to a pay a 300 euro supplement per adult.
Rooms at the hotel during the summer are about half the Christmas price.
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