‘Crapland’: British Tabloid Rails Against Lapland Holiday
By News
Monday, 04 January 2010
British
Sunday tabloid the News of the World has caused a stir in northern Finland with a vitriolic article criticising Lapland tourism.
‘Welcome to
Crapland,’ the opening salvo, published on 20 December, proclaimed that ‘kids’
were ‘in tears at hellish Santa trip.’
British
families had told the tabloid that their resort was ‘filthy and disgusting’.
They complained of having to queue in ‘icy conditions,’ that snow-suits were
‘dirty’ and ‘ill-fitting’, that food was ‘lousy’ and glasses were filthy, that
staff were on strike and that many activities were cancelled or cut short.
According to the newspaper – jokingly described as ‘News of the Screws’ in
the UK because of its focus on the salacious -Ryan Woodbridge, 33, a father of three, bought a ticket for his family
from ‘Transun’.
‘Kids Were Crying’
Woodbridge claimed that: "It was more like a refugee camp than a wonderland. The
room clearly hadn't been cleaned - there was vomit or some bodily fluid on the
sofa."
"We had to queue in this tin shed (fo snow suits) for 40 minutes. It
was minus 25°, we couldn't feel our fingers and toes, kids were crying.
"When we got the suits, none of them had been cleaned and none fitted.
My shoes were two sizes too big."
"Dinner was slop. We had instant mash with a kind of curry. Beer cost
£8 and glasses were filthy” he told News of the World. In the UK, a pint of
beer usually costs less than £3.
"One evening, when guests were promised salmon, they got fish fingers.
I was sick and had diarrhoea that night. I'm convinced it was the food. Next
day was the Santa visit. It was meant to be the highlight, with snowmobile,
kids' activities and an ice hockey display. The snowmobile didn't work, there
were no activities and the teams were using a tin can instead of a puck."
‘We Were Frozen’
Craig Barker, 38, a doctor, ‘paid £2,800 to take wife Sarah, 46, and their
sons, eight and five, on a break.’
“It is in this kind of environment that salmonella can develop,’ he told
the tabloid, ‘Fresh food was left by waste bins, plates were not clean because
the dishwasher had broken down. It was disgusting.
"The children were very upset. They only had ten minutes with Santa
after waiting 2½ hours in minus 15°. We were frozen."
"The husky safari, due to last an hour, took ten minutes and the
snowmobile was cancelled due to what they called 'high emotion' of staff and
guests, whatever that means."
Apparently, guests were told that many staff had been sacked the previous
week or were on strike but their holidays still went ahead.
The article was headline news in Rovaniemi-based daily Lapin Kansa, which
has a readership of about 30,000.
The Lapland Tourism Board were asked to comment on the case but did not get
back to 65DN before the publication deadline for this article.
‘That’s a Crap Excuse’
News of the World followed this coverage with an article entitled ‘That’s a
Crap Excuse’ – in which the British holiday firm were given a chance to
respond. Transun blamed the ‘fiasco’ on ‘global warming’.
‘Perhaps as a result of climate change, Lapland
experienced an extended period of exceptional cold,’ he told the
newspaper.
"These abnormal temperatures resulted in burst water pipes... the
hotel management regrets the inconvenience and disturbance."
Transun exclusively offers holidays to Lapland.
There website includes stereotypical photos of Father Christmas with buzz-words
such as ‘magic’ and ‘legends.’ ‘We've currently got a magical selection
of holidays to Santa's home in Lapland,’ claims
the company’s site, ‘and a range of Arctic Holidays including some in search of
the Northern Lights.
The British and Santa
This is not
the first time that a British tabloid has run dramatic articles on British
holidaymakers having a rough time in Lapland.
In December 2004, The Sun – another tabloid – reported British tourists
complaining of Father Christmas ‘not speaking good enough English’ and being
‘drunk.’
Rovaniemi’s
Santa Claus Airport received 120 fewer chartered planes in 2009 than in 2008
due to the impact of the recession in Britain.
Lured by
promises of a ‘Winter Wonderland’ and ‘Father Christmas’, the British are
amongst the most avid Lapland package tourists
in the winter months.
Comments (3)
1. 06-01-2010 16:55
2. 11-01-2010 13:40
3. 21-02-2010 04:09
Please keep the topic of messages relevant to the subject of the article.
‘Welcome to
Crapland,’ the opening salvo, published on 20 December, proclaimed that ‘kids’
were ‘in tears at hellish Santa trip.’ 
