Finland is perfectly positioned to benefit from the 2026 consumer trends reshaping travel

The global consumer landscape is undergoing dramatic shifts. Euromonitor International’s Global Consumer Trends 2026 (2025) reveals that people across the globe are entering a new era shaped by stress, identity, wellness, and cultural expression, while rapid changes in markets like China and tech-driven expectations redefine global destination demand.

Finland’s strengths in nature, authenticity, wellbeing and digital accessibility position it to thrive as these global trends accelerate. The national tourism strategy focuses on four priorities: sustainable development, digital transformation, improved accessibility and competitiveness. Tourism is recognised as a growing service sector that generates welfare nationwide. Finland’s ambition is clear: to become the most sustainably growing tourist destination in the Nordic countries. (Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment in Finland s.a.)

Trends provide valuable inspiration and serve as a strong foundation for research and learning about consumer behaviour and industry insights. In many of our tourism and marketing courses, the Euromonitor International Global Consumer Trends report is an essential resource. As the new year approaches, trends take center stage and interest in them is at the highest.

In this article, we discuss how Finnish businesses – along with Haaga-Helia and its students – are already embracing the trends reshaping travel. We will also highlight the areas where further innovation is needed.

Comfort zone: rest, slowness and nature

Euromonitor (2025) reports that 58 percent of global consumers experience moderate to extreme daily stress, and many are seeking emotional balance through simplicity, calm and restorative environments. This shift is directly influencing travel choices: nature retreats, slow travel, wellness holidays and sanctuary-style accommodations are surging (Finnpartners 2025). When the temperatures around the popular beach destinations along the coasts of the Mediterranean go up, calmcations (Hall 2025) and coolcations (Chamberlain 2025) in Finland may become even more attractive in the future.

Wellness travel trends strongly support this shift. According to Vacayou (2025), sauna culture, and especially Nordic sauna rituals followed by icy immersion, is making a major comeback as a central component of healing journeys. Similarly, Virtuoso (2025) highlights that sleep retreats, silent getaways, and overnight wellness programmes are among the fastest-growing travel experiences, as people prioritise rest and mental restoration. This is precisely where Finland excels. Few destinations can offer the combination of peaceful landscapes, pristine nature, low noise levels and high-quality hospitality that Finland delivers effortlessly.

According to Metsähallitus (s.a.a), Finlands national parks saw 3.5 million visits annually in 2024. They are celebrated not just for their wild beauty, but for their ability to support mental wellbeing through solitude, clean air, and unspoiled landscapes (Metsähallitus s.a.b). Sustainable accommodations like The Barö’s award-winning boutique retreat in the archipelago or sauna experiences like Äksyt Ämmät’s slow-paced guesthouse-to-guesthouse tours in North Karelia perfectly mirror global demand for restorative, low-stress travel. Moreover, Visit Finland’s State of Sustainable Tourism 2024 report (2025) underscores the country’s ambitious commitment to sustainability, balancing tourist access with nature preservation.

For travelers drawn to the wellness reset that Euromonitor describes, Finland offers precisely the kind of emotionally safe, nature-rich escape that is increasingly rare in our fast-paced world. Finland serves as a sustainable tourism benchmark for other destinations (Visit Finland 2025). For example, the Erasmus Plus ENRICHER hubs project coordinated by Haaga-Helia has used several Finnish tourism companies as best-practice examples for development of sustainable tourism in Eastern Europe (Konttinen & Iloranta 2024).

Fiercely unfiltered: genuine experiences and authentic local culture

Euromonitor’s second major trend emphasises radical identity expression and a strong preference for authenticity. Travelers increasingly reject generic tourism products and are no longer satisfied with one-size-fits-all packages. Instead, they seek meaningful, transparent, and locally rooted encounters that reflect their values and offer real human connection. (Euromonitor 2025.) Many visitors want to make their holidays planet positive and leave the destinations better than they found them (Booking.com 2025).

The destination image of Finland has been grounded in nature, culture and authentic experiences (Visit Finland 2023). With the Fiercely unfiltered trend, it is a powerful competitive advantage. EU Tourism Platform (2025) highlights that Finland’s sustainable tourism pledge is part of a broader green revolution in travel, signaling that the country is serious about long-term environmental change. Finland has made sustainability a central pillar of its tourism sector and strategy (Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment in Finland s.a.) and is innovating in tourism by aligning travel experiences with local communities, promoting small-scale operators, and placing strong emphasis on conservation and social responsibility (Blinnikka & Koivisto 2025).

This commitment extends deeply into cultural heritage, especially in relation to the Sámi people. Sámi cultural heritage and tourism share a complex, but mutually enriching relationship and The Sámediggi (Sámi Parliament of Finland) also supports responsible Sámi tourism, promoting community-led and ethically sensitive experiences that give travelers genuine insight into Sámi lives, traditions, and the challenges this indigenous community faces. (Sámediggi s.a.)

For travelers who are drawn to design, architecture and craftmanship, Finland offers a rich tapestry of creative heritage. The Finnish Design Shop’s Places to Visit guide showcases how Finnish design is embedded in public spaces, museums, and everyday environments creating meaningful, design-led travel experiences. Meanwhile, The National Board of Antiquities (Museovirasto) preserves Finland’s cultural heritage, offering travellers a deep, tangible connection with Finland’s past. In addition to Finlandia Hall and the Sibelius monument, visitors to Helsinki now flock to the central library Oodi.

One of the most visited destinations in Helsinki remains the sea fortress of Suomenlinna, a UNESCO World Heritage site popular among both locals and visitors. Haaga-Helia has been collaborating with Suomenlinna for several years already and all Haaga-Helia tourism students visit the island during their studies as part of their Sustainable experience economy course to discover what a sustainable destination is like.

Rewired wellness: harmony between innovation and nature

According to Euromonitor’s third trend, wellness is becoming tech-driven as consumers are looking for personalised high-tech solutions to support their health. Global health goods and medical services spend is exploding, thanks to GenZ. The digital natives are not afraid to experiment with AI-powered wearables and customised therapies. Already, three in four consumers track health via apps and devices. In their hectic lives, consumers desire rapid, measurable results and personalised care that can be applied at home and while travelling. (Euromonitor 2025.)

Health tourism, i.e., wellness and medical tourism (World Tourism Organization and European Travel Commission 2018), is on an upward trend. Health tourists are a lucrative market for destinations, because they spend a lot of money on pre- and post-treatment tours, accommodation and services. Based on the findings of Euromonitor International (2025), an expansion of medical tourism and longevity-focused resorts may be on the horizon with the aging population in the major tourism-generating countries.

Integration of wearable health tech and AI-driven fitness programmes are becoming a thing in hospitality (Accor 2024). There are already hotel rooms with AI-integrated beds, for example in New York, where guests can get personalised support for their sleep through meditative pulses and soothing sounds in the tech-enhanced mattresses and cushions (Chang 2025). SIRO hotels feature recovery centres with restorative treatments and guestrooms designed to enhance sleep. Finland is not known for such high-tech hospitality experiences yet, but as Business Finland (2025) states, Finland is driving the future of digital health.

On-demand diagnostic services at hotels or airports for convenience may deliver another competitive edge for the best airports in the world and surely Helsinki Airport wants to be included in that lot. Finland already has several health-tech providers, like Oura and Orion, which could collaborate with hospitality companies to create premium wellness packages combining relaxation with measurable health benefits.

Finland has potential in health tourism. By blending natural healing traditions with cutting-edge technology, we can create unique wellness and hospitality experiences. By 2030, 70 percent of the population in China will live in cities (Chamberlain 2025). AI-enhanced sleep tourism in the serene nature and clean air of Finland is exactly what overworked, pollution-weary urban travelers from Asia need.

Next Asian wave drive consumption trends

The future consumer is most likely Asian. China used to be the place where most of our stuff was made, but now it is the location where it is not just made but innovated, too. According to Euromonitor International (2025), Chinese brands blend affordability with innovation and digital savvy. It seems to be a winning combination.

Consumers around the world are already embracing Asian pop culture (K-pop, anime) and products associated with it. Online shopping platforms like SHEIN, Temu, TikTok Shop dominate e-commerce. Chinese EVs (electric vehicles) and beauty brands challenge global price and quality norms. These days, it is BYD not Tesla that is leading the global EV sales, and it has become rather common to see a BYD on the streets of Helsinki, too. Students of Haaga-Helia are riding the Asian wave: universities across Asia have become some of the most sought-after destinations for exchange semesters.

The impacts of the Asian trend are also felt in travel and hospitality as Asian brands and cultural trends shape global travel preferences. The Chinese are the biggest spenders in global tourism, even though they do not yet travel as much as they used to before the pandemic. (UN Tourism 2025.) There are more slippers and kettles in hotel rooms across the world as they are in-room amenities favoured by the Asian travelers. Some hotels in Helsinki and Lapland offer rice and noodles for breakfast for an increasing Asian clientele.

At the same time, global audiences are embracing Chinese digital ecosystems, with TikTok and Temu leading the pack, also for travel booking and product discovery. Finnish businesses are responding by offering Alipay, mobile-first booking, gamified experiences, and culturally relevant storytelling to attract digitally savvy Asian travelers.

New trends bring new opportunities

Euromonitor International’s latest insights may be just what Finland needs to shape a sustainable tourism future. The trends highlight opportunities to deliver seamless, stress-free experiences, integrate tech into hospitality, make destinations more accessible, and leverage science-backed, mobile-first solutions for a competitive edge. Many of these elements are already in place, but there is room to grow.

Haaga-Helia works closely with the tourism and hospitality indiustries and companies developing and innovating. Thus, we have an obligation to ensure that our students are future oriented and aware of trends and changes building up in the horizon.

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