I got to experience the real Lapland as they gear up for a record-breaking winter season

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

I got to experience the real Lapland as they gear up for what is set to be a record-breaking winter season for tourism. But behind the Santa Claus hype and the novelty of Christmas; the towering, snow-dusted pine trees and of course the reindeer (of which there are more than humans), Finland and the vast Lapland region is yearning to be a hotspot destination for all 12 months of the year.

Long regarded as a festive break spot, Lapland, encompassing an area of over 100,000 square kilometres, gives tourists the thrilling chance to see the big man himself, miles of snowy woodland and even the possibility of seeing the breathtaking Northern Lights colouring the sky. READ MORE You can fly to the official home of Santa Claus direct from Manchester - and even the harshest of blizzards won't cancel your flight READ MORE Gorgeous town near Greater Manchester named among UK's most Christmassy But with a sparse population of around 180,000, compared with Greater Manchester's almost three million, preparing for almost half a million tourists flocking to the area is no mean feat.

I learned how its infrastructure needs to constantly adapt, building up its foundations to cope, with enough hotel rooms, tables at restaurants and activities available - and with the workforce drafted in to staff them.

The majority of tourists visiting Lapland fly into Rovaniemi - the capital of the region - an airport which in recent years has undergone multi-million pound investments, including in the mammoth operation of clearing snow from the runway 24/7 to ensure flights can always touch down safely no matter the weather.