The focus of this article is on Finnish approaches to the organisation
of leisure for the masses from the 1940s to the 1970s. In the post-war
era, Finland industrialised and its modernisation escalated, and
advanced legislation was prepared to guarantee better welfare and to
give people more leisure time. In Finland, as in all Nordic countries,
the construction of the democratic model of tourism was ideologically
connected to the welfare state, and the field was politicised in many
ways. In Finland, non-profit and political associations and holiday
organisations began to organise leisure activities, which were typically
subsidised by the state. The activities organised and discourses
utilised can be described in terms of ‘moral regulation’: the ‘proper’
use of leisure was promoted, and individual freedom of choice was
emphasised. The economic, political, cultural and social interests of
the state and industry varied accordingly. Finland's geo-political
location near the Soviet Union influenced its domestic policy, economy
and cultural climate, and Western cultural influences were discouraged
as a result. In the late 1960s, the Finnish democratic model started to
became more market-driven, and with the increase in standards of living,
the real tourist market opened up for Finns.