Finland is trying to solve the only flaw that Santa Claus has as a brand.
The country is trying to extend his presence to a year-long round celebration, rather than just a few valuable weeks, Agence France-Presse reported.
Petri Paarnio, director of Santa Claus Licensing, the firm that holds the rights to market the Santa Claus name in Finland, wants to see him bring joy to children's hearts, as well as, generate business all year round and all around the world. Paarnio wants to start in China.
"Santa Claus is an icon," he said. "He stands for symbols like good health, solidarity, and values like giving without always expecting something in return."
A multi-million-euro industry including computer games, international events, theme parks and merchandising could be started as a result of the iconic brand, said Santa Claus Licensing and Finnish tourist authorities.
According to AFP, thousands of tourists flock each Christmas to the Arctic city of Rovaniemi, the capital of Finland's northernmost Lapland region, in search of the "authentic" Santa Claus experience. But the sparsely populated area is not content with only filling hotels, activity centers, stores and restaurants over the holiday period.
"Father Christmas is Finland's best known brand but we've not made the most of his image as Finnish," Paarnio told AFP. "Maybe because Christmas just takes place over a short period."
The Finnish parliament in December gave the green light for $410,000 in funding to promote Finnish Santa Claus in China even though the country is in the grip of recession and budgetary austerity, AFP reported.
"In Europe Christmas is traditionally seen as a short period. But in Asia, Father Christmas could be promoted as a completely separate character," said Paarnio.
Selling Santa has been made easier by national airline Finnair's increased links between Helsinki and Asia, AFP reported.
"We've always had very large numbers of Japanese visitors but China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore are growing in importance. And Russians fill the hotels after Christmas until early January."
The Finnish Santa Claus wears light brown boots made in Lapland, said Paarnio. He also wears a long red cloak - not the red suit of the well-known American character - and sports a much longer white beard.
"The length of his beard is strictly regulated and he's in much better health - he is slimmer - and moreover he doesn't say 'ho, ho, ho!' like his US counterpart," Paarnio said.
