(Yicai Global) March 20 -- Chinese tourists were the biggest spenders among travelers to Finland last year, spending an average of EUR1,262 (USD1,557) during their trips to the Nordic country.

Finland welcomed some 442,000 Chinese tourists last year and they spent EUR335 million (USD413 million), 46 percent more than 2016, Russian news agency Sputnik reported, citing data from the Russian Travel Agency Association.

The data coincided with the release of statistics from Tourism Research Australia, which pegged Chinese travelers as the nation's largest inbound spenders for the sixth straight year.

The second-largest spenders were French tourists, whose per-capita consumption came in at EUR790. Visitors from France's neighbor Spain spent EUR780 each, and travelers from Australia spent around EUR533 to rank third, the data shows.

Finland is one of the top destinations for Russian holidaymakers, but their spending there was considerably lower than many countries at EUR240 per person.