Just visited Åland two years ago. It was perfectly tourist-friendly on the main island, where most of the people live.

The author speaks of visiting Åva island in Brandö (county). That place is tiny; the population of the county is 436, split between multiple islands. It can't really support a booming service industry. Again, go check out the main island, that's where the party's at.

The author also complains about high fees on ferries if you're just driving through. The ferries are small, and primarily for the locals to move around; the high fee discourages drive-thru on purpose. Imagine you're trying to get to the other island for work or whatever and there's 300 cars queuing for places on a 60-car ferry.