Matka Nordic Travel Fair, together with its cooperation partners, Visit Finland and Finnair, will fly almost 100 international travel service buyers to the Matka Workshop Day event in Finland. Matka Workshop Day is the most significant buying event in the travel industry in Finland and the Nordic countries. At the event, travel services buyers and sellers do business at pre-arranged appointments.
The Hosted Buyers programme of Matka Nordic Travel Fair, Visit Finland and Finnair will be attended by almost 100 buyers from Europe, Asia, Australia and the USA. Finnair will fly buyers to Finland for roughly a week's stay, to explore travel offerings at Matka Workshop Day and Matka Nordic Travel Fair. The buyers will also be offered an excursion to a Finnish travel destination, organised by regional tourism organisations and operators.
“The Hosted Buyers programme will provide Matka Workshop Day participants with contacts around the world. International buyers are top professionals, for whom Matka Workshop Day will present interesting destinations and new service providers from Finland. Some of the buyers have included Finland in their offering before, but there are also those who are only exploring Finnish destinations now”, says the director of Matka Nordic Travel Fair, Anna Suominen.
Experiencing Finland
Finland is enjoying a boom as a tourist destination. According to preliminary data by Statistics Finland on accommodation, overnight stays by foreign tourists in Finland increased by 11% in September 2017 over 2016. The biggest increases were in overnight stays by Germans (27%), Chinese (25%), British (23%) and Americans (20%). According to the statistics, overnight stays by foreign tourists in Finland totalled 5 million in January-September, which is 15% more than in the corresponding period in the previous year.
Finland is enjoying a boom as a tourist destination. According to preliminary data by Statistics Finland on accommodation, overnight stays by foreign tourists in Finland increased by 11% in September 2017 over 2016. The biggest increases were in overnight stays by Germans (27%), Chinese (25%), British (23%) and Americans (20%). According to the statistics, overnight stays by foreign tourists in Finland totalled 5 million in January-September, which is 15% more than in the corresponding period in the previous year.
“We will fly buyers to the event from Japan, China, Korea, and Southern and Central Europe, as well as from England and Ireland. There will also be Russian buyers participating in the Workshop Day”, says Vice President, Global Sales at Finnair, Mikko Turtiainen.
The Hosted Buyers programme includes seven tourist areas in Finland, including Vuokatti and Paljakka in the Kainuu region.
“Nine buyers will come here to acquaint themselves with Vuokatti and Paljakka. We have had discussions with some of them previously. Now they will be able to see in concrete terms what Vuokatti can offer their customers”, says the Visit Vuokatti destination manager, Minna Hirvonen.
“Cooperation with Visit Finland, Finnair, Matka Workshop Day, and the region's tourist centres is very significant for our tourism businesses. The best marketing method is to invite buyers here, and to offer them the opportunity to explore all the offerings and experiences for themselves. The pre-tour is our starting point, after which we will continue business negotiations and hope for Paljakka to be included among the destinations offered by the buyers”, says the sales and marketing manager at the Paljakka tourism association, Leena Penttinen.
Matka Workshop Day to boost both inbound and outbound tourism
Matka Workshop Day will consist of the Meet Finland and Global workshops. Meet Finland is designed to boost inbound Finnish tourism. At the Global workshop, international service providers will present their offerings to Finnish tourism industry professionals and buyers.
Matka Workshop Day will consist of the Meet Finland and Global workshops. Meet Finland is designed to boost inbound Finnish tourism. At the Global workshop, international service providers will present their offerings to Finnish tourism industry professionals and buyers.
Matka Workshop Day will include participants in the Hosted Buyers programme, and independent buyers. So far, 200 buyers and 160 suppliers have registered for the event, to be held on 17 January 2018. In addition to Europe, suppliers come, for example, from China, Mexico, Vietnam and Ecuador. More than 4,400 meetings were held at the 2017 Matka Workshop Day.
