Finland wants Asians to find adventure for all its seasons

In a bid to get more South-east Asians to consider Finland as a year-round destination, as opposed to it solely being a winter wonderland, the Visit Finland delegation at this year’s ITB Asia was the largest to date – comprising 80 delegates across 53 companies – since it first exhibited at the show six years ago.

Heli Mende, director, head of Global Sales Promotion Visit Finland, shared: “The general misconception among Asians is that Finland is only good to visit during winter. Another misconception we wish to dispel is that the Northern Lights is diminishing or that it can only be seen when it snows. The aurora borealis is a natural phenomenon, and is not only seen during the winter season. This year, it could be seen from early September.”

That is why Mende reiterated that the delegation was at ITB Asia last week to “promote Finland as a year-round destination”, as all its four seasons are unique, and offer many activities that can be conducted throughout the year, such as river rafting, sailing or midnight sun golfing.

Aside from year-round travel, Visit Finland is also keen to promote adventure travel during the four seasons to agents, especially those that cater to the growing FIT segment, experiential travel, as well as incentive groups.

Adventure activities Mende listed include snowmobile safaris, husky safaris and spending an overnight in a snow castle.

Finland is also a business events destination, Mende stated. She said: “We have excellent infrastructure, experienced DMCs, and we are a peaceful nation. We also have conference venues that are of international standard. Earlier in July, Helsinki hosted the Trump-Putin meeting with a lead time of just two weeks.”

source: TTG Asia