The Nordic Travel Fair Matka 2007 that took place in Helsinki between 19 - 21 January 2007 was more international than ever before presenting travel destinations and services from 69 countries. 50 countries have also their official tourist organisation at the fair. Matka`s strategy is the growth to continue also in the future. Plan is to have exhibitors from at least 80 countries in 2010.

Being the largest travel event in the Nordic countries we strive to offer as wide a selection of travel
destinations and services as we possible, states Matka fair’s Exhibition Group Manager Inna-Pirjetta Lahti.
The internationalisation strategy has worked effectively in the past years. The number of international exhibitors has grown by 30 % from 2005 when the fair included exhibitors from 53 countries.

The economic boost and general cheapening of travelling have given rise to the Finnish travel industry. For these reasons Finns are more eager to travel, also to remote destinations. This naturally affects the fair as foreign countries see it as a market place not to miss, adds Lahti.

According to the Association of Finnish Travel Agents (SMAL) Spain continues to be the number one when Finns buy package deals with the market share of 30 %. Thailand has strengthened its position among the favourite remote destinations; in 2006 approximately 57,000 package deals were made to Thailand. After the Tsunami there has been growth of 40 %. Another hit destination in the South-East Asia is India where Finns made 11,000 trips in 2006, 45 % more than in 2005.

Africa gaining popularity

New comers and returning countries to the exhibitor list are Australia, the Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Gambia, China, Libya, Mozambique, Namibia, and Nepal. Africa is very well presented at the fair since, in addition to the above-mentioned countries, also Botswana, Egypt, South Africa, Morocco, Tunis and Zambia exhibit at Matka.

Africa is a suitable destination for Finns with small time difference and low prices. In addition to the traditional
destinations in Africa, such as Tunis and Egypt, Finns are interested in, for example, West-African Gambia, which is a new travel destination on the Finnish travel market. Another sign of the growing interest is the fact that in 2006 trips made to South Africa grew by astounding 56 %.