The Sustainable Travel Competition by the Matka Nordic Travel Fair invites all companies and organisations participating in the fair to enter their responsible travel product or service.
Matka Nordic Travel Fair challenges companies and organisations participating in the fair to the Sustainable Travel Competition, which seeks travel products and services that follow the principles of responsibility and sustainability. The final of the competition takes place at the Matka Nordic Travel Fair on 17 January, and the winner will receive a €3,000 prize from the Finnish Fair Foundation. The Matka Nordic Travel Fair will be held at Messukeskus in Helsinki from 16 to 19 January 2020.
The Sustainable Travel Competition by the Matka Nordic Travel Fair invites all companies and organisations participating in the fair to enter their responsible travel product or service. The competition seeks products or services that demonstrate special consideration of responsibility and that serve as examples and lead the way for the rest of the travel industry. This can be a travel company that has, for example, managed to minimise their energy consumption, a travel product for which the purchase immediately benefits local residents, or, say, a travel destination that pays CO2 compensation for the emissions caused by its tourists.
The competition is open to all the companies participating in the Matka Nordic Travel Fair. The competition jury will select five companies to go through to the final. In their selection, the jury will pay attention to the credibility, scalability and reproducibility of the travel product or service. The nominated products and services must be on the market and available for sale in 2020. The competition language is English.
The Finalists selected by the jury will present their product or service on the professionals’ day of the Matka Nordic Travel Fair, on the Matkatieto stage of the event, which is also where the jury will select the winner. The winner of the competition will receive a €3,000 prize from the Finnish Fair Foundation.
The members of the jury are: chair Timo Saranpaa, the Association of Finnish Travel Agents, AFTA; Liisa Kokkarinen, Visit Finland; Minnamaari Harmaala, Haaga-Helia; Jeppe Klockersson, Fair Travel; Sari Siitonen, Clonet; and Maria Mroue, Messukeskus Helsinki.
“This is the first time that the Sustainable Travel Competition by the Matka Nordic Travel Fair has been held, and it is great that we get to highlight responsibility in travel in new ways. Messukeskus has already committed to being 110% carbon neutral by the year of 2029, and through the competition, we want to inspire companies and organisations in the industry to better incorporate the principles of responsible and sustainable travel into their operations. Solutions promoting responsible travel have been offered for a long time, and through this competition, we want to specifically highlight and reward these solutions, whether big or small, which are already being made available around the world”, says the sales group manager at the Matka Nordic Travel Fair, Anna Suominen.
“Responsibility is a much-debated topic globally at the moment, which is indicated, for example, by the Financial Times’ recent call for a ‘reset’ of capitalism. In the travel industry, the topic of responsibility has been raised earlier, and other sectors have a lot to learn from this example. With the Sustainable Travel Competition, we want to encourage the travel industry to continue the development of responsible modes of operation by highlighting good practices, and to serve as an example to other industries”, says the chair of the competition jury, Timo Saranpaa.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
