This year the Nordic Travel Fair Matka introduced almost 1,000 exhibitors from 81 countries. According to a visitor survey made by TNS Gallup, 91 % of the visitors came to get more information on destinations outside Finland.
The Nordic Travel Fair Matka together with the Caravan event for caravans and trailers gave a head start to the travel year 2014. The main reasons for visiting these events were to get acquainted with interesting travel destinations and to get new experiences.
This year the Nordic Travel Fair Matka introduced almost 1,000 exhibitors from 81 countries. According to a visitor survey made by TNS Gallup, 91 % of the visitors came to get more information on destinations outside Finland. Four out of five came also to enjoy the experiences these types of events give, i.e. musical performances, tastings and virtual traveling.
The two events were visited by 67,000 people. This is concrete evidence of the fact that traveling interests Finnish people despite the economic situation.
The Nordic Travel Fair Matka again proved that Finns need traveling to escape the routines of everyday life. Visitors come to get inspired and see something exciting instead of just listening to gloomy news, estimates CEO Heli Maki-Franti from the Association of Finnish Travel Agents (AFTA).
According to the visitor survey three out of four visitors got information on European destinations. Over half acquainted themselves with more remote destinations. According to a market survey also made at the fair, the most interesting exotic destinations can be found in the Caribbean islands. Iceland was picked as the most interesting exotic destination near Finland.
With the share of 38 % of all e-commerce in Finland, travel services form the largest product group purchased online (sources: TNS Gallup, e-commerce statistics 2013). Even though bookings and plans are done more and more online, there is still a need for personal service as 60 % of the visitors came to the Nordic Travel Fair Matka to see the representatives of different travel destinations and services face to face.
Finland in a small scale was displayed at the fair by nearly 600 exhibitors. Two thirds of the visitors came also to see domestic travel options. All in all the visitors of Matka are diligent travelers in Finland as four out of five of them travel at least once a year in Finland.
Next partner country is Egypt
Next year the partner country for the Nordic Travel Fair Matka is the fascinating Egypt. This destination offers everything from historical sights to sunny beaches and shopping opportunities at the bazaars.
The Finnish market is very important for us and Egypt is very committed to the Finnish market. Finnish tourists have long traditions visiting Egypt. There is a lot of variety in Egypt for different type of holiday makers – for the active holiday makers, culture enthusiastics, sport fans, especially for golfers, and of course for those who just want to enjoy the beach life and water sports and diving. We are only 5 hours flight away from Finland with a guaranteed sun all year around, says Dr Mohamed Atta Elsherbeiny, who is the Director of the Egypt’s Tourism Office in Nordic and Baltic countries.
“We are happy to have Egypt as our next partner country. The position of a partner country is very significant at the Nordic Travel Fair Matka and this cooperation also shows Egypt’s dedication to the Finnish travel industry, state both CEO Heli Maki-Franti from the Association of Finnish Travel Agents (AFTA) and Sales Team Manager Lumia Ankkuri from Messukeskus, Expo and Convention Centre Helsinki,” said organiser company, Messukeskus.
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.
