Finland successfully increases congress tourism income to 117m. euros a year.
The Finland Convention Bureau (FCB) monitors the experiences of people attending international conferences in Finland every three years. This has been implemented in co-operation with Taloustutkimus since 1986. In 2013, a total of 662 international conferences took place in Finland, garnering a combined total of 71,761 attendees. This was the best year ever in terms of the number of conferences held. The average number of attendees to a congress was 108.
According to the “Delegaattitutkimus 2013” survey, implemented in co-operation with Taloustutkimus, each conference attendee spent 356 euros per day, including trips. In total, congress tourism provided Finland with 117 million euros in 2013. In the previous survey (2010), this figure was 72 million euros. This marks an increase of 63%.
The Helsinki region is the location for more than half of international congresses in Finland, but major events also take place all year round in all of Finland’s largest towns. The ski resort of Levi was a surprise last year: its number of attendees was close to those of the big towns.
FCB convention manager Leena Sipila is happy with the survey results and the increase in tourism income.
“Getting even one major congress in Finland requires years of work and close co-operation between everyone involved”, says Sipila. “It is not easy, but Finland’s particular strengths mentioned in the survey include safety and being easy to reach.”
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
