Nordic Travel Fair Matka 2008
Opening Session 17 January
Address by Dr Paavo Väyrynen, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development
Check against delivery
Finland is cool
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me welcome you all warmly to the Nordic Travel Fair Matka 2008. Perhaps you did not know but Nordic Travel Fair Matka is the biggest travelling event in Northern Europe. Last year there were nearly 86.000 visitors. This year we also have a record number of countries, which are participating Nordic Travel Fair Matka, nearly 80 countries. These numbers show that you are in the right place at the right time.
Finns are eager to travel abroad and we receive growing numbers of foreign visitors. Most of them come from Europe, from Sweden, Germany, Russia and the UK, but there is a strong growth of travellers to Finland from China, India and South-Korea. Also Finns are making longer trips than before. Our tourism has traditionally been concentrated to the Mediterranean, but nowadays more and more people are travelling to destinations outside Europe, especially to the Far East.
Tourism is today an important industry in many countries, also in Finland. It employs a lot of people especially in some regions. But how does the future of tourism industry look like?
Globalisation is increasing travelling all over the world when people and businesses think and act globally. Globalisation is improving the standard of living in many developing countries giving people economic resources to travel and see the world. In some other developing countries tourism is one of the most promising areas for economic growth, employment and prosperity. And we have to assist them in developing their tourism industry in a sustainable way.
But at the same time globalisation has increased our awareness of the global limits of growth. We should be able to conserve energy and use it effectively. We should limit our carbon dioxide emissions, in particular. Air traffic is not the worst source of carbon emissions, but it is growing fast. For that reason the EU has decided to include air traffic into the carbon trading system. Increased taxes on air travel are planned, as well. How are these measures going to influence the tourism industry?
I am convinced that tourism is going to continue it's growth. The values of life are changing. People are going to give a higher priority to the kind of experiences travelling is offering them. Higher air fares are only part of the price of the whole travel package.
Higher flight prices are certainly going to change the relative competitiveness of different forms of tourism and different destinations. Domestic markets, for example, might have a better competitive edge.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Many of you are trying to seduce us Finns to travel abroad, to your country, and to enjoy your services.
Many of you have an excellent asset in your climate. Finns want to go to warm and sunny places especially during our cold and dark season from early autumn to early spring. Many of you can offer also lucrative city environments with historical and architectual sites and cultural services.
Finland has also tried to develop slogans in order to market her services.
Last year Finland Promotion Board chose a selection of some key words, some attributes, which describe Finland well. There are four c's and these four c-words are Creative, Credible, Contrast and Cool.
As you all know, this is what we are, creative and credible - and let me add: modest.
We have strong contrasts, especially between the four seasons – at least in Northern and Eastern Finland.
And we are cool: our weather is not too hot and our country is nice and trendy – “cool” as the younger generation would say.
Let me elaborate this point a little more.
Finns are heading to the South when it is too cold and dark in our own country.
Many people living in the Mediterranean, in the Middle East, in India, in southern China and in many other places are looking for a cool place when it is too hot in their home countries. This is a period of time when our skiing resorts are empty and idle, luxury hotels and their services totally unused. During the summer time the nature in the North is at its best. We certainly have some mosquitoes, but they are friendly to foreigners and they do not spread any malaria.
So, here we have an excellent market for travel agencies to organise charter flights and individual travel packages from the hot spots of the world to the cool and trendy Finland! I am sure that the companies in the hotel business would be happy to offer their services and help the visitors to enjoy our Northern nature and culture. In the summer time we can offer interesting experiences, when Finns are living the most active part of their yearly life.
Some guests might think that Lapland is sometimes even too cool. To them we can tell a story about a tourist who was all the time complaining about the cold summer weather in Lapland. A local man calmly responded: “It is true that our summer is a little bit cold but fortunatelly it is so short”.
To be serious: Lapland is not that cold. Many times Lapland has had the highest temperatures in Europe – close to 30 center grades. But that is cool for those who have 40 or 50 at home.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
So, like I said earlier, today we are in the right place. I hope that you will have many visitors. I also hope that you are able to create contacts and make contracts with each other.
I wish you all a very enjoyable Travel Fair 2008! It is my great pleasure to declare Matka 2008 opened!
Thank you for your attention.
