The Finnish

Can’t believe the trip for the broads abroad has come to an end. We loved our trip, and we hope you enjoy our last blog.

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Our professors on our amazing trip! Thank you for everything you planned. 

After our time in Estonia we were ready to see what Finland had to offer. We took a 2 hour cruise ship ride to Helsinki. Helsinki greeted us with the weather we had been expecting the whole trip, time to use those scarves we packed! We checked into our hotel, the Radisson Blu. We checked out our room on the magical 6th floor. The main elevator did not take you to the sixth floor, we had to take a separate elevator behind the bar. Now this is a room you imagine when you think European hotel. A room so small that there isn’t even a closet, just hooks on the wall. We enjoyed the breakfast at the hotel, very fresh and set up like you were in someone’s home. In the basement you could find a small gym and sauna. The sauna was open in the evenings for guests to use. Helsinki was an exciting city and there truly is no bad location for a hotel. We were able to walk to shops, and easily use public transportation. Unlike other hotels where we would notice many tour groups, at this hotel we saw numerous pilots and stewardesses check in and out of our hotel. Overall this hotel offered great customer service, offering guests free coffee, tea and sweet treats in the later afternoon. On our last day of this trip many of us had early flights and the hotel was so kind to put out coffee and snacks for us to grab on our way out.

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Outside the historic Helsinki Cathedral

According to Invest in Finland, the Finnish Travel and Tourism sector offers everything required for doing successful business: a dynamic business climate, a clean and unique environment, and a society that is both safe and internationalised. The number of foreign visitors in Finland has increased significantly during recent years. According to forecasts by the World Travel Tourism Council (WTTC), the total demand for travel in Finland will grow by 33.7% between 2006 and 2016. Currently comprising only 2.4% of GDP, Finland’s travel sector has great potential for growth, (the EU average is 6%).fin fin2

In 2015, Hotels in Finland recorded about 19.8 million overnight stays, of which domestic tourists accounted for 14.2 million and foreign tourists for 5.5 million. The foreign demand for hospitality services went down by 3.5%, while the domestic demand grew by 1.1% compared with the previous year. Total demand for hospitality services declined by only 0.2% in 2015. The largest markets for overnight stays were the neighbouring countries of Russia and Sweden, followed by Germany and the United Kingdom. Overnight stays by Chinese visitors increased most in 2015. They spent approximately 182,000 nights in Finland, which was 41.3% more than in 2014.

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Southern Finland and the archipelago are the number one area for most tourists (63 % of overnights). The Lakeland area has become increasingly attractive over the years (17 % of overnights). Finnish Lapland has maintained its popularity (21 % of overnights).