Felicity Long
There is more to Finland than Helsinki and Santa Claus, and VisitFinland is working harder than ever to get out that message.
In 2017, for the first time, the organizers of Matka, the Nordic region's largest trade travel fair, extended invitations to members of the international press in an effort to introduce them to some 1,000 exhibitors who were on hand for the showcase, which promotes all Scandinavian destinations but is heavily focused on Finland.
I was among those invited to that event last month at the Messukeskus Helsinki convention center, and I learned quite a bit about the host country. For one thing, Finland is already on the radar screen of an increasing number of Americans. In fact, 2016 saw a 14% jump in arrivals from the U.S. over 2015, according to Heli Mende, head of global sales and promotion for VisitFinland.
In fact, last year marked the first time the U.S. has broken into the country's top 10 source markets, she said.
Finnair is doing its part to draw even more visitors from the U.S., launching nonstop, seasonal service from San Francisco to Helsinki starting in June, adding to its existing service from Chicago, New York and Miami.
The carrier is also promoting its stopover packages, its service to Lapland and other parts of Finland and its connectivity to Asia. Finnair also is playing up its swanky business class, complete with individual, lie-flat pod seats, Marimekko blankets and toiletry bags and Finnish cuisine.
Meanwhile, the Helsinki airport is keeping up with increased arrivals some 10 million in 2016, not bad for a country of only 5 million by expanding its footprint and services with an eye to being able to serve 20 million passengers by 2020.
As for reasons to visit Finland, I learned at Matka that the country is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its independence from Russia. There are numerous centennial events on tap this year, including exhibitions and musical events.
Helsinki and Lapland are the two most frequently visited areas, according to Mende, and while both offer plenty of enticements, the tourist office is keen to promote two other destinations this year: the Turku archipelago, which boasts an astonishing 20,000 islands along the country's west coast and is accessible via a ferry system, and the lake region, with its many water sports and sauna culture.
Summer is high season in both of those areas, while winter season is fairly robust in Lapland, thanks to the northern lights and Santa Claus, whose official home is said to have been in Rovaniemi, a city near the Arctic Circle.
As for Helsinki, the cold weather can be a deterrent for some visitors in low season, but it was obvious to me during my January visit that this is a city whose inhabitants are skilled at enjoying themselves in winter and keeping the darkness at bay.
Buildings, including hotels and meetings venues, are designed with huge windows to let in the maximum amount of light; streets are emblazoned with sparkly lights to brighten the surroundings; and restaurants and bars are tricked out with every manner of illumination.
Locals are proud of their restaurant culture, as they should be, given that Finland falls squarely under the umbrella of great Nordic dining. Although locals credit Denmark, and most specifically Copenhagen, for putting Nordic food on the map, the Finns have taken the concept and run with it.
To underscore the focus on cuisine, we were served lunch of local specialties prepared by contestants in the Finnish Chef of the Year competition; semifinals were held at Matka, with the finals slated for April.
We also learned of the winner in a poll to select a new national food. Rye bread beat out other favorites, such as pea soup, fish soup, bilberry pie, fried vendance (a locally caught white fish) and Karelian hot pot (a beef and pork stew) in a survey that was promoted by the ELO Foundation for the Promotion of Finnish Food Culture and attracted 50,000 voters. Rye bread might sound like a tame choice, but word to those of us who prefer low-carb dining: resistance is futile.
Correction: In 2017, Finland will celebrate its 100th anniversary of independence Russia, not Sweden as this article originally stated. The country was part of Sweden since the 13th century, but then an autonomous Russian state until 1917.