Recession not yet being felt in Helsinki tourism

The deepening recession has not yet had a great deal of impact on tourism in Helsinki. Only the number of business travellers arriving into the Finnish capital is anticipated to fall from previous years.
      “The same number of cruise ships as last year is expected to arrive in Helsinki this year as well”, explains Pirkko Nyman, Tourist Director at the City of Helsinki.
      Last year some 360,000 cruise vessel tourists visited the Finnish capital.
     
Furthermore, when it comes to the tourism industry, Helsinki has won a jackpot: the 19th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases that Helsinki will host in May 2009 will attract in excess of 6,000 foreign visitors.
      Another large congress will follow in June 2010, when the European Society of Anaesthesiology will convene in Helsinki.
     
The recession will not have a large effect on the number of organisational congresses such as these, but the number of participants to the events may drop slightly.
      “There will be fewer business travellers, who at the moment constitute half of the visitors. The loss will be levelled out to a certain extent by domestic tourists as well as by visitors from the nearby regions such as Russia and Estonia”, Nyman estimates.
      Only from the beginning of 2010 will the loss of tourism throughput start showing up more clearly, Nyman believes.
     
To attract new visitors, both Helsinki and the neighbouring Espoo have renewed their web sites.
      Helsinki’s new Traveller’s Guide has been translated into eleven different languages and the new Nordic Oddity guidebook is geared specifically towards the more trend-conscious visitors.
      Furthermore, the Art Nouveau (Jugendstil) architecture brochure has also been updated.
      Helsinki’s main Tourist Information Office, which is currently undergoing major renovations, will open again at Pohjoisesplanadi 19 in March.
      There are quite a few upcoming anniversaries in the capital area this year: The Seurasaari outdoor recreation area and folk museum turns 120 years, and Heureka Science Centre 20 years.
      Helsinki’s revamped webpages can be found at the address below.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Helsinki looking forward to record-breaking summer cruise season (8.5.2008)
  Recession to spread into Helsinki only gradually and via services (23.12.2008)

Links:
  Visit Helsinki
  Visit Espoo