Save the date: ‘NORDIC EXPOSED’ WORKSHOPS FOR AGENTS IN OCTOBER 2009
March 20 2009
The 2009 ‘Nordic Exposed’ workshops presented by the Scandinavian Tourist Board, Scandinavian Airlines and VisitFinland will be held in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney in the first week of October with the theme ‘Four Seasons and a 1000 reasons to visit Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden’ highlighting the exciting year round experiences the Nordic Region has to offer Australian visitors.
The workshops are an excellent opportunity for travel agents to gain the latest information on the destination firsthand, with many key operators from Australia and the Nordic countries, expected to participate.
“The Nordic region is, home to four incredibly rich and diverse seasons – from long summer days and nights to beautiful autumns, magical snowy winters and the wonder of spring as the forests and gardens come alive with flora and fauna,” VisitFinland marketing representative Satu Raunola said.
“The Nordic region is truly a unique part of Europe. From dog sledding with the Sami in the far north to island-hopping in the east, from cruising the fjords of the west to visiting royal castles in the south, the four countries offer a diverse year-round smorgasbord for any visitor “says Susanne Carpenter, Marketing Representative for Scandinavian Tourist Board.
A total of 179,867 overnight stays were registered in 2008 – an 11.6 per cent increase on 2007.
“All the Nordic countries – Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden – saw an increase in visitors from the Australian market last year. Sweden lead the way with a huge jump of 19.7 per cent to 48,790 overnights and Finland was close behind with a 17.2 per cent increase to 48,282 in overnights. Norway also grew – up 8.4 per cent to 45,118 visitors – and Denmark up 1.2 per cent to 37,677 visitors,” Carpenter said.
“The Nordic region is an exceptional destination and one being discovered by Australians clearly in ever-increasing numbers, so we are confident the demand for 2009/10 will continue to be strong” Carpenter said.
The ‘Nordic Exposed’ workshops will be held in Brisbane on Monday October 5, Melbourne on Tuesday October 6 and in Sydney on Wednesday October 7. Venues and times are to be announced.