Tourism Survey 2019: Finns long for local culture and authentic experiences
According to the tourism survey conducted by the Matka Nordic Travel Fair in 2019, travelling Finns are particularly interested in relaxing, and experiencing local culture and everyday life. When travelling, Finns are responsible and follow instructions, and respect the customs of the destinations. The 2019 tourism survey by the Matka Nordic Travel Fair explored Finns’ reasons for travelling and their opinions on travel. Matka Nordic Travel Fair 2019 will be open to the public at Messukeskus in Helsinki from 18 to 20 January 2019.
Relaxation and local culture, thank you!
When travelling, Finns are interested in experiencing local culture and everyday life, rather than staying in and around their hotel. They also find local shops more interesting than large shopping centres or shopping opportunities at their hotels. Some 62% of the respondents said that they prefer to visit lesser-known places over popular tourist destinations, and 75% said they prefer to eat at street-food establishments rather than in famous restaurants.
People primarily travel for rest and relaxation, and more than 60% of the respondents prefer holiday trips that last for more than one week. Some 84% of the respondents prefer to keep their work and holiday trips separate, instead of combining them.
“At the moment, Finns are particularly interested in experiencing local culture. This shows, for example, in them shopping at local shops and markets. Everyday experiences, local customs, and food at street kitchens and small restaurants – these are the things that Finns want when travelling”, says Anne Lahtinen, research manager at Kantar TNS.
Finns are responsible tourists – but not interested in the protection of their rights as consumers
When travelling, the majority of Finns favour local service providers, such as hotels and restaurants. Many also reduce the tourism load on destinations by travelling outside the busiest season. Indeed, Finnish tourists are responsible and follow instructions, and respect the customs of the local culture.
Responsibility in air travel, in the form of buying carbon credits, has only recently gained ground. Only 9% of the respondents said that they had bought carbon credits for their flights. More information is needed, as 18% of the respondents to the same question said that they do not know whether they have paid for carbon credits for their flights.
Neither has the information about the new EU-wide package-travel regulation, which came into force in July 2018, really impressed itself on travelling Finns yet. Approximately 60% of the respondents had not previously heard about or couldn’t say if they had heard about the legislation regarding travellers’ rights. However, awareness has increased, as the previous year’s figure was 79%.
“With the new package-travel legislation, both the EU and national legislators have aimed to extend economic and contractual protection to cover more and more travellers and trips. The tourism industry has been actively involved in this development, so that travellers can make informed decisions when buying trips. In this sense, it is unfortunate that as many as 55% of the respondents do not believe that the travel-package legislation affects their travel reservation habits, or are not interested in the matter or have no opinion on it”, says Heli Mäki-Fränti, managing director at the Association of Finnish Travel Agents, AFTA.
Inspired by friends’ social media updates and advertisements by tour operators, airlines and hotels
The travel decisions and travel inspiration of Finnish people are most influenced by the travel experiences of friends or acquaintances. The second most important inspiration for travel is the advertisements of tour operators, airlines and hotels. Women in particular received inspiration from a variety of different sources. Young people under 25 years of age were inspired by their friends’ updates and images on the social media, and one third of the respondents got their travel inspiration from content they saw on social media channels, such as Instagram photographs, blogs or YouTube videos.
For the most part, the decision about a leisure trip is made by the travellers themselves. The older people become, the more they listen to their spouses or partners when making travel decisions. Women more often than men make travel decisions themselves, or by listening to their parents or children, while men more often adapt to decisions made by their spouse or partner.
More information and survey results:
Matka Nordic Travel Fair, communications manager Eva Kiviranta, tel. +358 40 775 6609, eva.kiviranta@messukeskus.com
Kantar TNS, research manager Anne Lahtinen, tel. +358 50 560 3186, anne.lahtinen@kantar.com
Tourism Survey 2019 by the Matka Nordic Travel Fair. Implemented by Kantar TNS. The survey target group consisted of over-18-year-old people from Finland, excluding the Åland Islands. A total of 1,236 people answered the survey in December 2018.
Matka Nordic Travel Fair, the largest travel fair in the Nordic countries, will be held from 16 to 20 January 2019 at Messukeskus in Helsinki. The international sales event Matka Workshop Day will kick off the Matka Nordic Travel Fair on 16 January. On 17 January, the fair will be open to professionals only. The fair will be open to the public from 18 to 20 January 2019. To be held concurrently with the Matka Nordic Travel Fair is the Helsinki Caravan fair. | www.matkamessut.fi | www.facebook.com/matkamessut | @matkatravelfair | #matka2019 |
