5 best travel inspirations from MATKA Nordic Travel Fair 2018

Travelbug just bit me so hard! I was two days in the MATKA Nordic Travel Fair in Helsinki and I feel so overwhelmed because I want to travel everywhere. There were so many fancy destinations presented that I don’t know how can I decide where to go next.

MATKA Nordic Travel Fair is the biggest travel fair in the Nordic countries and it takes place in Helsinki every January. In total the event lasts five days. First day is a workshop day for travel professionals, the second day is open only for professionals to see the travel fair and the last three days are open for public. In Finland many families wait for this event to book their trips since travel companies want to give good deals during the travel fair (though many tour operators now advertise the same offers on the internet). There are a lot of flight offers and package offers available. But most importantly: Finns love to go to this fair to get inspired, learn about new destinations and dream of traveling.

Meeting new people 🙂

Best of MATKA 2018

I want to praise here the exhibitors that left the best impression on me:

1. Philippines

The woman on the Philippines booth, Gladys, was purely amazing! She planned the whole itinerary with me for my ideal two weeks’ stay in the Philippines. She knew so much about the dive sites and hidden beaches that I was really impressed. Not only was she no doubt a real professional but she was the sweetest woman I met during the fair.

Go Philippines!

2. Dominican Republic

I want to first praise the exhibit itself that Dominican Republic had. It was constructed with every inch of space well used but still gave a spacious impression. The stand was colorful and vibrant like the Dominican Republic. They also had dancers lifting up the Caribbean vibes. The personnel on the stand was very professional and they gave many great tips on where to go and what to see on my upcoming trip. (Whoops, spoiler! Haha.)

Professional, beautiful and colorful!

Beautiful dancers from Dominican Republic – and me, haha

3. Finnair and Finnair Holidays

I really liked the big screens, open concept and good lighting that Finnair’s stand had. And not forgetting the cool photo walls that took you into the mood of traveling. The travel fair was really crowded especially on Saturday when all the families were there so I really appreciated the spacious exhibit that Finnair had put up.

4. Poland

I went to the Poland’s exhibit and told the guy that I don’t know much about Poland but I’d like to learn about it. I got a very good presentation on the different cities of Poland and the characteristics of them. I also got tips for the flight carriers how to fly there and in which places to stay. The guy was just amazing!

Tea from Sri Lanka!

5. Grenada

A very humble, small stand among other Caribbean destinations. Sharon behind the desk was passionate about her country and was such a marvelous talker that she even made Finns do a bit of small talk! Did you know, that Grenada has an underwater sculpture park? I didn’t. But now I know that and many other interesting sights about the island.

From a travel blogger’s perspective the travel fair is a great place to meet the tourism professionals and get contact with the representatives of different countries. I enjoyed my travel fair experience and feel like this was the perfect start for the year to start dreaming of traveling.

Trying to locate myself 😀

Photos by Ari Ojanperä