Slovenia hosts the board of directors of the Association of Finnish Travel Agencies in Ljubljana on 11 and 12 June

Friday 12 June 2009 saw the conclusion of a two-day working meeting of the board of directors of one of the most powerful tourism associations in Scandinavia, the Association of Finnish Travel Agencies (AFTA), which brings together over 150 prominent members from the Finnish tourist industry (tour operators, travel agencies, airlines, etc.).

The meeting was also attended by the organisers of the event in Slovenia, the Slovenian Tourist Board and Kompas d.d. In a statement for the Delo newspaper, the president of AFTA and director of OK-Matkat Vlasta Sipponen said that Finnish tourism is in a good state but that the sharpest fall is being noted in the MICE sector, while traditional holiday packages are selling better.

In Finland too, the global economic crisis has made cost-cutting necessary at all levels (including marketing, staff training, etc.), along with the elimination of unprofitable destinations or a careful selection of new or existing destinations. Ms Sipponen emphasised the importance of pricing policy and more aggressive marketing campaigns for tourist destinations, while highlighting the good presence of Slovenia on the Finnish market this year. She added that one of the key priorities this year for AFTA, in other words for Finnish tour operators, agencies and airlines, involves the interconnection of partners in the travel chain and the identifying of synergies.

At the AFTA meeting the Slovenian Tourist Board held bilateral talks with Finnair and restated its willingness to cooperate in full with the objective of maintaining a year-round (including winter) connection between Ljubljana and Helsinki through the Finnish carrier.

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