11/11/20

Caroline Beaton-MoscatelliMarket representative | UK & IEVisit Finland | Business Finland

United KingdomTravel insights

Finland’s image as a travel destination in UKBrand Tracking survey 2019

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5

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Spain

Franc

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lyUS

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Germ

any

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ce

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Icelan

d

Portu

gal

Cana

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Croa

tia

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rland

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Austr

alia UK

Denm

arkJap

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Polan

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Zeala

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Irelan

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Finlan

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Belgi

umAu

stria

Thail

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Switz

erlan

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6th

8th9th

16th21st

Base: Total Sample (1,200)

When asked spontaneously which countries are considered as a holiday destination in the next three years, Finland falls behind its Nordic competitors and is ranked in 21st place.

Spontaneous Destination Consideration

Q2. SPONTANEOUS CONSIDERATION DESTINATIONWhich countries would you consider for a holiday or short break over the next three years? Please include up to 10 countries 4

Finland falls clearly behind the other Nordic countries in spontaneous consideration

5Q9 BMNPlease take a few moments to think about . Please tell us everything that pops into your mind when you think of as a tourist destination.

Country Mental Network - Finland

Snow and Nature elements come through strongly among spontaneous associations with Finland in the UK

Base: Consideration Set: Finland (809)

To note: the word ‘cold’ has been removed from the word clouds, in order to see more detailed associations with Finland

A place where you can see the

northern lights

Beautiful scenery, ability to get close to the nature and

wilderness, guaranteed winter snow

Christmas and winter breaks. Fish, cold weather, the outdoors.

Breath-taking snowscapes, lots of adventure and activities such as skiing, kayaking. Very cold climate and land of

the midnight sun.

Cold - I think of snow, dark winters, pine forests, northern

lights. Expensive but egalitarian society. Unique language.

Visiting Santa!

Very cold country, lots of saunas, lots of snow and winter sports like skiing,

Helsinki

To see Father Christmas in December and the Northern lights. Again. a place to see the natural sights of the

country but also expensive.

Scenic, unspoiled, ecologically sound

and friendly

Travel related searchesDigital Demand 2019

Source: D2 Digital Demand

Internet searches • 353 300 travel-related Internet searches concerning Finland in 2019• +39% compared to previous year

British travellers’

0 10 000 20 000 30 000 40 000 50 000 60 000 70 000

Places to Visit

Visit

Tourism

Cities

Things to Do

Skiing

Santa Claus

Igloos Ice Hotels

Northern Lights

Holiday Packages

UK Top Microbrandtags2018 2019

+35%

+31%

+70%

+20%

+47%

+33%

+34%

+77%

+65%

-1%

Increase of 4.000+ searches for Lakes, Camping, Natural Wonders each

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20 000

30 000

40 000

50 000

60 000

70 000

Jan

Feb

Mar Ap

r Ju

n Jul

Sep

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Dec

2018 2019

United Kingdom Series “The Apprentice-BBC

One”

British overnights in the Nordic countries & in FinlandStatistics Service Rudolf, Statistics FinlandStatistics Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland

569 300

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900 000

1 000 000

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Development of British overnights 2009-2019

Denmark

Finland

Norway

Sweden

Iceland

UK: Yearly overnights in the Nordic countries

Sources: Visit Finland Statistics Service Rudolf, Statistics Finland,Statistics Denmark, Statistics Norway, Statistics Sweden and Statistics Iceland

Finland no. 1 in winter travel 3.7M

overnights in total

Sources: Visit Finland Statistics Service Rudolf, Statistics Finland

British overnights in Finland

Share of overnights by regions 2019

33% 7% 6% 54%

Year 2019

569 300 overnights in total3rd in country rankings

with a 8% share of foreign overnights

Average change 2000-2019: +3%

Change 2019 compared to 2000: +55%

14 % 2 % 2 %10 % -2 % 3 %

14 %8 %

6 %

-15 %

-13 % -4 % 4 %

12 % -2 %6 %

6 %

17 % 1 %

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2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

14 % 2 % 2 %10 %-2 % 3 %

14 %8 %

6 %

-15 %

-13 %-4 % 4 %12 %-2 %

6 %6 %

17 % 1 % -4 %

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Winter (12-02) Spring (03-05) Summer (06-08) Autumn (09-11)

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Seasonality of British overnights in Finland (pre-covid19)

Source: Visit Finland Statistics Service Rudolf, Statistics Finland

British overnights count for 16% of all foreign overnights in Finland and 27% in Lapland during winter season (UK no.1 in country ranking)

* In Dec 2019, nearly every 4thforeign overnight in Finland (and nearly 40% in Lapland) was spent by British travellers

UK no. 4 in country ranking

UK no. 6 in country ranking

UK no. 5 in country ranking

Summary of VF surveys and statistics - UK• According to Visit Finland Brand tracking survey conducted in 2019, consideration to visit Finland was clearly behind the other

Nordic countries.

• Snow, winter and nature elements come through strongly among spontaneous associations with Finland in the UK

• Travel-related internet searches of Finland increased by 39% in 2019 compared to the previous year

• Holiday packages was clearly the most searched theme, but also winter themes, like northern lights, igloos ice hotels, Santa Claus and skiing were popular in searches. In addition, lakes, camping, natural wonders were themes gaining clearly more interest than during the previous year.

• Interest towards Iceland, Denmark and Sweden increased very rapidly early 2010’s onwards. However, when Finland experienced a strong growth in British overnights in 2017, the trend for the other Nordic countries stabilized or turned even downward, which was the case for Iceland and Norway. The growth for Finland came especially for growing interest towards winter holidays in Lapland, and thus Finland has been clearly the most popular travel destination among the Nordics during the winter season.

• Nearly 60% of British yearly overnights in Finland were registered in high winter season in 2019, and UK was clearly the biggest country of origin during the winter. Even though, the number of British overnights in Finland during the other seasons fall far behind those of winter, UK was still among the top six countries of origin in all seasons.

Most popular Visit Finland website content during June-October 2020

Popular Visit Finland articles summer & autumn 2020 - UK

Source:Visit Finland

Popular Articles on visitfinland.com during summer 2020:• Practical Information for Travelers to Finland

during Corona Pandemic• Doze off under the Northern Lights• 10 best things to do in Finland• 10 Must Experience Ski Resorts in Finland• On the Hunt for the Northern Lights• Midsummer – Go Peaceful or Go Party• Iconic Finnish Foods of All Time• Land of the Midnight Sun• 21 reasons to love Finland• What are the Finns like?

During the summer months British visitors were mostly interested in Northern Lights and even Ski resorts but Midnight sun and Midsummer were of interest as well.

During this autumn the interest has otherwise stayed the same but the Ski Resort article has gained more popularity and ’Meet Santa Claus’ is now in top 5, Top Sauna tips has also reached the top list.

UK - Current Travel Situation & Actions in the Market

UK - Current Situation: Tier system vs Total Lockdown

UK - Travel Industry Update• Corridors exempt from 14 day quarantine rule. Germany, Denmark and Sweden taken off beginning November will result in

bookings being cancelled and rebooked from those destinations

• Countries exempt from the 14 day quarantine are proving popular. Hays Travel reported a jump of 754% between 20-21 October when the government announced the Canary Islands was on the exempt list

• Airlines faced with disruption – Finnair announced 8th November, they have cancelled all direct flights from London Gatwick this season and Norwegian in an insecure position with financial cuts

• Travel agents are working from home with the new lockdown all travel agencies had to shut

• Furlough scheme (where companies pay staff 80% of wages) came to an end 31st October only to be extended last week to 31stMarch 2021. This is positive for travel companies riding out the stormy year and important for staying afloat

• Most operators have had no choice but to cancel holidays over 72 hours to Finland for DecemberOperators are still getting enquiries for December and will be last minute, an announcement would be welcome to guarantee UK arrivals to Finland

• Operators have cancelled Santa and winter programmes – FIT bookings been postponed and some operators concentrating on Spring and Summer travel

• Companies and agents more optimistic for 2021/22 and with more testing available and vaccine in place

UK – Visit Finland Actions in the Market 2020 Ongoing• Regular enquiries, communications, meetings and training on demand to the UK travel industry • Proactive Business development for Finland for new companies• Online Visit Finland travel training via 2 top UK platforms (Incentive ‘Love 2 Shop’ vouchers)• Board Director of Antor in the UK with regular meetings, support, seminars from top UK travel• Team Finland work with Business Finland, Embassy, Institute, FBCC

Most Recent • Visit Finland took part in some luxury UK showcases and 1-2-1 meetings October – over 300 travel

companies and agents presented to• Inteletravel agent training – over 1100 trained• Hotel plan JMA for sales 2021/22• PR – Close collaboration tour operators – 72 hours in Finland piece 8/11

Upcoming• Virtual Meeting and Incentive showcase in December with Gin tasting supplied by Arctic Blue Gin

Finland• Virtual Destination workshop for those who signed up for this years WTM Sunborn workshop• Nordic Fair Finland focus – with other Nordic countries, TF - sauna, Finnish food, drink, traditions• 2021 annual plan - Planning and preparing

UK outlook for post-covid19 travel trends and traveller needs

UK – Future Outlook • Consumer confidence falls to 101.3 (-1.1), ending five months of gains (yougov)

• Outlook for household finances worsens by 5.6 points as increasing parts of the country are now in lockdown (yougov)

• Two thirds of Brits (64%) are willing to take a coronavirus test at the airport when returning to the UK. This might soon be reality, with the Government indicating that trials could start at Heathrow in weeks. But previous delays with testing and

the Track and Trace programme suggest it’s still too early to celebrate.

• Londoners are more confident, with a fifth (19%) expecting to go abroad in the next six months. Social grade matters too:

14% of ABC1s, who tend to be professionals, have travel plans

• Last minute bookings –It seems that Britons were relying on last minute bookings in October, with booking share for trips in 0-1 days rising to approximately 36% from around 30% in September according from new data (Trivago)

• Corridor Countries Exempt from Quarantine and testing – In October 1,000 UK travellers took part in a new poll on

Skyscanner.net, asking them which changes would build confidence and encourage 78% said halving the quarantine

time from 14 to 7 days would make them more likely to travel abroad to certain countries.

UK – What makes Brits feel Safe?

UK – SPIKE’s Summary

• 66% of responders want to spend the same or more on travel in 2021 than they did in 2019

• 70% say their financial position for the next 12 months will stay the same or get bettero 25% say it will get a little worseo Only 3% say it with get much worse

• 86% think people like them will possibly or probably be taking short haul holidays next year

• 51% think people like them will possibly or probably be taking long haul holidays next year

British Travel Habits Euromonitor International Lifestyle Surveys, 2020

• Fear of contracting the virus as well as the anticipated economic recession has dampened enthusiasm for overseas travel and holidays. However, demand for domestic self-catering holidays has surged as consumers look for safe ways to enjoy a family vacation. Countryside and coastal holiday homes are also being sought for longer stays of up to 12 weeks by people looking to get away from it all.

• Although city breaks are very popular (25% of survey respondents prefer this type of trip, versus 12% globally), vacationers will avoid visiting urban centres until they can be sure that the pandemic is under control.

• Nearly half of consumers reported taking 1-3 international leisure trips a year (pre-covid), and 7% taking 4 or more.

Immersion in local culture

(15%)

Arts & heritage

(19%)

City breaks and

Quality of food & dining

(22-25%)

Safe destination

(33%)

British Travel Habits

Source: Euromonitor International Lifestyle Surveys, 2020

Most important travel destination activities

Nature & outdoor activities

(21%)

Most important travel destination features Relaxation(33%)

UK – Top Travel Trends for 2021• Nature & Wilderness – wide open spaces in nature, outdoor experiences, well being

attract anxious Brits tired of lockdown and working from home and living in denselypopulated towns and cities. Finland has the wide open spaces and abundant forests, lakes, archipelago, national parks, wildlife

• Eco conscious travellers – those wanting to protect the planet by taking greener flights,train travel, ferries, electric bikes, go to less crowded cities unlike busy Barcelona andRome, more regional trips, glamping, motorhomes, camping or green hotels

• Affordable Luxury – ‘Rebound Travel’ ,Brits who have not been affected financially and less overheads on commuting, dining out, socialising who are looking for bucket listdestinations, exclusive products, stunning scenery, deserted beaches, culture, wellnesswith some attractive discounts to entice customers

• Authentic Experiences - When it comes to authentic tourism, travellers also want to leavea positive footprint – to give something back (Globetrender). Immerse themselves in local community and culture of the destination

Sources: Responsible Travel, Rough Guide, Globetrender, TTG media, Travel Daily News, Wanderlust, Skyscanner

Source: TRAVEL 2040 - Sustainability and Digital Transformation as Recovery Drivers , Euromonitor July 2020

• Travel brands and destinations will need to become more consumer-centric to ensure their customers and staff feel safe and secure as the phased recovery begins

• Emphasize the digital services along the journey – dreaming phase, clear and easily accessible information about hygienic safety and services at destination, flexible and easy-to-understand terms on reservation and purchase

• Listen to the customer and learn how the traveller needs are changing

à Focusing on the customer and ensuring reliable, transparent, sustainable services – value for money!

Going towards the new normalGlobal outlook

Entering the “next normal”

Ø Interest towards the Nordic countries was on the rise already pre-covid, and the image of spaciousness / room to roam and pure, beautiful nature are most likely to increase the interest even further

Ø After lockdowns and restrictions, Brits are looking for new authentic experiences, wellbeing through nature as well as tailor-made services

Ø Nature traveller and comfort segments are growing

Great new opportunities also for Finland!

Global outlook

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