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Helsinki Travel Seminar 2025
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Helsinki Travel Seminar 2025 – The Moment for Tourism is Now!

The City of Helsinki invites all tourism operators to the annual Helsinki Travel Seminar on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, from 8:30 AM to 2:00 PM. The event will be held live in the beautifully renovated Finlandia Hall. Register for Helsinki's most important tourism event of the year by April 30.

Once again, an interesting and diverse array of current speeches is in store. The theme of the day is the future and the growth of Helsinki tourism – the moment for tourism is now! Significant investments have been made in tourism, giving Helsinki excellent potential for sustainable growth. At the same time, the tourism operating environment is perhaps in greater upheaval than ever before. The industry must navigate globally in a very uncertain geopolitical and economic situation. The prevailing situation challenges the entire industry to think in new ways.

A group of top speakers will take the stage, including Finnair's CEO Turkka Kuusisto, Nordic West Office's CEO Charly Salonius-Pasternak, and Scandic Hotels Group's President & CEO Jens Mathiesen. The keynote speech will be given by international top speaker, serial entrepreneur, and futurist Ed Gillespie. Ed is outspoken, funny, and challenging to the audience, being unwaveringly honest about the current chaotic world we live in. He has an amazing ability to express what most of the audience is thinking but often cannot say out loud. Ed has given hundreds of speeches around the world, including several TEDx talks.

The day's host will be journalist and author Matti Rönkä.

Warm welcome!

Nina Vesterinen
Tourism Director, City of Helsinki

 

PROGRAM

8.30 Registration, with morning coffee and a refreshing smoothie
9.00 Welcome! Matti Rönkä
9.10 The current state of Helsinki’s tourism, Nina Vesterinen, Tourism Director, City of Helsinki
9.25 The outlook for air traffic and Finnair, Turkka Kuusisto, CEO, Finnair
9.45 How the geopolitical situation affects Finland's international tourism?, Charly Salonius-Pasternak, CEO, Nordic West Office
10.05 Helsinki’s potential as a tourist destination from Nordic perspective, Jens Mathiesen, CEO, Scandic Hotels
10.30 Panel discussion: Investments into tourism euros!
Anni Vepsäläinen, CEO, Messukeskus
Niko Karstikko, Co-founder & CEO, Bob W
Joonas Nurmi, CEO, Helsinki Citycopter
11.00 PR and media work increase international tourism, Soila Lehkonen, Head of Brand and PR, Helsinki Partners
11.15 Brunch break
12.00 Helsinki – The Driving Force of Finnish Tourism, Kristiina Hietasaari, Director, Visit Finland
12.10 Who is Helsinki?, Frank Cuypers, founder, Place Generation
12.40 Case regenerative tourism: ReThinker Volunteers in Aarhus, Pia Lange Christensen, CEO, Visit Århus
12.50 Case regenerative tourism: Tourism Company of the Year 2024 - Baltic Sea Cleanup Campaign, Jesse Marttila, CEO, Natura Viva
13.00 Awarding the Tourism Company of the Year 2025
13.10 Tourism Driving Urban Dynamism, Jukka-Pekka Ujula, City Manager, City of Helsinki
13.25 Keynote: Planning for turbulence – travel in uncertain futures, Ed Gillespie, serial entrepreneur, writer and futurist
14.00 Thank you for joining the event!
 
Host: Matti Rönkä, journalist and author
 

Event information

Name Helsinki Travel Seminar 2025
Time Wednesday 7.5.2025, 8:30–14:00
Venue Finlandia Hall
Address Mannerheimintie 13 e, 00100 Helsinki, On the map
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