Over the last 2 years , our bookings have increased in Scandinavia especially in Helsinki, Finland .
We worked on a large event in Helsinki and it was great to have the opportunity to visit to see how the destination works for events. Ironically, our first bookings when we started nexusvenue in 2002 were in Stockholm -Sweden and Espoo – Finland (pronouced ESBO)
I can wholeheartedly recommend this destination for Conferences, Incentives & Team Meetings.
Few facts about Helsinki and Finland:
- Flights from Heathrow takes between 2 hours 20 minutes and 2 hours 45 minutes maximum.
- The best time to visit or to organise an event would be between March & October
- There are 5 million inhabitants in a country 35% larger than the UK (and 3 million Saunas!)
- 75% of the land mass is made of forests in Finland.
- There are 188,000 + lakes.
- Beautiful views from Helsinki to the Baltic Sea.
- Street signs are in Finnish (top) and Swedish (bottom)
- There is no daylight around November and December and it does not go dark in June …
- Favourite word: Sustainability
- I would score 10/10 for service and food.
- Wildlife: Reindeers, Bears, Lynx, Wolves …
- Clean air, clean airport, clean city …
- Quite easy transport system
Hotels & Venues:
We visited 7 Hotels and 4 Venues so I will choose one …
25 minutes from Helsinki airport by car or 30 minutes by train, the newly refurbished Crowne Plaza Helsinki Hesperia overlooks Hesperia Park. The hotel is close to the Finnish National Opera House and just a few minutes’ walk from the city centre. A short walk from both the National Museum of Finland, Olympic Stadium and Finlandia Hall conference centre. The hotel has 349 bedrooms, a Spa, Sauna, Swimming pool and 15 flexible meeting spaces.
The facilities can accommodate 1000 guests for a reception, from 16 delegates in a boardroom style to 400 delegates in a cabaret style. There are plenty of options with many break-out rooms.
We were lucky enough to meet with 4 different DMC’s (Destination Management Companies) and 2 team building companies whilst we were in Finland. From being fed by the finalist of “Finland Master Chef” to trekking in the wilderness hearing wolves in a distance to swimming in the Baltic Sea (the water was 2 degrees), there are so many team building activities and sporting activities that we would need two newsletters to go through all the options.
Please see below, this is just a tiny fraction of what can be done …
Would you like to know more? Simply email us
Thank you.
Kind regards
The team at nexusvenue