Outbound

Finnish tourism partners with Raj

Andrea Lopez - Mumbai

Sven Hansen

The Finnish Tourist Board has tied up with the tour operator Raj Travel World to offer specially designed winter tour packages to the much-talked about, but yet unexplored areas in Finland. Sven Hansen, the board's regional manager, said, "India is the fastest growing market to Finland and in view of this we are very hopeful of things to come with our affiliation with Raj." With this association, the board hopes to sell Finland as a standalone destination.

According to Lalit Sheth, chairman and managing director of Raj Travel World, the packages have been tailored for Indian travellers who are looking for a different holiday experience. Although travel to Northern Europe has gained popularity in the past couple of years, tourism to Finland, Denmark and Norway is still picking up. The number of registered overnights from India to Finland however has been on the rise, from 17,708,66 in 2005 to 22,860,43 in 2007. Keeping this in mind, Raj has decided to offer five and seven night tour packages at a cost of Rs 1,36,000 and Rs 1,55,999, respectively. The tours are slated to begin this December.

The quickest route into the country is through Finnair's Mumbai-Helsinki or Delhi-Helsinki connection. To enhance a visitor's experience, Raj even plans to depute Indian chefs in all associated hotels and set up an Indian restaurant in Rovaniemi, the heart of Lapland.