World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 to exhibit at the Matka 2012 Nordic Travel Fair

Design is the main tourist attraction in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area in 2012. The New York Times has already put Helsinki on its list of most interesting travel destinations in 2012.

At the Matka 2012 Nordic Travel Fair, Helsinki will be on show on the vast World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 stand, alongside the cities of Espoo, Vantaa, Kauniainen and Lahti.

The stand, hosted by the Helsinki City Tourist and Convention Bureau, is where visitors can learn more about the World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 programme, future major events and the services of 20 travel companies operating in the area.

Helsinki’s year of tourism will include an exceptionally wide range of events. Besides the World Design Capital (WDC) Helsinki 2012 programme, Helsinki is celebrating its 200th anniversary as a capital. This historical jubilee year will be brought alive with an array of special occasions, including exciting sports events in the summer, with the ice hockey world championships dominating the scene in May and the European Athletics Championships taking place in June-July.

Culinary culture and nature tourism will also be among the major events this year, and visitors to the Helsinki stand at the Nordic Travel Fair can find out about these too. The stand will also feature a diverse programme and a fascinating competition in which there are holiday packages in the World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 to be won. You can also enter the competition by clicking here.

New guides to the Helsinki area and the WDC 2012 Helsinki 2012 mobile app

At the Helsinki fair stand you can also pick up the new main brochure published by the Tourist and Convention Bureau, ‘Helsinki – Traveller’s Guide 2012’. The guide gives comprehensive information on what the area has to offer in 11 languages. The latest Helsinki & Southern Finland Daytrips brochure (in English) is a guide to what to see in the entire region. Also available at the stand are the new City-guide Helsinki City Map and Helsinki Region Map.

Visitors can also try out and download the new World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 mobile application to their smart phones. It will help you plan your route to the year’s destinations, events and exhibitions. During the fair weekend, the stand will see the happy arrival of the Helsinki Family Travel campaign’s ‘Helppi’, the friendly mascot, Linnanmäki Amusement Park’s Rolle the Clown, and Hockey Bird, the official mascot of the Ice Hockey World Championships.