Outbound

Finnish board opens rep office in India

Reema Sisodia - Mumbai

India has proved itself to be the golden goose for international tourism boards as yet another one makes an entry into the Indian market, initially with a representative office. Finnish Tourist Board has appointed Mumbai-based Global Aviation Services Pvt Ltd as its representative office in the Indian market.

Speaking about the development and its plans in India, Sven Hansen, area director, Finnish Tourist Board, said, "We are keen to explore the Indian market, especially the Indian film industry. We have all the facilities in place in terms of providing cost-effective options for filming in Finland. From equipment to accommodation facilities to that of providing single window clearance for permits, we have everything in place. We also recently held a meeting with 140 producers and directors from Bollywood with prominent names being part of the networking event."

The country aims to market winter activities of the region in India. ‘Ice-Breaker' one of the country's highlights along with other snow-related activities is what they intend to promote here with the support of the travel agents and operators. The board will be supported by its national carrier Finnair, which will operate direct flights from New Delhi to Helsinki from 31 October 2006. Taina Tornstrom, director sales (Spain and Portugal) Finnair, who would be relocated to India said, "We have the fastest connections to northern Europe and direct flights between the countries would only help strengthen ties between them. Apart from increasing traffic into Finland both for business and leisure, we would also operate as an effective carrier anywhere into Europe especially to northern Europe."