Two industry directors have joined forces to set up a travel trade networking marketplace for the Nordic and Baltic region.
Andy Fairburn, former marketing director at Tui Travel, and Paul Wagner, former purchasing director at destination management companies Tumlare Corporation and Kuoni Tumlare, founded the not-for-profit membership association the Nordic Tourism Collective earlier this year.
The Nordic Tourism Marketplace, which the co-founders describe as the first of its kind, is to be held at the Scandic Falkoner Hotel in Copenhagen next February.
The idea is to bring together tour operators and international buyers and suppliers from across the Nordic and Baltic region for a one-day workshop of pre-scheduled appointments, on February 25, 2020, and a networking reception the night before.
It will be the collective’s first event and is expected to attract around 60 international buyers from long-haul and European markets and around 120 suppliers from destinations ranging from Greenland to the Baltic states.
Fairburn said: “Having both worked in the region for many years, we are both passionate about the Nordic tourism industry. We have established the tourism collective because we truly believe that through pan-nordic collaboration, the Nordic and Baltic region can become a powerhouse in sustainable international tourism.
Wagner added: “The fact we’re not Nordic means twe’re completely objective. Our only agenda is to complement the excellent work being done by all the National Tourism Offices by facilitating the development of sustainable tourism.”
The collective has also agreed a partnership with the European Tourism Association (Etoa).
