The Finnish Guild of Travel Journalists is proud to award Greece as our Foreign Destination of the Year 2013, Finland’s biggest travel media Rantapallo reports.
“Statistics just published by the Association of Finnish Travel Agents confirm that Greece continues to be one of the most popular summer leisure destinations for Finnish tourists and is second only to the Canary Islands in popularity over the whole year.
Finns have not turned their backs on Greece in spite of its economic difficulties and in all probability the recently published figures could be doubled when the likely total of travelers between our two countries is counted.
In Greece, Finns are charmed by the frankness, friendliness and melancholy – which is in tune with our own musical tastes – as well as unpretentious food, clean beaches, dozens of islands, peaceful lifestyle and affordability.
The almost complete absence of big international hotel chains means that smaller hotel operators have the chance to operate homely family accommodation. Many Finnish families often travel every year to the same hotels – it’s almost like going home! – and Greek tavernas give Finns a flavour of the Greek kitchen.
The first Finnish tourists in Greece discovered Rhodes, which quickly became a national destination, and since the first package trips to Rhodes from Finland took off in 1963, this is the right time to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Finnish love affair with Greece. So the Finnish Guild of Travel Journalists is proud to award Greece as our Foreign Destination of the Year.” (rantapallo.fi via Greek-Finnish Association)