According to a recent congress study by the Finland Convention Bureau, which is part of the Finnish Tourist Board, international congresses organised in Finland in 2010 gathered altogether 61,371 participants.
On average, a congress visitor stayed in Finland for 4.9 days, and spent EUR 207 per day while in the country.
In all, the tourism resulting from international congresses reached EUR 72 million. The amount consists of the combined consumption of congress organisers and participants. Thus, the income impact of one congress visitor to Finland was EUR 1,175. Indirectly, the total impact of congresses on the employment in the country was 1,202 man years.
According to the study, the majority of the participants (90%) regarded the local congress arrangements as good or very good. The safety in Finland and the friendliness of Finns was commended in particular. A clear majority (62%) visited the country for the first time.
Fields with the most congresses organised last year include technology and IT, medicine, and economics, with approximately half of all congresses in these areas. Medical congresses drew the largest amount of participants by far.
6510 visitors from 16 international congresses participated in the study, which was implemented by Taloustutkimus Oy.