Scan Magazine

By Signe Hansen

With Scandinavia’s largest congress and concert centre and numerous smaller facilities surrounded by Finland’s beautiful nature, Tampere is the perfect place to hold any international convention. The town’s own airport has low-price connections to many major European cities, including London and Stockholm. Besides Tampere is located just a 25 minute flight or under two hours’ drive from Helsinki airport, which has connections to virtually all parts of the world.

Luckily Tampere’s 210,000 inhabitants realised the potential of the town a long time ago and the town has been adding to its natural advantages for many years. Tampere Hall, Finland’s leading congress centre, will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year. The building can accommodate congresses with up to 2,000 delegates and has hosted hundreds of international and thousands of national meetings over the years.

One of the people dedicated to developing the town as a convention destination is Ella Kuula. She is Convention Director at the non-profit organisation Tampere Convention Bureau, which assists potential visitors with finding the right accommodation, meeting facility and social programmes.

“Tampere is a big small town. By that I mean that it has a small-town atmosphere, really tranquil with lakes and a lot of nature around, but it also has a lively city centre with a lot of things happening,” Kuula says adding: “but the best thing about it is, of course, that you have a lot of conference services. This means that you can have a high quality conference with the latest technology without being in a busy, crowded city.”

A jewel between two lakes

Tampere is located in the southern-central part of Finland just 170 km north of Helsinki and placed between two big lakes. The Tammerkoski rapids run through the town and it was on its banks that the city was originally founded, with the rapids as a base for energy. Many of the original 19th century red-brick buildings are still a part of the townscape. “Nowadays Tampere is really more of a high technology city; it is not an old-fashioned industrial town anymore. Most of the red brick industrial buildings are transformed into modern facilities such as offices, cinemas, museums and restaurants. But they are nicely preserved so different details are left and the old atmosphere is still there,” says Kuula.

Enjoy fresh air and water

Close to the heart of the town is a natural park located on Pyynikki ridge. This makes it very easy to combine a conference stay with outdoor activities such as the popular Nordic walking or a bicycle ride.

“Nordic walking is special for Finland in that a lot of people are really into it. They walk with walking poles as if they were skiing and in that way exercise the whole body. We have guides who can take visitors to try it out at the end of the day or even between lectures,” says Kuula. “In the middle of the park there is an old observation tower with a nice little café where one can buy delicious doughnuts and enjoy the view.”

A swim in one of the surrounding clean lakes is also a refreshing option at the end of a long day. This, combined with a warm Finnish sauna, will definitely make your day!

Easy access all year round

Although the majority of Tampere’s visitors come during the summer for major international congresses, the town is also an attractive destination during winter. “This spring, the largest conference we had was the Annual Congress of the European Accounting Association with 1,100 delegates. We can easily host conferences with 1,000 -2,000 delegates. Most of the conferences in Tampere have around 200-300 delegates,” says Kuula adding: “We have fewer congresses in winter although the town is always easily accessible and it is very beautiful in winter with its lights and the snow.”

The town’s two universities and one polytechnic, together with numerous scientific research institutes, maintain a high standard of research and are internationally very active. This in turn attracts many congresses to Tampere.

Tampere Convention Bureau offers free assistance to organisations and companies of all fields considering the town as their next conference destination.

For more information visit: www.tampereconventionbureau.fi or call +358 3 243 4900