Visit Arctic Europe

07/05/2025

Tomorrow, Thursday 8th of May, we are excited to kick off a series of three Market Insights webinars, in cooperation with Paul Wagner and Fairburn from the NORDIC TOURISM COLLECTIVE, tailored specifically to the Nordics.

Over the course of these webinars, we’ll explore traveler intentions, seasonal opportunities, and practical insights from key markets – the UK, the US, and Southern Europe (France, Italy, and Spain). Each session will feature a market expert presentation, followed by a sofa chat with tour operators from the European markets and key Nordic partners from the US, with opportunities for Q&A.

Webinar Schedule:

UK Market – Thursday, May 8th
🕘 09:00 SE/NO / 10:00 FI | Duration: 1 hour

US Market – Thursday, May 15th
🕑 14:00 SE/NO / 15:00 FI | Duration: 1 hour

France & Italy/Spain – Friday, May 23rd
🕘 09:00 SE/NO / 10:00 FI | Duration: 1.5 hours

For those who are not part of the AETC project, the webinars will soon be available on our YouTube channel: https://lnkd.in/dsMXXm4x and we hope you can benefit from them just as much as our project participants will.

28/04/2025

Only one month until we meet in Kirkenes!

📍 AETC Networking Event
🗓 May 26–28, 2025
📍 Thon Hotel Kirkenes, Norway

The countdown is on to our next AETC gathering! In Kirkenes, we’ll focus on the big themes shaping the future of Arctic tourism:
✨ Strengthening the This is Arctic brand
✨ Bringing Arctic Mode into your storytelling and marketing
✨ Understanding and measuring the value of tourism
✨ Shaping a shared Code of Conduct for responsible Arctic travel

We'll also hear from inspiring speakers like Michael Green (CEO of Social Progress Imperative, SPI), Annika Fredriksson (Swedish Lapland Visitors Board), and BehaviorSMART—and enjoy an evening visit to Snowhotel Kirkenes!

For all AETC companies: Full program, invitation, and registration details are available on Basecamp and in your inboxes.

We can't wait to see you in Kirkenes to network and workshop together!

Interreg Aurora Visit Northern Norway Finnish Lapland Tourist Board Swedish Lapland Visitors Board

19/02/2025

AETC Online Product Development Workshop – Next Week!

We’re excited to continue our product development journey next Tuesday, building on the insights from the Luleå workshop. This online session is all about validating customer needs and brainstorming innovative solutions using AI.
💡 What will we do?
💠 Validate customer needs
💠 Use AI for deep research & brainstorming
💠 Explore new opportunities – finding ways to stand out in a competitive market

This session will be facilitated by our product development partner, Arctic Factory | Palvelumuotoilu, with Julius and Samuel leading the way.

📌 For AETC companies only – make sure to sign up on Basecamp!

Looking forward to an inspiring and interactive session!

Interreg Aurora Swedish Lapland Visitors Board NordNorsk Reiseliv Finnish Lapland Tourist Board

29/11/2024

We are thrilled to share with you that AETC has selected Norrbotten-based agency People People People and Oh My as our strategic marketing partner following a competitive tender process.

This new collaboration builds on the work achieved in the previous Visit Arctic Europe II project and will focus on showcasing Arctic Europe through the This is Arctic brand platform. Using innovative digital channels and campaigns, we aim to highlight the unique Arctic lifestyle, cultural heritage, and natural beauty of our area, encouraging year-round travel.

Beyond attracting visitors, we hope this initiative will also benefit local communities by increasing awareness of life in Arctic Europe and potentially drawing new residents to help meet labor demands in tourism and other industries.

We officially kicked off this exciting partnership earlier this month in Inari, where we met the Norrbotten-based team to plan the next steps ahead together.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Interreg Aurora Swedish Lapland Visitors Board NordNorsk Reiseliv Finnish Lapland Tourist Board

19/11/2024

We’re excited to congratulate Best Arctic , one of our valued project partners, on the launch of their new cross-border concept: The Aurora Express. This innovative night liner bus service connects Tromsø to Rovaniemi, allowing travelers to journey between two iconic Arctic cities while sleeping under the northern lights.

This is a significant milestone that offers a seamless travel experience, eliminating the need for flights or rental cars, and providing comfort for those looking to explore the Arctic in a unique way.

This initiative builds on the cross-border connections established during the previous Visit Arctic Europe II project, strengthening ties between Arctic destinations and enhancing travel options.

We’re especially proud to highlight the power of cross-border collaboration and connectivity in making such an extraordinary experience possible!

Interreg Aurora Best Arctic Group Bussring AS The Arctic Route

18/11/2024

Last week, the AETC project team gathered at the scenic Lapland View Lodge in Övertorneå for two productive days of planning and collaboration.

Key topics on the agenda included:
💠 Marketing strategies
💠 Finalizing contracts with international tour operators from Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands,
💠 Preparing for the upcoming networking meeting in Luleå this January (theme: Digitalization), and
💠 Activity planning for 2025, featuring networking events, sales workshops and webinars.

The team had also the pleasure to meet Sofie Holmgren, Sales Manager at Explore the North, who shared their inspiring approach to regenerative tourism, enhancing their destinations both economically, ecologically and socially.

Finally, we also explored two of Explore the North's soon-to-open lodges: Matarengi in Övertorneå, set to welcome guests this December, and Kaamos Lodge in Aavasaksa, Finland, opening in December 2025—highlighting the strength of Arctic cross-border collaboration.

Interreg Aurora Swedish Lapland Visitors Board NordNorsk Reiseliv Finnish Lapland Tourist Board

24/10/2024

👩‍💻 Our 3-part Webinar Series on the Power of AI in the Tourism Industry in now complete!

We've just wrapped up an insightful 3-part digital journey exploring how AI can be effectively utilized to accelerate business growth and innovation, as well as to enhance personal work efficiency.

Key Highlights:

📌 AI for business Intelligence: We explored tools like Perplexity and Gummy Search to gather actionable insights on customer preferences and tourism trends.
📌 Custom AI Bots: Participants learned to create MyGPT bots tailored to their business needs.
📌 Prompt Engineering: We learned covered techniques for crafting AI prompts tailored to tourism scenarios, helping businesses get the most out of their AI tools.

The first two webinars are available in AETC YouTube channel and available for everyone to watch. The last module will arrive shortly. We hope you find this as insightful as we did.

A huge thank you to Markkinointiviestintätoimisto Kuulu Oy and expert Ville Pohjonen for their expertise and support!

Interreg Aurora Finnish Lapland Tourist Board Swedish Lapland Visitors Board NordNorsk Reiseliv

AETC webinar: AI today and how to get started as a tourism & travel professional - 26.8.2024Our partner in the webinars is a Finnish digital marketing and c...

08/10/2024

One month after our successful AETC Sales Workshop in Harstad and pre- and post tours, we are already hearing great news from participating companies and tour operators who are creating new packages and tweaking existing ones!

We are thrilled to share some of the positive feedback we’ve received, as this recognition goes out to all of you who were involved!

Tour operators have shared that the knowledge transition tours offered immense value—not only sparking new ideas but also helping them gain a deeper understanding of what’s possible in Arctic Europe. They are actively sharing their experiences with colleagues and partners, and this collective knowledge is fueling our efforts in product development, especially for the autumn season.

Once again, a heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped us and delivered exceptional service during these trips. Your dedication made these experiences truly special!

Swedish Lapland Visitors Board NordNorsk Reiseliv Finnish Lapland Tourist Board Interreg Aurora

18/09/2024

✨ As we reach the one-third mark of our project with two years remaining, this week the AETC Steering Group and project team gathered in Rovaniemi.

A big thank you to Apukka Resort Rovaniemi for hosting us and Arktikum - Museum and Science Centre for an interesting guided tour✨

Interreg Aurora Swedish Lapland Visitors Board NordNorsk Reiseliv Finnish Lapland Tourist Board

13/09/2024

Wow — what an event! We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who took the time to join our Arctic Europe Tourism Cluster Sales Workshop last week in Harstad.

With an impressive turnout of 75 buyers from 14 different countries and 91 suppliers from Northern Norway, Finnish and Swedish Lapland, we saw 1609 highly productive meetings that we trust will lead to lasting partnerships.

This workshop has once again proven to be the best place to discover what Arctic Europe has to offer with a special focus on autumn, in one convenient setting. We are deeply thankful to all our participants and buyers for their enthusiasm and engagement.

Thank you again for contributing to the success of this workshop, and we look forward to seeing you at our next AETC Sales Worshop 2025, which will be held in Inari, Finland 2.-4.9.2025!

A big thank you to our financiers, Interreg Aurora, Region Norrbotten, Lapin liitto / Regional council of Lapland, Troms fylkeskommune, Finnmark fylkeskommune, Troms Holding and Innovation Norway arctic for making this workshop possible!

NordNorsk Reiseliv Swedish Lapland Visitors Board Finnish Lapland Tourist Board ry - Lapin Matkailuelinkeinon Liitto

29/08/2024

⭐ Looking forward to next Wednesday when we’ll finally meet at the AETC Sales Workshop 2024 in Harstad with almost 200 participants!

We’ve got tour operators from 14 countries joining us, all set to connect with providers from Arctic Europe.

The agendas are filling up, and our team is excited for the week ahead! ⭐

Interreg Aurora

22/01/2024

We are very happy to introduce the Arctic Europe Tourism Cluster.

Building upon the achievements of Visit Arctic Europe I (2015-2018) and Visit Arctic Europe II (2018-2022), this collaborative initiative aims to be the next and stronger step of cross-border cooperation in the Arctic Europe region.

Our Goals:
❄ Innovate B2C and B2B marketing strategies to attract new markets and foster international cooperation.
❄ Cultivate year-round business opportunities and sustainable tourism practices.
❄ Elevate the significance of Arctic culture in shaping immersive tourism experiences.
❄ Enhance digitalization by leveraging post-pandemic traveler behavior insights.
❄ Improve accessibility within and across the Arctic Europe region.
❄ Establish smart, trust-based cross-border networks.

Lapland Tourist Board , Swedish Lapland Visitors Board and NordNorsk Reiseliv – alongside the active collaboration of more than 100 companies across the three countries we are dedicated to shaping a tourism landscape that not only adapts to rapid changes but also exceeds future expectations, benefiting the tourism industry, local societies, and visitors across Arctic Europe.

The project is financed by Interreg Aurora, Region Norrbotten, Regional Council of Lapland, Troms County, Finnmark County, Troms Finnmark and Norland county international program, Trom Holding and Innovation Norway Arctic.