NORDIC COUNTRIES
Travel Portland’s international tourism objective is to
strengthen the region’s economy by marketing the metro
Portland region as a preferred destination for travelers from
the Nordic countries of Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland
and Iceland by pro-actively selling to travel trade and media.
Staff
Karen Viehoever,
[email protected],
503.275.9279
Current state of market
• AIR SERVICE : Portland is reached nonstop from Reykjavik on
Icelandair almost year-round, providing excellent one-stop
service from the other four Nordic countries. Numerous
additional one-stop services are available. Delta Air Lines/
KLM offers year-round daily nonstop service from
Amsterdam and Condor Airlines offers seasonal nonstop
service from Frankfurt.
• MATURE/NEW : The Nordic countries are a relatively new
market for Portland. Before May 2015, the Scandinavian
countries of Sweden, Denmark and Norway were considered
a reactive market. Icelandair started nonstop service in 2015,
prompting the market status change to primary.
• TRAVEL PACKAGES/ITINERARIES : Tour operators in the
Nordic countries offer itineraries that include Portland.
These itineraries are included in the total of 199 itineraries
from 173 tour operators in all of Europe. Consumers in these
five countries use OTAs.
• WEB ANALYTICS : In FY 2015/16 TravelPortland.com received
8,623 visits from the five Nordic countries of Sweden (3,034
visits), Denmark (2,164), Norway (1,656 visits), Finland (1,261
visits) and Iceland (508).
• VISITOR WALK-INS : In FY 2015/16 the Visitor Information
Center received 601 walk-in visitors from Sweden, Denmark,
Norway and Finland.
• VISITOR STATISTICS : According to Tourism Economics, in a
report provided by Travel Oregon, travel from Scandinavia
(Sweden, Denmark, and Norway) to Oregon underperformed
the U.S. slightly in 2015; the market is flat over the previous year.
Opportunity
Focus on key messages with travel trade and media to
maintain the market.
Key messages
• Portland has a renowned culinary and makers scene.
• It is a sustainable, green and vibrant city; it’s walkable, easy
to get around and has great public transportation.
• The city has excellent tax-free shopping.
• Portland is close to nature, with easy access for
overnights in the Mount Hood area, wine country and
Columbia River Gorge. Excellent fly-drive vacation.
FUTURE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
• October-May visitation.
• Portland Dining Month in March.
Actions
• Maximize in-market gained media coverage as a
tourism sales tool.
• Host well-qualified research/fam/influencer tours as
opportunities arise.
• Attend high-value trade shows and sales calls.
For more information, please e-mail [email protected] or visit TRAVELPORTLAND.COM.
Updated November 2016