Oradea is promoted as a tourist destination at international tourism fairs in Helsinki and Vienna between January 16-19, according to a press release from Visit Oradea.

According to the quoted source, the Association for the Promotion of Tourism in Oradea and the Region (Visit Oradea) continues its international tourism promotion strategy by participating in two prestigious tourism fairs held during the same period: the Matka Nordic Travel Fair in Helsinki and the Ferien-Messe Wien in Vienna.

'These events represent valuable opportunities to attract tourists from Finland and Austria, markets that are increasingly interested in authentic destinations in Central and Eastern Europe. Through participation in these prestigious fairs, Visit Oradea reaffirms its commitment to promoting Oradea as a top-tier tourist destination in 2025, thus supporting the development of local tourism and attracting international visitors,' the press release reads.

The Matka Nordic Travel Fair, the largest tourism fair in Scandinavia, annually gathers over 800 exhibitors and attracts more than 50,000 visitors, many of whom are travel agencies, tour operators, and dedicated media.

At this fair, Oradea is promoting its architectural heritage in the Art Nouveau style, its thermal baths known for their healing properties, local gastronomy, cultural events, as well as the tourism packages offered by hotels in the city.

On the first day of the fair, the Visit Oradea team had the honour of receiving a visit from a delegation of the Romanian Embassy to the Republic of Finland, 'a special moment that highlights the importance of the city's involvement in this event,' the source said.

'In the context of air connectivity with Nordic countries, through LOT Polish Airlines, our participation in the Helsinki Tourism Fair comes as a strategic opportunity to attract Finnish and Scandinavian tourists, facilitating their access to Oradea through flights operated by LOT with a stopover in Warsaw. This presence allows us to promote the destination in a direct and efficient way, strengthening the city's position in the Nordic market,' said Visit Oradea Director General Alexandru Chira.

The Ferien-Messe Wien is the most important tourism fair in Austria, with over 50,000 visitors and exhibitors from more than 70 countries. Oradea's participation in this event aims to strengthen its presence in the Austrian market, an important segment due to its geographic proximity and the growing interest of Austrian tourists in destinations in Romania.

This year, Oradea is participating in Ferien-Messe Wien alongside two other Romanian destinations, Sibiu and Timisoara, in a shared stand.

'Visit Oradea has participated every year in the Vienna Tourism Fair, as it is a promising market for Romanian tourism, and the interest of Austrian tourists in spa tourism, cities with rich history, and impressive architecture is growing more and more. We considered it extremely important to be present at this specialist event this year, even though Romania is not represented on a central level with a country stand. For this reason, in order to have a stronger presence at the fair and to optimise the participation budget, we, together with Timisoara and Sibiu, came up with the idea of a shared stand. Our presence at this fair is even more important in the context of Romania's entering the Schengen Area for road traffic starting January 1, 2025,' Alexandru Chira aslo said. AGERPRES (RO - author: Eugenia Pasca, editor: Karina Olteanu; EN - editor: Adina Panaitescu)