Finland's tourism sector welcomes China's visa-free policy

HELSINKI, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Finnish travel and tourism industry welcomed China's unilateral visa-free policy to Finland, expecting this change, announced on Tuesday, to significantly ease travel for Finnish citizens to China.

Heli Maki-Franti, managing director of The Association of Finnish Travel Industry (SMAL), told Xinhua that she believes the visa-free policy could play an essential role in revitalizing Finnish outbound tourism to China, noting the new policy will ease individual tourism and business-related travel.

Anne-Marjut Vaananen, managing director of the Finnish travel agency Olympia Air Travel, stressed that the ability to travel to China without a visa will simplify trip planning for Finnish travelers, noting the new policy would save both time and money by eliminating the need to arrange a visa.

In a written statement, Finland's national carrier, Finnair, expressed optimism about the benefits of visa-free entry for Finnish visitors, saying the policy supports its goals in the Chinese aviation market.

Finnair said it plans to increase its flights to Shanghai from the current two weekly flights during the winter season to four times per week in the summer of 2025.