The Alvar Aalto Route 20^th Century Architecture and Design, certified as Cultural Route of the Council of Europe in 2021 took part in the Matka Nordic Travel Fair 2024 Helsinki, the largest travel industry event in Northern Europe, thanks to the support of the Finnish Heritage Agency.

The stand that displayed information on the Route and Finland from 18 to 21 January was part of a project funded by The Finnish Heritage Agency. The aim of the venture was to improve the international visibility of the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe programme through the discovery of the Alvar Aalto Route as well as other Routes of the Northern Region, as well as promoting sustainable cultural travel on the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe.

The event proved successful with fruitful encounters with international travel companies and the audience. The newly published Alvar Aalto Route catalogue was presented at the fair. The catalogue displays a selection of Alvar Aalto Route sites and travel packages and is available at this link.

Finland has been a member of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe (EPA) since 2018, and is currently crossed by 9 certified Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe, among which is the Alvar Aalto Route certified in 2021.

Emma HARJU, Senior Ministerial Adviser at the Ministry of Education and Culture, is Finland’s national representative of the Governing Board of the EPA on the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe.