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Association of Finnish Travel Industry SMAL

The Association of Finnish Travel Industry (SMAL) is a consortium of about 160 travel agencies, tour operators and incoming agencies that drives its members’ interests in relations with public authorities, legislators as well as in the field of domestic and international organizations. Total sales of SMAL member companies in 2024 was amounted to over 1.9 billion EUR, which is about 95 % of the sector’s total sales in Finland.

Founded in 1940, the trade association’s international member network now includes about 120 other travel and tourism companies and entities such as transport companies, accommodation providers, domestic and foreign tourism offices, travel and tourism industry educational institutes, travel consultants, travel media and technology companies.

Matka Travel Fair, Northern Europe’s largest travel and tourism event is commissioned by SMAL.

The objective of the Association

  • Promote the development of the travel agency sector in Finland
  • Protect the collective interests of its members and enforce their rights
  • Work to maintain good business practices
  • Create conditions for good relations and operational cooperation between its members and other companies in the travel industry

Services

Free legal advice and other advisory services for full members. Advice from experts specialising in consumer protection, travel conditions and VAT is available free of charge to full members. Partner members and associate members can buy this service with a fee. In addition, advice is available to members on issues such as marketing, contractual disputes with service providers or any other similar topical problem.

Guidelines on how to deal with exceptional situations, such as the implementation of exchange rate changes, major disruptions caused by strikes or threatened strikes, natural disasters and other catastrophes in tourist destinations, and epidemics of epidemic diseases.

SMAL also sells training services on these topics tailored to individual members as well as to external parties for a separate fee to be agreed on a case-by-case basis!

Training on topical issues in the travel agency sector. The main annual training event is the Matkatieto training programme at the Matka Travel Fair, which is attended by around 1 500 tourism professionals over two days. Throughout the year, topical training sessions are organised both on substantive industry issues and on other current topics. The training programmes are delivered by the service company Smalser Oy.

Statistics on the development of the sector and its main areas. The statistics published regularly, based on data collected from our members, are:

  •  Air-based package holidays abroad
  •  Business travel
  •  Total sales by members

In addition, the association’s service company Smalser Oy commissions external research institutes to carry out studies on specific issues in the travel agency sector.