Airbus A350 XWB touched down at Helsinki Airport on 7 October, 2015, as Finnair became the first carrier in Europe to take delivery of the next-generation wide-body jetliner.
Finnair has announced that it has signed an agreement on a strategic partnership with Alitrip, a rapidly-growing online travel service in China, with the objective of bringing roughly 3,000 Chinese tourists to Finland during the winter months.
The two companies have designed a seven-day itinerary that includes a one-night stay in Helsinki, a two-night stay in Rovaniemi and a two-night stay in Ivalo.
Finnair has thereby become the first strategic airline partner of this magnitude for Alitrip in Europe. Alitrip, a subsidiary of the Alibaba Group, will also set up a service centre in Rovaniemi for tourists visiting the northern city, according to a press release from Finnair.
Juha Järvinen, the chief commercial officer at the state-owned carrier, is confident that partnership agreement will serve as a gateway to the markets in China. “Finland and Lapland have many great things to offer and this new co-operation between Finnair and Alitrip will be a great opportunity for Finland to showcase itself to the Chinese public,” he says in the press release.
“Our aim is to grow this long-term co-operation between both companies every year,” he adds.
Alitrip is listed on the New York Stock Exchange as a subsidiary of the Alibaba Group, one of the largest e-commerce corporations in the world.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT Photo: Heikki Saukkomaa – Lehtikuva Source: Uusi Suomi
