City of Helsinki
An Evidence-Based Roadmap to Make Helsinki a Leading Inclusive Destination in Europe
Inclusion Strategy, Data and Insights
Helsinki is one of the Nordic region's leading destinations for travel and events, with close to 5 million overnight stays in 2025 and international overnights growing faster than in the rest of the country. The City's Tourism and Destination Management unit develops Helsinki as a destination together with a wide network of tourism and event operators.
Helsinki's City Strategy 2025–2029 commits the city to equality and year-round tourism. Helsinki wanted to turn that commitment into a concrete, data-driven plan: what does inclusive tourism mean for Helsinki specifically, which traveller groups hold the biggest untapped potential, and where should the City and its partners focus over the next four years?
In October 2025, the City of Helsinki partnered with deidei to deliver a three-phase project: a current state assessment of inclusive tourism in Helsinki, followed by a development plan for 2026–2029, brought to life together with the city's tourism network.
“Inclusivity is an essential pillar of sustainable tourism development and presents a significant business opportunity. To fully realize this potential, Helsinki needed a trusted partner with the expertise to help identify the right solutions and guide strategic decision-making.”
Jukka Punamäki, Senior Advisor, Tourism, City of Helsinki
Phase 1: Understanding Where Helsinki Stands
The first phase built a shared, evidence-based picture of where Helsinki stands on inclusive tourism and where the market potential lies.
Materials audit: Helsinki's existing strategies and inclusion work, reviewed against EU and Finnish tourism strategies and Visit Finland's inclusive tourism guidance
Market and benchmark analysis: A broad look at the market potential of inclusive tourism and international examples of destinations leading the way
Stakeholder engagement: A survey for tourism operators, interviews with City key people and operators, and two workshops
Outcome: The outcome was an in-depth report covering the operating environment, target group analyses, and a SWOT assessment of Helsinki's readiness. Starting from 20 dimensions of diversity, the assessment analysed 11 inclusion target groups and prioritised five where Helsinki has the strongest existing advantages and the biggest potential.
Phase 2: Turning Insight into a Roadmap for 2026–2029
Building on the assessment data, deidei's expert work, and stakeholder input, the second phase turned insight into a strategic roadmap anchored in EU, national, and city-level strategies.
Joint planning: Scoping the ambition and structure of the plan with the City
Strategy workshops: Two participatory strategy workshops and an alignment meeting with key stakeholders
Co-creation: Several rounds of comments and iteration, so that the plan was shaped by the people who will act on it
Outcome: The result is a development plan with strategic choices, objectives, metrics, and actions for 2026–2029. Its goal: both travellers and the international tourism industry recognise Helsinki as an inclusive destination for travel and events, with progress tracked through visitor experience, international awareness, and implementation indicators.
“deidei was the ideal partner for this project. While Helsinki had already built substantial expertise in inclusive tourism, it can be challenging to stay on top of the latest developments and identify fresh perspectives. deidei brought valuable new insights, challenged our assumptions, and helped us explore innovative approaches to inclusivity."
– Jukka Punamäki
Phase 3: Bringing the Network on Board
A plan only matters if the network that delivers Helsinki's visitor experience owns it. Engagement was built into the process from the start through the participatory workshops and comment rounds. In March 2026, the development plan was also presented at a Helsinki Tekijät network event attended by around 150 tourism operators.
The plan is solid. Now we just need to implement it with our partners.
– Jukka Punamäki
Helsinki is one of the Nordic region's leading destinations for travel and events, with close to 5 million overnight stays in 2025 and international overnights growing faster than in the rest of the country. The City's Tourism and Destination Management unit develops Helsinki as a destination together with a wide network of tourism and event operators.
Helsinki's City Strategy 2025–2029 commits the city to equality and year-round tourism. Helsinki wanted to turn that commitment into a concrete, data-driven plan: what does inclusive tourism mean for Helsinki specifically, which traveller groups hold the biggest untapped potential, and where should the City and its partners focus over the next four years?
In October 2025, the City of Helsinki partnered with deidei to deliver a three-phase project: a current state assessment of inclusive tourism in Helsinki, followed by a development plan for 2026–2029, brought to life together with the city's tourism network.
Need support to build or grow your inclusion efforts?
Contact us!
