Visit Espoo's services for congress organisers
In Visit Espoo, we collaborate closely with the academic community, local tourism industry, the City of Espoo, and various authorities to build Espoo as an attractive home city for international congresses.
A crucial part of our work is providing free of charge congress services. We assist in the pre-planning and application process for congresses, offer marketing support, and provide guidance on congress grants, among other services.
Read below for more detailed information about our services.
Planning and bidding for the congress
We have extensive experience in bidding for and planning international association congresses. We will assist you in finding the best possible venues and partners to ensure a successful congress in Espoo.
"It is worth interviewing colleagues who have previously organised congresses in Espoo, and we are happy to help you identify potential interviewees. Explore Espoo Ambassadors, who have vast experience in organizing congresses. We hope that you are also willing to share your experiences as an organizer in the future when new local hosts need the same assistance", says Miikka Valo, Director, Conventions & Tourism at Visit Espoo.
During the pre-planning and application process of the congress, our services include:
- Assisting in pre-planning and compiling the bid materials for the event invitation process.
- Searching for suitable venues, accommodations, and banquet facilities and making preliminary reservations when necessary.
- Assisting in the ideation and planning of accompanying and partner programs.
- Helping in the preparation of a preliminary budget.
- Providing advice on applying for congress grants.
- Assisting and providing tips for building corporate partnership models when needed.
- Conducting unbiased tenders for meetings and congress service offices (PCO) when necessary.
Using a PCO (Professional Congress Organizer) or meeting services professional can help facilitate the practical arrangements of the congress, leaving you more time to focus on the successful implementation of the congress program. Explore PCOs operating in Espoo at the end of this page.
Organizing site visits
We are happy to arrange familiarisation visits to the area's conference venues, accommodation facilities, and dining venues. These visits can be organized when considering suitable locations for the congress bidding documents or when key personnel from international organizations wish to familiarise themselves with the facilities during the application process or after receiving a positive decision.
Congress receptions - Hospitality from the city of Espoo
The city of Espoo provides welcoming receptions at around five international scientific conferences per year based on application.
Hospitality can be applied for, for example, as an evening reception including light refreshments, as part of the congress's official dinner, or as a familiarization trip to Espoo, such as an archipelago cruise. Hospitality also includes a welcoming speech by a representative of the City of Espoo.
Applications for hospitalities are submitted directly through an electronic application form. The form includes information about the congress organizer, its content, its sustainability efforts, and the desired form of the city's hospitality. As part of Enter Espoo Oy, the marketing company owned by the City of Espoo, we at Visit Espoo handle all the applications and grant hospitalities.
For more information, please contact: miikka.valo@espoo.fi.
Application period
The application period for Congress hospitality support for 2025 has now been closed. Applications will be processed in December 2024, and all applicants will be informed of the decisions in January 2025.
Only one application period is held each year.
During the Congress
Tourist information point
It is also possible to request a tourist information point from us at the congress venue itself - For example, for the first day of the congress or for the entire duration of the congress. At the tourist information desk, congress participants can ask for tips on local restaurants, attractions and things to do after the official congress program.
However, the best way is to offer local information and tips before delegates arrive in Espoo. This way, we can attract participants to get to know Espoo and give them the best possible experience while they are in Finland. We are happy to provide all needed Espoo info material to the congress website.
Collecting delegate feedback
In partnership with congress organisers, Visit Espoo collects research data on international association congresses held in Espoo, utilising the delegate survey of Visit Finland's congress unit, Finland Convention Bureau.
The survey gathers information on participants' experiences of the congress, satisfaction with Espoo as a congress city and Finland as a congress destination, and participants' spending in Finland. This information is highly important to us and Visit Finland for developing services and calculating the economic impact of congresses, among other things.
If you are interested in conducting the research at your own congress, please get in touch with us! Below you will also find a direct link to the research survey that you can share with your congress participants.
Marketing support and materials
- Enter Espoo Oy's/Visit Espoo's media and image bank is at your disposal when you need image or video material from Espoo for the marketing of your event. Please read the terms of use and instructions carefully before uploading images. You can find the image bank at enterespoo.contenthub.fi
- We can provide Espoo brochures and maps for congress guests. You can order them through our tourist information office. View and order brochures and maps.
- By informing us about your congress, you will ensure that the event is visible in the Finnish Convention Bureau's national congress calendar and on the visitespoo.fi website.
- We can also agree on marketing measures on a case-by-case basis at the previous congress. This way, we can attract more participants to your congress in Espoo!
Contact our congress team!
Miikka
Valo
Paula
Lappalainen
familiarise yourself with these services as well
Professional congress organisers (PCO)
When you need a professional congress organiser to organise and/or manage your congresses, conferences, seminars and similar events, these PCOs will help you in Espoo:
And what does a PCO do?
PCOs specialise in organising and managing congresses, conferences, seminars and similar events. They take care of the matters related to the practical organisation of the congress, such as congress registration and payment transactions, accommodation quota management or commercial exhibition coordination.
In many cases, it makes sense to hire the PCO office to take at least some of the practical issues, if not all.
State Subsidy For Organizing International Conferences
The Federation of Finnish Learned Societies grants state subsidies for organizing international conferences. Priority is given to scientific conferences. The allocated funding can usually be a maximum of 30 per cent of the total budget of the conference, meaning that a significant part of the expenses should be covered with participation fees. If the revenue exceeds expenses in the final accounting report, an amount equalling the received aid must be repaid to the Federation of the Finnish Learned Societies.
Annually there are two calls for applications – the main call in October and the additional call in February.
More information from the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies.