What 386 meetings in one day can do for a destination

How targeted sales workshops connect local tourism businesses with the international travel trade

For a destination, international visibility is only part of the journey. Tourism businesses also need opportunities to meet the people who develop itineraries, select partners and bring new products to market.

The first Arctic Sweden Digital Summit demonstrated how much can happen when the right suppliers and buyers are brought together in a focused format.

Held on 1 September 2026, the digital sales workshop connected 35 tourism businesses from Arctic Sweden with 53 international buyers. During a single day, participants completed 386 pre-arranged one-to-one meetings.

The buyers included tour operators, travel agencies and product managers from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom.

But the value of a destination workshop cannot be measured by meeting numbers alone. Its real impact lies in the connections, market insights and future opportunities those meetings create.

Giving local tourism businesses access to new markets

Reaching international tour operators individually takes time, resources and established contacts. This can be particularly challenging for smaller tourism businesses.

A destination-led sales workshop creates a shared route into the market. Instead of every company approaching potential partners alone, selected suppliers are introduced to relevant buyers within a structured setting.

For Ida Brännström of Mukka Group, this access was one of the event’s central benefits:

She also saw opportunities for future business with buyers the company might otherwise not have reached.

This is where a destination organisation can make a significant difference: identifying suitable markets, attracting relevant buyers and creating an environment in which local businesses can present their products directly.

Helping buyers discover the people behind the products

Buyers do not only need a list of accommodation providers and activities. They need to understand what makes a product distinctive, which customers it suits and whether the supplier can become a reliable long-term partner.

Even in a digital setting, a personal conversation can communicate much more than a brochure or website alone.

One participating buyer described the Arctic Sweden Digital Summit as:

Another buyer expressed an interest in discovering even more local suppliers and products. For destinations, this is valuable market feedback: the travel trade is actively looking beyond the most established names for local businesses, distinctive experiences and new ideas.

By making these businesses visible, a workshop can help a destination broaden the range of products offered internationally and distribute opportunities across the region.

Laponice

Market feedback benefits the entire destination

A sales workshop is not simply an opportunity to present existing products. It is also a chance to listen.

Which seasons are buyers interested in? Which customer segments do they serve? What information do they need before including a product in an itinerary? Are there gaps in the destination’s current offering?

Conversations with buyers can help suppliers refine their products and communication. At destination level, the combined feedback can reveal wider patterns and support future product development, market selection and capacity-building activities.

The event therefore creates value even when a meeting does not immediately result in a contract. It gives tourism businesses a clearer understanding of international distribution and provides the destination with direct insight into market expectations.

Digital and physical workshops serve different purposes

The digital format allowed Arctic Sweden Visitors Board to involve a large number of buyers and suppliers without requiring international travel. In a matter of hours, participants could explore potential partnerships and decide which conversations should continue after the event.

Sofi Holmgren, Travel Experience Manager at Arctic Sweden Visitors Board, explained the strength of combining different formats:

Arctic Sweden Visitors Board therefore plans to alternate between digital and physical workshops. A physical event combined with familiarisation trips is planned for 2027, followed by another digital edition in 2028.

This approach allows the destination to benefit from both formats: the accessibility and efficiency of digital meetings, combined with the first-hand understanding created through personal visits.

You can read the original event report from Arctic Sweden Visitors Board.

Arctic Sweden Digital Summit 2026

The meetings are the beginning, not the result

A workshop creates introductions. Turning them into lasting cooperation requires preparation and consistent follow-up.

After the event, suppliers need to continue the conversations, provide the requested information and demonstrate that their products are ready for international distribution. Destination organisations can support this process through training, follow-up activities and future opportunities to meet the market.

This makes a sales workshop part of a longer destination development process, not an isolated event.

When the right buyers meet well-prepared local suppliers, one day can generate far more than 386 conversations. It can open doors to new markets, strengthen the international readiness of tourism businesses and lay the groundwork for long-term partnerships.

The Arctic Sweden Digital Summit was organised by Arctic Sweden Visitors Board in cooperation with NordicMarketing as part of ADORE, a project designed to strengthen tourism businesses’ digital business capabilities and opportunities in international markets.

Meet Fjord Norway at our next digital workshop 

Would you like to experience this kind of focused exchange from the buyer’s perspective? Our next digital sales workshop brings together international tour operators and selected tourism suppliers from Fjord Norway.

Discover new products, meet the people behind them and explore opportunities for future cooperation.