Business impacts of the coronavirus in the Tampere city region

Business Tampere and Visit Tampere are closely monitoring the impacts of the coronavirus on business life and tourism.

Attitudes towards the corona have changed significantly in recent days. At first, it was thought to be of little importance to the global economy, but now the situation is different. The Tampere city region is part of the global economy and we are affected,” says Harri Airaksinen, CEO of Business Tampere.

According to a survey conducted by Business Finland, coronavirus has the most impact on business travel, but other impacts have already been noticed. About half of those responding estimated that the corona had little impact on sales or exports in the short term. One third estimated the effects to be either negative or very negative in the short term. The number of jobs is not yet expected to be affected.

There is a clear difference in the negative impact assessment for those respondents in which Asia is a market or area of activity: almost half agree that the coronavirus will have a negative or very negative impact on exports in the short term.

The survey showed that companies are relatively good at assessing the business impact of the virus the short term, but that they are more uncertain about the longer term impact.

As far as tourism is concerned, the biggest impact of the coronavirus has so far been targeting Lapland with cancellations of Chinese group travel.

The coronavirus will have a negative impact on global tourism this year and will also affect Tampere. As a result of the epidemic, domestic tourism is likely to increase and international tourism will decline, says Jari Ahjoharju, Director of Tourism at Visit Tampere.

Major international business and tourism events have been cancelled due to coronavirus, such as the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, MIPIM in Cannes and the ITB Berlin. This will also have an impact on the investment promotion work carried out by Business Tampere and the tourism marketing of Visit Tampere.

- We will monitor the situation and the actions of Visit Finland and make any necessary changes to the marketing plans, says Noora Heino, Global Sales and Marketing Director at Visit Tampere.

According to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health there is no need to cancel public events in Finland. Therefore, according to the current situation, there's no need to cancel big events in Finland.

Follow the latest updates of The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL)

How to wash your hands and protect yourself? Find the information materials of The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL)

Read more on the Business Finland website

Coronavirus advice for travellers on the website of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs