Helsinki at the fingertips of Chinese tourists, says mayor

Because of its "unique" cooperation with Chinese technology companies, Helsinki is now at the fingertips of 1 billion Chinese people, according to Jan Vapaavuori, the mayor of the Finnish city.

The China-based technology giant Tencent has now delivered a sub-application, called Helsinki City Guides mini-program, in its messaging application WeChat. Chinese tourists heading to the city can use it to learn traveling routes, sightseeing recommendations, read restaurant reviews, and even buy tickets for local transportation.

"We do believe that this kind of transformation actually gives those cities who believe in the 'living like a local' philosophy, and those cities that are really good in technology, truly smart tourism," Vapaavuori said at the 8th WTCF Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit held in Helsinki on Tuesday, which has the theme "smart tourism".

He said the mini-program can provide an opportunity for Chinese tourists to travel around and understand the city as a local does, which he said is the deep meaning of the word "smart".

"Helsinki has an outspoken strategy. We want to become the city that makes the best use of digitalization in the world. This helps us to develop Helsinki as a smart tourist destination," he said. "However, the smart tourism is not only about technology. It's about people."

Vapaavuori said the more contents and functions the city can have, the better services it can provide for both local residents and tourists from around the world.

On Dec 5, Helsinki opened its new central library, Oodi, at a costs of 98 million euros ($108 million). It is a 17,250-square-meter, three-story building that comprises reading areas, studios for gaming, movie and lectures, as well as workshops for 3D printing.

Oodi is a venue for events, a house of reading, and a diverse urban experience, according to its website. It is expected to have 2.5 million visitors in its first year, which is around four times the number of people who live locally. Facilities like this aim to provide the best possible conditions of urban life for both citizens and visitors, Vapaavuori said.

"We do believe that the 'live like a local' philosophy is getting more important," he said. "We do believe that the Chinese people appreciate that and they really want to live like locals in Helsinki, to study what the city actually is about. We are not competing in the field of the mass tourism; we appreciate quality rather than quantity."

In response to the growing number of Chinese tourists, Vapaavuori said the city is seeking a Chinese hotel operator to settle locally.

In January 2017, Helsinki Airport became the first European airport to use Alipay. WeChat pay became available at the end of September 2018.

With more than 1 billion monthly active users, WeChat has become one of the most popular messaging applications and social media platforms in the world.

The 8th Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit was jointly organized by the World Tourism Cities Federation and the government of Helsinki. Helsinki is the first European city to host the meeting. This year, it attracted more than 500 representatives from about 100 cities from 56 countries.

Yao Shengqi contributed to this story.