Travel fairs have long traditions in Finland. The first purely travel related event was held in 1936 and it focused both on travelling and maritime transportation. The wonders of the world and travelling were then admired in a brand new exhibition hall at Töölö sports hall Kisahalli. At the first travel fair Finland was introduced as a technically developed country with diverse forms of transportation. In the spirit of this development a boat, a train and an airplane were placed on the cover of the fair catalogue.

Matka gives an overview of the whole Finland in its Meet Finland section. Matka has gained a position as one of the most significant sales events for the Finnish travel industry, and it offers domestic destinations an opportunity to get acquainted with foreign buyers and travel agents. The Global Workshop on the other hand offers the foreign exhibitors of Matka a new opportunity to meet travel agents and other travel professionals from Finland and nearby regions.
As trips organised by travel agencies and flying in general gained more ground started also the general public get an interest in travel fairs. In 1979 the Finnish Fair Corporation first organised an annual travelling event in cooperation with the Finnish Travel Association. The name of the event changed in the course of time from Travelling to Travel and vacation, and Finntravel. The name Matka has been used since 1987 when the Association of Finnish Travel Agents (AFTA) commissioned the Finnish Fair Corporation to organise the event.

The Nordic Travel Fair Matka is one of Finland’s largest consumer events and attracts nearly 80,000 visitors each year. It is also an important forum for the professionals of the travel industry. Each January Matka gives a kick start for the year’s travels.