International meetings through the Arctic Europe Tourism Cluster

17 June 2026

Photo: AETC by Lisa Björk Photography

On June 3rd and 4th, Museum Nord participated in the Arctic Europe Tourism Cluster (AETC) Sales Workshop in Haparanda, Sweden. Through a day and a half of booked meetings, we were able to present our venues and experiences to tour operators from a variety of markets.

AETC is a collaboration between tourism operators in Northern Norway, Swedish Lapland and Finnish Lapland. The project aims to strengthen year-round tourism in the regions through collaboration, sustainability and digital development. For Museum Nord, this is an arena for highlighting cultural heritage as an important part of tourism in the north.

At the workshop, Marketing Manager Dept. Vest-Lofoten, Thea Cathrine Mæhlum, represented Museum Nord’s 21 museums. Over the course of a day and a half, 20 meetings were held with tour operators from several countries. Each meeting lasted 15 minutes, followed by a short break before the next meeting started. The meetings provided good opportunities to present our venues and make new contacts.

Interest in Museum Nord

One of the things that aroused the most interest was SKREI, which opens on June 30th. The new offer that brings together the new museum building The Otolith, Lofoten Aquarium, the Espolin Gallery and Lofoten Museum in Kabelvåg. SKREI represents a new and exciting investment in the region, and many of the tour operators showed interest in how the arenas together tell a story, and what experiences it offers.

In addition, several of Museum Nord’s museums were presented. The Coastal Express Museum in Stokmarknes, Lofotr Viking Museum at Borg and the Norwegian Fishing Village Museum at Å aroused great interest. The Andøy Museum was also highlighted in several conversations, the development that is taking place on Andøya is making the area more and more interesting for visitors to the region.

Although all the venues are presented, much of the work is about follow-up afterwards. Information and materials will now be sent out to tour operators about specific museums and offers. The goal is to make it easy for them to include Museum Nord in future travel programs.

Cultural experiences

The workshop started on Tuesday evening with a gathering at Kukkolaforsen outside Haparanda. An experience that offered local food culture, traditions and the sauna culture that the area is known for. In addition, a guided walk was carried out through the historic Kukkola Cultural Village and Fish Museum. The walk gave an insight into local history and the unique tradition of whitefish dip-net fishing, which has been an important part of the local environment for generations.

On Wednesday and Thursday, the workshop itself was conducted at the hotel Cape East, where 79 sellers from the tourism industry in the Arctic region and 59 international buyers were gathered for meetings. On Wednesday evening, the mingling continued during dinner at the historic Haparanda Stadshotell. Here, the organizers also announced that the collaboration in AETC continues, and that the next workshop will be held in Northern Norway. This is good news for the entire tourism industry in the region, and something we look forward to being a part of.

Participation in the workshop provided new contacts, insight and good feedback from the market. Now the work of following up the meetings and building on the relationships established in Haparanda begins. We look forward to seeing what results these meetings can give for Museum Nord in the future.