Centre for Tourism Studies, Travel Development Centre, Finland Ltd.

The Centre for Tourism Studies/Travel Development Centre, Finland Ltd. is the largest specialist centre for research, development, strategic planning, product development, marketing, training and consulting in the field of tourism in Finland.

The Centre for Tourism Studies (CTS) was founded in Savonlinna in 1986. Today CTS has four regional units in Finland. Travel Development Centre Finland Ltd. (TDCF) was founded in 1992 and is fully owned by the CTS.

The Centre has carried out several hundred research and developments projects and training courses for both private and public sectors. The clients of CTS/TDCF include different Ministries, provinces, cities, towns, municipalities as well as tourism organisations and enterprises more and more in international level.

In 1992 the Centre established the Travel Development Centre Estonia Ltd. in Parnu, Estonia as a joint venture with the city of Parnu for the coordination of all Baltic projects. In 1994 the Baltic Tourism Information Centre was opened in connection with the Helsinki unit.

In Russia, in areas close to Finland (Murmansk region, the Republic of Karelia, Leningrad and St. Petersburg regions) the Travel Development Centre has carried out numerous tourism development (masterplan), research or training programs since 1990. In addition, the centre is starting tourism development projects in other parts of Russia: in the Autonomous District of Nenetsia, in the Republic of Bashkirtostan and in Nizhni Novgorod Region. Also in China the Centre has three different tourism development projects (in Anhui Province, in Beijing and in the Tumen River Area).

The Centre has been a member of the World Tourism Organisation since 1994. In 1995 it was registered in the European Commission Consultants Database for DG XXIII and in the Phare/Tacis Central Consultancy Register.

Knowing is Future

Training and research will be a key position in the future. Only those who are well-informed will succeed. And only those who are well-informed about the future will continue to succeed tomorrow.

Business Idea
The brief of the Travel Development Centre is to act as an international centre for information and know-how in the travel industry. The Travel Development Centre is fully owned by the Centre for Tourism Studies and is the parent company for its foreign subsidiaries.

Thus the Travel Development Centre

• strives to promote training, research and product development in the travel industry at both national and international levels;
• promotes and implements training in the travel industry;
• carries out research in the tourism sector and engages in business promotion;
• carries out tourism development projects in cooperation with other expert organisations.

• Training, research and development projects which will benefit the travel industry.
• Development of training, the training system, training programmes and teaching materials.
• Promotion of information and cooperation in further education in the travel sector.
• Promoting cooperation in the travel industry on an international level, and improving knowledge about the sector.