What Could Emirates’ New Flights Mean for Finland?

The launch of Emirates’ daily, year-round direct flights between Dubai and Helsinki marks a historic moment for Finnish tourism, with exciting possibilities for other sectors too. For those of us working to connect Finland with travellers in the Middle East, this is an enormous opportunity, and it would be a shame to miss its full potential. Better connectivity opens the door, but turning that opportunity into lasting growth takes cooperation across Finland.

Fortunately, we already have an example to learn from within our own borders: Lapland.

With Rovaniemi helping lead the way, Lapland has shown what sustained investment, determination and cooperation can achieve. Its success has spread across the region, creating opportunities for businesses and local communities.

One of Lapland’s greatest strengths is the network behind the visitor experience. Businesses connect their services, recommend one another and work towards a shared goal. Travellers can enjoy a complete journey because someone has considered how the pieces fit together.

This is a model worth learning from throughout Finland. Strong cooperation across regions and service boundaries can help spread the benefits further. A visitor drawn to one destination today may discover another on their next trip.

Many of us in tourism have long wanted more travellers to discover the Finnish summer because we know how special it is. Until now, getting to Finland during summer months often meant changing planes, and easier-to-reach destinations in Central Europe had an advantage. With daily direct flights, Finland is now on a much more equal footing. How can we show travellers what a Finnish summer holiday could look like and make it easy for them to plan one?

These long-awaited flights are finally here, and I cannot wait to see what they bring to Finnish tourism as a whole.

Saara Santanen

Founder, Travelling with Polaris

Sponsorship Opportunities 2026/2027

Grow your visibility with the Finnish Business Council UAE

The Finnish Business Council UAE brings together Finnish companies established in the UAE, along with a wide network of Nordic and international professionals. As a sponsor, you put your brand at the centre of this community for a full year, through our events, newsletter, website and social media.

Why partner with us

An engaged business community. Access a respected Nordic and international network of companies and professionals across the UAE.

15,000+ newsletter readers annually. Reach a large and active professional audience directly.

2–3 events every month. Meet business professionals throughout the year, from networking evenings to our flagship events.

Strong connections. We work closely with Business Finland, FinnCham, Dubai Chamber and more than 50 international business councils in the UAE.

Exposure to decision-makers. Present your brand to senior professionals and leaders.

Sponsorship packages

Platinum – AED 20,000 (limited to two sponsors)
Our most comprehensive partnership. It includes prime branding at our flagship events, the Christmas Party and the Golf Tournament, plus five other events of your choice. You also get presentation and speaking opportunities, an exclusive co-hosted event, an introduction email to all FBC members, and logo placement across all our channels for 12 months.

Gold – AED 10,000 (limited to four sponsors)
Strong year-round visibility. It includes prime branding at our flagship events plus three other events, a co-branded event with FBC, direct introductions to selected corporate members, and three newsletter advertisements.

Silver – AED 5,000
A 12-month brand presence in our newsletter, on our website and on social media, plus branding at the Christmas Party and the Golf Tournament.

Sponsorship is open to members and non-members, and benefits run until December 2027.

Please, find more information here.

We are happy to discuss which package suits your goals, as well as tailored visibility options.

Erika Daintry, Executive Director
+971 56 460 0082 · erika@fbcuae.fi

Nordic Padel Tournament fall 2026

The 7th Nordic Padel Tournament – What a Day!

On Friday, 30 October, we hosted the 7th edition of the Nordic Padel Tournament at Viya Padel, Emirates Golf Club, organised together with the Swedish Business Council and the Norwegian Business Council.

A total of 66 players in 33 teams competed across four categories, with seasoned players and newcomers alike taking to the courts. We were delighted to welcome participants from all five Nordic countries, and the day was full of close matches, friendly competition, great team spirit and plenty of Nordic energy.

As the games continued, guests enjoyed a delicious BBQ dinner right by the courts, giving players, friends and family the chance to relax, catch up and cheer on the competitors.

A big thank you to everyone who took part and helped make the day such a fun and successful event. Special thanks also go to our generous sponsors, whose support and fantastic products and prizes made the tournament even more memorable.

Congratulations to our winners!

Category A
Winners: Egon & Gary
Runners-up: Karen & Alex

Category B
Winners: Rahul & Lolesh
Runners-up: Joel & Vadim

Category C
Winners: Ahmed & Hassan
Runners-up: Tymur & Jonas

Ladies
Winners: Trude & Rashmi
Runners-up: Pauline & Johanna

We are already looking forward to the next edition!

Emirates takes off to Helsinki, with FBC on board

On 1 October, Emirates flew from Dubai to Helsinki for the very first time. Flight EK167 left at 07:30 with a near-full load of passengers and cargo, and carried a VIP delegation and media. We were proud to have our Chairman, Samuli Pesu, on board the inaugural flight. He travelled alongside Adnan Kazim, Deputy President & CCO of Emirates, Her Excellency Tuula Yrjölä, Finland’s Ambassador to the UAE and Bahrain, and other distinguished guests.

The route is the only direct year-round link between Finland and the UAE, with a daily flight on the Airbus A350, which brings Premium Economy to Helsinki from day one. It also connects Helsinki to nearly 140 points on Emirates' network, and Emirates SkyCargo offers up to 16 tonnes of bellyhold capacity on each flight, opening up trade in both directions.

For our members and the wider Nordic business community in the UAE, a direct flight means shorter journeys, easier travel and stronger business ties between our two countries. Thank you to Emirates for this milestone. We look forward to many more journeys between Dubai and Helsinki.

Meet FBC Member Saara Santanen, Founder of Travelling with Polaris

1. Saara, tell us a little about the woman behind Travelling with Polaris — what is your background, and how did you end up in Dubai?

My husband and I moved from Tampere to the UAE almost 12 years ago with our three-month-old baby. Today, we have two children, aged 10 and 11.

We came here for my husband’s work: he started as an air traffic controller in the tower in Abu Dhabi. By then, I had already built a varied career in the travel industry in Finland. My work had taken me from Hotel Kämp to Nokia´s in-house travel agency and Tampere-Pirkkala airport. Travelling with Polaris has given me a way to bring together that experience and my passion for introducing Finland to travelers here.

2. What inspired you to start Travelling with Polaris, and what was the idea behind the company when you first began?

After some time away from working life, I felt it was the right time to deepen my knowledge of the travel industry. I completed a master’s degree in tourism at JAMK University of Applied Sciences, and my thesis explored Finland’s appeal as a travel destination in this region. The Finnish Business Council was the commissioner of that thesis, which makes this interview feel rather full circle!

During my studies, I became increasingly aware of how little visibility Finland had as a travel destination here, and how few companies were actively promoting it. That inspired me to start Travelling with Polaris.

The idea from the beginning was to promote Finland throughout the year and help travelers discover different parts of the country. Lapland has absolutely been the driving force behind that interest, and most of the trips we plan are still taking our clients there. Emirate´s new year-round flights to Helsinki feel like the missing piece. I believe this is a huge step towards taking Finland´s visibility as a travel destination in this region to a whole new level.

3. What do you think makes Travelling with Polaris different from a traditional travel agency, and what kind of experience do you want your clients to have?

Travelling with Polaris is a destination management company (DMC), specializing in Finland. Our work goes beyond planning individual holidays: we work with private clients and travel businesses, take part in different tourism projects and bring our knowledge of Finland to partners in this region. That wider role is an important part of who we are.

When I plan a trip for a client, the approach is very personal. Every itinerary is built around people taking it, and I care deeply about getting the details right. I can still remember almost every trip we´ve ever planned, along with the children´s names and the little things that mattered to each family.

I want our clients to feel that their trip was truly made for them and to come home having experienced Finland at it´s best. I believe those personal experiences are what make people want to return and recommend Finland to others.

Bold Visions & Michelin Magic: How One Chef Took Nordic Fine Dining to the UAE Luxury Market

Bold Visions & Michelin Magic: How One Chef Took Nordic Fine Dining to the UAE Luxury Market

When I founded Nordic Hospitality Experience on January 18, 2025, my roadmap had a clear goal: Target the Middle Eastern luxury market by 2028.

What I couldn’t have predicted was that high-end gastronomy moves faster than any roadmap. Just two months later, the phone rang.

Building on History: The Spark of a New Venture

In 2023 and 2024, I executed the dinner ceremony for the Nordic Michelin Guide Gala two years in a row—to this day, the only Finnish chef to have done so. In early 2025, I also launched Finland’s first-ever immersive dining restaurant concept.

With these achievements behind me, I set out to build a premium catering and event production company merging culinary art with experiential production. In Finland, demand for ultra-high-end catering is niche, so internationalization wasn’t just an option—it was essential.

When Opportunity Calls: The Abu Dhabi Leap

In March 2025, my lawyer called with a question that changed everything:

"How would you feel about executing catering at the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi this December?"

It didn’t take much convincing. Had I known the chaos, regulatory mazes and sleepless nights ahead, I might have hesitated! Launching two companies in one year, funded purely through cash flow, is arguably the craziest startup strategy out there. But Cash is King, and fortune favors the bold.

In August 2025, I flew to Dubai to scout the region and tour the Yas Marina circuit, debriefing our team in Finland every evening from my hotel room.

We soon realized we couldn’t run the project through our Finnish entity and had to set up a local UAE company—fast. What followed was a trial by fire of bureaucracy, false promises and dishonest operators. It wasn’t until November, dangerously close to the event, that a mutual friend connected us with the right partner to finalize our setup.

Cooking for Royalty and Presidents

In August 2025, I met the Finnish Ambassador to the UAE, Tuula Yrjölä, over coffee at Pasila station in Helsinki, and we began planning a major milestone: the 50th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between the UAE and Finland.

Right after the F1 race, we hosted a cocktail reception for the occasion. Serving handcrafted Nordic bites to high-ranking dignitaries, I felt an overwhelming sense of pride. Every sacrifice had been worth it.

Shortly before F1, I also had the honor of cooking for the President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, and his guests at an official State Visit dinner at the Embassy—my culinary debut in the UAE.

The Ultimate Pressure Test: 750 Covers a Day

Just two weeks later, the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix was underway, with 750 guests per day. We cooked every dish from scratch in the kitchen aboard our F1 event yacht—a space smaller than the bathroom of my rented apartment in Al Barari.

It was the hardest physical and mental race of my life. I slept a total of four hours across the entire four-day event.

By 11:30 PM on Sunday, our team was running on empty. But we pulled it off, proving that Nordic precision, grit and passion have a place in the UAE’s luxury catering market.

I’ve never taken shortcuts. I cook with my heart, never compromise on quality, and will bend over backwards to make a client's wildest event dreams come true.

Navigating Startup Storms & Looking to the Future

I chose to bootstrap everything through cash flow because I refused to let outside investors dictate our culinary identity. But the Middle East taught us hard lessons about volatility: when regional geopolitical tensions froze the event market almost overnight, our dependence on the UAE nearly wiped us out.

Instead of backing down, we pivoted and built a profitable foundation in Finland over the summer. With our core stabilized, the timing is now right to welcome strategic investors who can help us scale across the Middle East.

Why We are in the UAE: Bringing Nordic Philosophy to the Desert

Our mission is to bring authentic Nordic culinary philosophy, world-class Scandinavian ingredients and sophisticated event design to a market hungry for genuine innovation.

We are also preparing to premiere Wyrd, our unique immersive dining concept. Once funding is secured, it will set a new benchmark for experiential dining in the region.

In April 2026, I had the privilege of catering the launch of Sheikha Bodour’s fashion brand, Inanna, in the Sharjah desert.

From a yacht kitchen under extreme pressure to luxury events in the desert, our story is just getting started. Whether it’s an intimate private chef experience or a high-profile gala, Nordic Hospitality Experience is built on passion, relentless execution and an unwavering commitment to excellence.

Kristian Karnell

Founder of Nordic Hospitality

 

Welcome our new member Travelling with Polaris

Travelling with Polaris is a Dubai-based Finnish travel company and Destination Management Company (DMC), specializing in tailor-made travel experiences to Finland for clients from the UAE and the wider Middle East.

The company offers personalized travel planning and local arrangements, from accommodation and activities to private transportation and other travel services. With in-depth knowledge of both Finland and the Middle East, Travelling with Polaris creates carefully tailored and seamless travel experiences based on each client’s individual needs and preferences.

Contact:

saara@polarissol.com