News   •   January 13th, 2023

United Spirit Nordic team participated in Norway’s leading B2B event in Oslo

United Spirit Nordic was present at the B2B Travel fair Travel Match 2023 in Oslo, representing 5 clients. 

We represented the Caribbean destination St. Martin,  The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism in Oman, the DMC Arabian Adventures and DMC Destination Asia. Finally, we also had the Saudi Tourism Authority present, under the good care of Agnes, our newest colleague on the Saudi team. 

TravelMatch is the largest B2B event, gathering most of the travel trade professionals in Norway. The setup is speed-dating – with 15-minute pre-booked meetings and scheduled breaks for networking. It has proven successful and efficient, appreciated by buyers and exhibitors. 

It was a perfect chance to meet with Norwegian travel trade and media in person in Oslo, the capital of Norway. Our team engaged in fruitful conversations with existing and prospective partners: travel agents, aviation stakeholders, travel journalists, and influencers. 

Grand Travel Award is the yearly event celebrating the Norwegian travel trade with award ceremonies. It takes place every year on the evening, after Trave lMatch. This is a great way to end a productive day, celebrating the personas and companies that make this industry so special.

The Grand Travel Awards 2023 was a unique and rewarding event to witness, not least because it was the first time back after the Covid-19 pandemic. As the awards were distributed based on 2022 results, there were many emotional speeches about the hard times endured during the pandemic lockdown. 

Most notably, two arch-competitors in Norway – Thon Hotels and Nordic Choice Hotels, jointly received the honorary award. This is the first time two competitors are awarded the honorary award together. But the conditions faced under the pandemic were unprecedented. 

The CEOs of each company, Morten Thorvaldsen and Torgeir Silseth, respectively, received the prize and had a moment on stage, where they acknowledged the strength in joining forces had been necessary during hard times. 

The next TravelMatch and Grand Travel Award in Norway will be on January 11th, 2024 (link til TravelMatch)