Visit Åland is also the name of Åland’s official tourism and members’ organisation, which has about 340 members. Visit Åland’s main functions are to market Åland as a travel destination and, together with the local tourism industry, develop tourism in Åland.
Kobba Klintar in the background
The year’s European theme for 2012 was “Visit”, followed by the country or town to which the European postal service wanted to draw attention. The Visit Åland stamp appeared on 9 May 2012 – it shows a summery image of Åland. Visit Åland’s logo is Åland’s flag and it appears on the first day stamp, on the back of the first day cover and on the stamp sheet. The picture on the stamp itself was taken at the old Kobba Klintar pilot station outside Mariehamn. Kobba Klintar also featured on the miniature sheet for the 2010 Scandinavian Edition. The May stamp issue was launched at Åland’s Tourist Information Office in Mariehamn. The photographer Jacob Saurén was on the spot and signed autographs.
Many tourists travelling by boat
Tourism is an important industry in Åland, especially in the summer when many people come to Åland to enjoy everything the landscape has to offer. In 2010, 2,173,500 people travelled to Åland. That figure includes everyone who came to Åland by ferry and by air. But it doesn’t include those who come in their own boats.
Åland is a popular destination for pleasure craft, mainly thanks to Åland’s excellent location, just the right distance from both Sweden and the mainland. There is plenty of room for manoeuvre in the fairways in Åland and tourists travelling by boat are able to enjoy nature and the red granite rocks at close quarters.
Overnight stays in hotels and cottages
In 2010 there were 169,800 overnight stays in hotels in Åland. Most visitors who stayed overnight came from Finland and Sweden and most of them came to visit Åland for pleasure. Many people choose to rent a cottage of their own for a week, rather than stay in a hotel, or to cycle or drive around and stay at campsites in their own caravan or camper, or in a tent.
Posten Åland has become a full member of PostEurop
On 4 October 2012 Posten Åland AB became a full member of PostEurop. This year PostEurop met on the occasion of the Universal Postal Congress of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), an event that is held only every four years. All 192 member countries were represented at the Universal Postal Congress in Doha, Qatar.
Read more about postage stamps from Åland and about Posten Åland.
Source: www.asub.ax, www.posten.ax