Responsibility for organising the International Sportsmen’s Fair to be handed over to the Finnish Fair Corporation

Riihimäen Tilat ja Kehitys Oy (RTOY) and the Finnish Fair Corporation are in the process of agreeing on the transfer of the responsibility of organising the International Sportsmen’s Fair to the Finnish Fair Corporation. The International Sportsmen’s Fair will continue to be arranged in the city of Riihimäki, but the practical arrangements are to be handled by the Finnish Fair Corporation’s subsidiary Expomark Oy. The move supports the development and internationalisation of the event. The transition is scheduled to take place after the International Sportsmen’s Fair has been arranged in the summer of 2024.

The International Sportsmen’s Fair is the biggest fair organised in this industry in Finland. In this event, hunting, fishing, trekking and nature enthusiasts and professionals get a chance to explore the commercial services and products available and meet with the experts of the various national organisations operating in the field. Riihimäki is a vibrant city in southern, Finland, located approximately 40 miles away from Helsinki.

“We are really happy with the agreement. We will have an experienced event organiser to arrange the event, and we can develop the International Sportsmen’s Fair to be even stronger,” says Fair Director Ninni Manninen, who has led the International Sportsmen’s Fair for 30 years.

Riihimäki Messut Oy merged with its parent company RTOY at the beginning of 2022. However, RTOY’s core activity is not centred on organising events, so cooperation with Expomark is natural and enables the development of the event. The rights and brand of the International Sportsmen’s Fair remain with RTOY. Cooperation helps in the development of the event and removes the vulnerability of a small organisation.

“The International Sportsmen’s Fair has a wonderful 50-year history, an established visitor base and a strong exhibitor base. The programme of the event is of high-quality, topical and interesting. It’s great to use these settings to build up the International Sportsmen’s Fair into an even more international event that serves the entire Baltic Sea region,” says Expomark’s Managing Director Tomi Niemi.

Fair Director Ninni Manninen will continue to pilot the International Sportsmen’s Fair. From the exhibitor’s point of view, there are few changes: the fair infrastructure will be strengthened; the venue and contact person will remain familiar. “Over the past few years, we have increased our dialogue with exhibitors, and we want to continue along the same lines. The most important thing for us is that the exhibitors get all possible benefits from the International Sportsmen’s Fair and that the visitor experience is the best possible,” says Manninen.

The contract is under consideration by the Riihimäki City Council on 20 November 2023. The International Sportsmen’s Fair will yet be organised under the previous responsibility on 7-9 June 2024, after which the International Sportsmen’s Fair is to be transferred to Expomark Oy’s responsibility as of the next event in 2026.

Further information:

Riihimäen Tilat ja Kehitys Oy / Riihimäen Messut

Ninni Manninen, Fair Director, ninni.manninen@riihimaenmessut.fi, +358 50 362 6051
Pauliina Lindgren, Marketing and Communications Manager, pauliina.lindgren@riihimaenmessut.fi, +358 50 516 4004
www.rtoy.fi

Expomark Oy

Tomi Niemi, Managing Director, +358 40 765 6248, tomi.niemi@expomark.fi; www.expomark.fi
Tarja Gordienko, Finnish Fair Corporation, Communications Manager, tarja.gordienko@messukeskus.com, +358 50 5847 262