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All started far-away
I have travelled a lot, partly because it is my hobby and partly because I write travel articles. In 2002 I was in Gambia, Africa, writing an article. In Gambia I enjoyed the fact that I was able to get so near to the local life. The Gambians showed almost everything to the tourists: houses, schools, hospitals. Of course they got paid for that, reasonable for that poor country.
After one of those home visits I was sitting comfortably on my beach chair and I came up with a couple of questions. Do visitors in Finland have possibility to see local Finnish life at all? Do the tourists discuss with the Finns and share experiences? I have always wanted to see genuine everyday life during my trips abroad, though I appreciate sleeping in a comfortable hotel. Many people have shared the same opinion.
The idea did not leave me alone, not even when I returned to Finland. Around the same time I read about a system in Denmark called “Meet the Danes”. It is an enterprise organizing home dinners for tourists in Denmark. I started to plan similar system here in Finland. Summer 2004 I flew to Copenhagen to discuss with the people of “Meet the Danes”. These nice people gave me plenty of good advice.
Cosy Finland established in May 2005
In May 2005 I established Cosy Finland, went from planning to finalizing things during the summer, and finally in September I started the business. The first Media Release telling about new service for travellers was given just before Christmas 2005.
A lot of interest and inquiries
The new idea created a lot of interest and inquiries started to flow in. Many people wanted to act as a host. Now Cosy Finland has over 200 families/singles interested in hosting. 61 of them have been interviewed and are acting as hosts. The common thing for the hosts is a genuine interest in meeting people from other cultures.
Next step
I have been following my dream. One part is ready now. The basic host network exists and it is growing all the time. In order to make sure that Cosy Finland and the hosts have the same idea of visits, all the hosts are visited before they join to network. So, I Meet the Hosts before You Meet the Finns in Finland through Cosy Finland.
Next step: in coming years I want to see lots of satisfied customers who are visiting the host families, and are eating and experiencing the Finnish lifestyle.
Looking forward to your visit!
With best regards
Cosy Finland
Kirsti Sergejeff
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