Sink your toes into moss, smell the scent of the forest and relax by sipping chaga tea. There is a bear calmly walking beside you and birds are singing up in the trees. But where are you? At Helsinki Airport, of course. More precisely, you're in Metsä/Skogen, a well-being centre that draws on the power of the Finnish forest.

According to numerous studies, spending time in nature undeniably has a positive effect on well-being. Walking in a forest has been shown to reduce stress: your heartbeat slows down and your muscle tension decreases. Stress-free travel is now also possible at Helsinki Airport: Metsä/Skogen offers a relaxing nature experience to counter the effects of the hectic airport environment.

"Metsä/Skogen seeks to teach people how to live their lives without stress. In cooperation with design, emission compensation and healthcare professionals, we are building a concept where the well-being of people and nature is at the heart of everything. The idea of offering nature sounds, scents and flavours is to create the most authentic Finnish forest experience possible, which helps people calm down in the middle of a hectic day, and offers a unique glimpse of Finnish nature," says Carita Peltonen, CEO of Metsä/Skogen.

Metsä/Skogen is extending its operations to Helsinki Airport and will offer passengers a wide range of sustainable and eco-friendly design products and tastes from the Finnish forest. Metsä/Skogen is a place where you can relax and calm down-for example, by taking a virtual hike in a forest. You can also become a forest protector at Metsä/Skogen. From a forest menu created together with Helsinki Foundation, you can select a piece of Lapland forest to protect.

The Helsinki Airport Development Programme is making excellent progress. While there is new building going on, new service concepts and offerings for both Finnish and international passengers are being devised. Finavia aims to make Helsinki Airport one of the best airports in the world in terms of customer experience. Finavia and Metsä/Skogen both want to strengthen and promote the experience of Finnish well-being and sustainable quality.

"Metsä/Skogen represents exactly the kind of new Finnish sustainable expertise that we want to offer our passengers. The unique lifestyle concept broadens the range of services available at Helsinki Airport and supports Finavia's aim to renew itself and create daring solutions to improve the airport's customer experience and Finland's brand. We are happy that Metsä/Skogen has decided to open its second outlet at Helsinki Airport, a hub between Asia and Europe," says Nora Immonen, Finavia's Director for Commercial Services Business Unit (Helsinki Airport).

Metsä/Skogen brings the calming and healing power of the Finnish forest to Helsinki Airport. Metsä/Skogen combines a shop, Mushroom Bar, experiences and a place to calm down. Eco-friendliness and community spirit are at the heart of Metsä/Skogen. Helsinki Airport's Metsä/Skogen outlet opens in May 2020. Metsä/Skogen's shop & Mushroom Bar opened on Mannerheimintie, Helsinki, in October 2019.

Contributed by Finavia