Customers choose Finnlines as Ferry Operator of the Year at Grand Travel Award Gala

Finnlines was awarded Ferry Operator of the Year at the first Grand Travel Award gala held in Finland. Companies were recognized in eight different categories, with winners selected based on a consumer survey.

The Grand Travel Award Finland event for tourism professionals took place on 2 June 2025 in Helsinki. The prestigious Grand Travel Award is presented annually in all Nordic countries, and this year, for the first time, it was held in Finland. The Gala was attended by 250 tourism professionals from across the country.

The Grand Travel Award is based on an objective and verified customer survey of approximately 4,700 consumers. There was a total of eight categories in 2025. Finnlines, a freight and passenger shipping company, was named Ferry Operator of the Year. Tallink Silja Line and Viking Line competed in the same category. Finnlines' Head of Passenger services Marco Palmu and Communications Manager Heidi Österberg received the award at the gala.

"We are delighted with the recognition we have received. The award is a wonderful testimony to the hard work of the entire Finnlines team in ensuring customer satisfaction. I would like to thank our customers and Grand Travel Award Finland for this honor. We will continue our fruitful work with our professional staff and partners," Marco Palmu says.

Finnlines offers customers sustainable transport and travel across the Baltic Sea, where its RoPax vessels combine passenger and cargo services. The company has consistently invested in sustainable development and environmental technology, introducing five new vessels over the past three years.

These investments continue, and in April 2025, Finnlines ordered three new vessels for the Finland–Germany route, which will begin operating in 2028–2029. Passenger comfort and a first-class customer experience are at the heart of the new vessels' design, inspired by Finnlines' Superstar-class ships, Finnsirius and Finncanopus.

Grand Travel Award

The Grand Travel Award has been presented for 30 years in Sweden, for several years in Norway and Denmark, and now for the first time in Finland. The event is aimed at tourism professionals and is designed to celebrate the top performers in the industry and raise the profile of the sector. The award-winning companies were selected based on an objective and verified customer survey. The survey was conducted using the NPS method and an evaluation of ten key brand image factors, such as service quality, reliability and brand credibility, to name a few.

"The aim of our surveys and awards is to provide the travel industry with a transparent and comparable view of the customer experience. The results are based on real customer opinions – not on popularity or marketing. This is what sets the Grand Travel Award apart from many other awards," says Jan Ogner, Managing Director, Nordic Bench.