Tourism in Sweden

Sweden as a tourist destination
Sweden and the Swedish tourism industry have a well-developed infrastructure that compares favorably in the international arena. Sweden has a very extensive highway system and an excellent network of rail, ferry and air transportation. Its tourist profile is well suited to the requirements of foreign travelers to a sparsely populated welfare society in which everything functions smoothly, a country with large areas of untouched and unspoiled nature, where visitors are free to roam at their leisure. Sweden is a very safe country to visit, free from political unrest, rampant crime and natural threats.

Sweden has long been considered an expensive country, but due to the devaluation of the Swedish krona in November 1992 (note paragraph “Trends in traveling”), it has become more affordable for travelers from most countries in and beyond Europe. As awareness of the new price levels grows, the impression of the country as an expensive destination is diminishing.

The most popular destinations
Most visitor nights by Swedes in commercial accommodations—hotels, youth hostels (open to all age groups), holiday villages and campsites—are registered in the metropolitan areas encompassing Stockholm, Gothenburg (Göteborg) and Malmö. Many Swedes also overnight in the provinces of Dalarna and Bohuslän, as well as in Kalmar County (eastern Småland and island of Öland).

Areas that receive the largest number of non- Swedish visitors are Greater Stockholm and Gothenburg including adjacent Bohuslän. These same areas, plus Dalarna, Värmland and Norrbotten County—particularly northern Lapland—account for the most overnight stays by non-Swedes.

Most foreign travelers visit Stockholm, the Swedish capital. Marketed as “Beauty on Water”, the city is situated on 14 islands. Its water is so pure you can both swim and fish right in the heart of town as well as partake of boat tours offering such treats as live music and shrimp buffets. Stockholm has an abundance of parks and fascinating museums, a rich cultural life and many excellent restaurants.

Stockholm was founded in the 13th century and now has some 1.6 million inhabitants, including the metropolitan area. In Gamla Stan, or the Old Town, most buildings date from the 16th to the 19th centuries and house a variety of cafés, restaurants, museums, hotels and shops, in addition to the Royal Palace.

A lot of people visit the Vasa Museum— housing the 17th-century royal warship Vasa, which sank in 1628 and was salvaged in 1961. Also worth a visit is nearby Skansen, the world's largest open-air folk museum complete with its own zoo. Adjacent to Skansen is the Gröna Lund amusement park. Millesgården, home of sculptor Carl Milles (1875–1955), and Waldemarsudde, home of Prince Eugen (1865–1947)—the “Painter Prince”—are other nearby attractions.

Situated on the outskirts of the capital, the 17th-century Drottningholm Palace, home of the royal family and site of a truly unique baroque theater still in use, is a prime historical and cultural destination. Stockholm’s archipelago, 25,000 islands and skerries providing stepping stones to the Baltic, is another outstanding attraction.

There are excellent air and sea connections linking Stockholm and the Baltic island of Gotland. Visby, its medieval capital, was an important trading center as early as Viking times and flourished during the Hanseatic period. Visitors with an interest in history delight in exploring Visby's ruins, including the wall with 44 watch towers that encircles the city.

Uppsala, a city that has inspired countless scientists, authors and artists, is less than an hour's ride by car or train from Stockholm. Here you find the home and garden of the renowned botanist and taxonomist Carl Linnaeus (1707–78), as well as Scandinavia's largest cathedral, dating from the 13th century, and Scandinavia's oldest university, established in 1477.

Gothenburg is Sweden's second-largest city, with approximately 760,000 inhabitants. Founded in the early 16th century and planned largely by Dutch immigrants, the city is laced with canals. The Avenue, Gothenburg's main street, features many shops, cafés and restaurants. The amusement park Liseberg is located in the heart of the city, along with “Fiskekyrkan”, a large, enclosed market that opens early in the morning for the sale of freshly caught fish.

Gothenburg is also close to the vast west coast archipelago, which offers plenty of sun and excellent opportunities for swimming, sailing and wind surfing. In August 1995, Gothenburg hosted the 5th IAAF World Championships in Athletics.

Many tourists visit the provinces of Värmland and Dalarna. Myriad small lakes and rivers make Värmland ideal for canoeing, shooting rapids, fishing and other outdoor activities. Several Swedish authors came from Värmland, including the Nobel Prize-winning novelist Selma Lagerlöf (1858–1940), whose home, Mårbacka, is open to visitors. Dalarna is rich in tradition—particularly its Midsummer celebrations—and folklore as well as beautiful nature, and has many picturesque villages. Two of Sweden's best-known artists came from Dalarna: Carl Larsson (1853–1919), whose home, Sundborn, is open to visitors, and Anders Zorn (1860–1920), whose home and studio in the city of Mora also are open. Dalarna also hosts the world-renowned Vasalopp cross-country ski race every year during the first weekend in March, in honor of one of the country’s greatest kings, Gustav Vasa. An excursion to the nearby village of Nusnäs enables visitors to see how local artisans still hand carve and paint wooden Dala horses, the symbol of Dalarna.

Malmö, in the southernmost province of Skåne (Scania), is the country’s third-largest city with a metropolitan population of about 498,000. It has more parks, gardens and restaurants per capita than any other city in Sweden. Malmö also features many attractions dating back to the Middle Ages. Throughout Skåne there are more than 200 castles and manor houses, many of them open to tourists, and the many inns offer the province's delectable cuisine. Another city worth seeing is Lund, one of the most important centers of Scandinavia in the Middle Ages. It recently celebrated its millennium. Skåne also boasts nearly 30 golf courses and several of the country’s best bathing beaches. There are good ferry connections linking Skåne to Denmark, Germany and Poland.

Kalmar County in the eastern part of Småland—known as the Glass District—has been the center of Swedish glass making for centuries. Glassworks such as Orrefors and Kosta Boda are world famous. Thousands of tourists go there to buy handmade crystal or take a turn at glassblowing. Småland is also the home province of children's author Astrid Lindgren (born in 1907), creator of the famous characters Pippi Longstocking and Emil of Lönneberga. From the castle town of Kalmar, travelers can take the six-kilometer-long bridge to the Baltic island of Öland, which offers sun, bathing and excursions into the past, to view rune stones from Viking times and archeological excavations at the reconstructed Iron Age village of Eketorp. Öland is also the site of the royal family's summer residence.

The provinces of Lapland and Norrbotten in northern Sweden attract those anxious to experience open and untouched nature in Europe's best-preserved wilderness. Because much of this area lies above the Arctic Circle, there is daylight almost round the clock during summer months. Here you can find opportunities for every manner of outdoor pursuit—mountain hiking, fishing, shooting rapids, cross-country and downhill skiing, dog sledding and much more. Many Swedish Sami—or Lapps—known for their herding of reindeer, beautiful handicrafts and strong cultural traditions live in this area. Here, too, is Sweden's highest mountain, Kebnekaise, with a summit elevation of 2,111 meters (about 7,000 feet).

Other attractions
The Göta Canal, often referred to as the “Blue Ribbon”, is an inland waterway linking Gothenburg and Stockholm. Construction of the canal began in 1810 and took 60,000 soldiers and sailors 22 years to complete. Today, travelers can journey the entire length of the canal, either by private vessel or on one of the three vintage steamboats that have been plying the canal's waters ever since the early 20th century.

The so-called Wilderness Train, which runs during the summer months, starts in Östersund, in the province of Jämtland, and follows the Inland Railway through some of the most breathtakingly beautiful sections of Sweden, all the way north to Arvidsjaur in Lapland. The entire journey takes 12 hours, but travelers are free to hop off if they wish to explore the villages dotting the landscape along the way. Hiking, bicycling and shooting rapids are popular diversions.

Each year in the beginning of August, Stockholm celebrates the Stockholm Water Festival in honor of the city's pure water. At this time, an international award, the Stockholm Water Prize, is bestowed on the person (or persons) who, during the preceding year, has made the most noteworthy contribution to the preservation of the earth's water. The outdoor festival offers visitors several days of diverse entertainment and cultural activities in the heart of the capital, including the spectacular world fireworks championship.

Trends in traveling
Travel in Sweden developed favorably up to the record year 1989, when the number of visitor nights in commercial accommodations reached 36.2 million of which 28.6 million were Swedish.

This trend suffered a setback in 1990. Swedish visitor nights declined by 5% and foreign visitor nights dropped by 13%. A total of 33.7 million visitor nights were reported for 1990, with foreign tourism revenues declining in real terms for the first time since 1980. The setback was due in part to a rapid rise in prices, which was a consequence of a tax reform resulting in higher taxes on services provided by hotels and restaurants, and in part to the war in the Persian Gulf. Tourism also suffered significantly due to the spread of the recession throughout Europe.

In November 1992, a decision was made to allow the Swedish krona to float freely against other currencies, which, in effect, resulted in a devaluation. The value of the krona decreased sharply in relation to a number of other currencies. In July 1993, Sweden slashed its value added tax on hotel services and domestic transport from 25% to 12%.

Sales of commercial visitor nights in Sweden were greater than ever in 1995. The total number of visitor nights amounted to 37.3 million, with the foreign market growing three times as fast as the domestic. Swedes’ commercial visitor nights increased by 5% while those of foreigners rose by 16%.

Domestic tourism
As in several other countries in which a substantial share of leisure travel is accounted for by the local population, travel by people living in Sweden is of paramount importance. Swedes account for 80% of visitor nights in commercial accommodations. If accommodations in private facilities are included, domestic tourism is even more dominant. The overwhelming reason that Swedes travel for leisure is to visit relatives and friends or to spend time in their own cottages.

More leisure time and, above all, longer paid vacations or holidays—the statutory minimum in Sweden today is five weeks and some employees have agreements guaranteeing up to seven weeks—have led to a preference among many Swedes for dividing their free time into several shorter periods and spreading them out over the entire year. This, in turn, has given rise to holidays or vacations that are shorter and more frequent. There is much to suggest that this new type of traveling favors domestic tourism.

The largest category of Swedish tourists is comprised of families with children that travel by car. This is also the largest category when it comes to travelers to Sweden from the other Nordic countries and the rest of Europe.

Foreign visitors
The number of foreign commercial visitor nights made record-breaking gains before peaking at 7.5 million in 1989. In 1990 and 1991, Sweden experienced a decline in the number of foreign visitor nights. The curve turned upward again in 1992, reaching nearly 6 million.

During 1995, 7.9 million foreign visitor nights were registered in Sweden. The foreign market continued to grow, and the number of foreign visitor nights in Sweden exceeded the 1989 record high.

Most international tourism occurs between neighboring countries. Thus, Norwegians, Danes and Finns account for the greatest number of foreign visitors to Sweden.

After a decline of many years, Finnish travel to Sweden showed a reversed trend during 1994, and a strong increase in 1995.

Nordic tourists accounted for about 3 million commercial visitor nights in Sweden during 1995. Of these, 1.6 million were Norwegian, an increase of 21% over 1994.

In 1995, about 950,000 Danish visitor nights were registered in Sweden, an increase of 31% over 1994. The number of Finnish visitor nights during 1995 was 422,000, an increase of 16% over the preceding year.

Travel from other European countries is extensive. Germany is the largest foreign market for Swedish tourism. The number of German visitor nights during 1995 was almost 2.1 million, an increase of 9% over 1994.

Visitor growth increases for 1995 were also noted from Switzerland (19%), the Netherlands (16%), Great Britain (15%), France (11%) and Italy (10%).

The number of visitors from non-European countries is relatively low, but steadily rising. Among these, visitors from the United States and Japan predominate. American visitor nights in Sweden increased by 12% during 1994, but decreased in 1995 by 1%. Japanese visitor nights increased by 4% during 1995.

Tourism and the domestic economy
Tourism is an industry of vital importance to the economy and employment in many parts of the country. There are approximately 20,000 businesses engaged in tourism in Sweden, directly employing some 200,000 people within the travel and tourism industry. Tourism today accounts for as many full-time jobs as the pulp, paper and printing industries combined.

The industry reported a turnover of SEK 100 billion in 1994 and even more in 1995. The greatest portion of the turnover is directly accounted for by purely tourist activities, i.e. transportation, hotels and restaurants, activities, etc., while the remainder is attributable to other areas, such as the grocery and other retail trades, and travel by private car.

Of total turnover attributed to tourism in 1994, the Swedes themselves accounted for SEK 78 billion, including SEK 44.5 billion in leisure travel, and SEK 33.5 billion in business travel.

The export value of Swedish tourism, that is, the consumption by foreign visitors in Sweden, exceeded SEK 24 billion in 1995. The net travel balance, that is, the difference between foreign-visitor consumption in Sweden and consumption by Swedes during travel abroad, continues to be negative and amounted to minus SEK 14.4 billion in 1995. The deficit was then reduced to a level not seen in Sweden since the mid-1980s. It is mainly Norway, Germany, the U.S., Denmark and Finland that account for travel income in Sweden.

Tourist organizations
The Swedish Travel & Tourism Council (Sveriges Rese- och Turistråd) is a corporation devoted to marketing Sweden as a travel destination, both in Sweden and abroad, and disseminating the appropriate information. The marketing company is owned jointly by the Swedish Government and the tourist industry.

The Swedish Travel & Tourism Council is represented in 10 foreign markets: Norway, Finland, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Great Britain, France, Italy, the U.S. and Japan.

Marketing involves television commercials; ads in newspapers, magazines and travel-trade media; coordination of Swedish participation at foreign travel fairs; and production and distribution of a Sweden catalog and other detailed information to priority markets.

Great emphasis is placed on activities that promote contact with travel organizers, tour operators and travel bureaus abroad. In order to promote sales of trips to Sweden, the society arranges workshops, traveling exhibits, and seminars targeted to foreign sales outlets. Distribution of information about Swedish tourist productions and study trips to Sweden are other important activities.

In order to increase the placement of editorial material about Sweden as a travel destination in foreign media, the foreign offices of the marketing company provide running information to about 5,500 journalists in priority markets. It caters to the mass media through press releases, press conferences, product information, and study trips to Sweden.

For additional information, please contact the Swedish Travel & Tourism Council in Stockholm at telephone number +46 8 725 55 00, or telefax number +46 8 725 55 31.

The Swedish Tourist Authority (Turistdelegationen) is a government authority established July 1, 1995. It is charged by the government with coordinating the various state efforts that contribute to fostering the development of the tourist industry and to promoting cooperation among the government, regional organizations, municipalities, and the travel and tourism industry. Part of the authority’s mandate is to monitor the development of the Swedish travel and tourist industry and assume responsibility for development of know-how by gathering statistics and market analyses.

For further information, please contact the Swedish Tourist Authority at telephone number +46 8 678 34 00 or telefax number +46 8 678 04 25.

The Swedish Touring Club (Svenska Turistföreningen, STF) was founded in 1885 for the purpose of disseminating information about the various parts of Sweden and facilitating tourism. Today, the Swedish Touring Club has about 322,000 members and manages youth hostels, guest harbors and mountain tourist stations throughout the country. For more than a century, the Club has produced vast amounts of information primarily in the form of handbooks, hotel guides, tourist brochures and maps. For additional information, call the Swedish Touring Club at +46 8 790 32 00.

Visitor nights by non-Nordic Europeans, by country, 1995

	Thousands
Germany	2,084
Netherlands	454
Great Britain	359
France	177
Italy	165
Switzerland	123
Other European coutries	528

This fact sheet is part of SI´s information service. It can be used as background information on condition that the source is acknowledged.
Photos and tables on Destinations, by county and in thousands of visitor nights, in commercial accommodations in 1995 and on Visitor nights in commercial accommodations by Swedish and foreign travelers, 1994, are not included in the Internet edition.

February 1996
Classification: FS 90 d Qm
ISSN 1101-6124
ISSN 1101-6124


Fact Sheets on Sweden