Increased interest from German tourists: "Delight us"

Several countries in Europe have begun to lift their travel restrictions and open their borders. Slowly but surely tourism can regain momentum. And the interest in visiting Sweden remains.

- In fact, we see in Germany, which is a difficult absolute largest market, that interest in Sweden has doubled between the two months of April and May, says Ewa Lagerqvist.

Visit Sweden is a government company that works to market Sweden as a destination. The company has several websites, one that targets broadly, and one in German that specifically targets German tourists.

On the general website they see no change in visitor statistics, but the visitors to the German website have increased significantly.

Camping, Stockholm and traveling by car are some of the things that web visitors are interested in reading about. 

- We can read, not only in Germany but also in other markets, that you have a perspective that is a little more long-term, more than for the day. We expect this to be people who know what Sweden is and see Sweden as a country that is safe, has control of the situation and that has large areas and fine scenery.

However, despite some relief, many countries still have travel restrictions. In Germany, the recommendation is still to avoid trips that are not necessary.

Despite the increased interest, the pressure does not correspond to an ordinary summer.

- So it is, perfectly natural. We have had a few months where all the focus has been on coping with the pandemic, not only in the country you intend to visit, but especially at home.

The Western Sweden Tourist Board, which is owned by the Western Gothenburg region, is also seeing increased interest in recent weeks for tourists in Sweden.

- We notice an increased interest. Facilities and various accommodations have significantly more bookings now, so that has increased. But we are not close to last year's volumes, says Fredrik Lindén, CEO.

Foreign tourists usually make up 30 percent of the bookings a regular summer in Western Sweden, but this summer they are expected to constitute a much smaller proportion.

- We'll probably end up at a few percent. The volumes will not come up in the previous year in total, but it can still be decent summer, he says.