- This year it is surprisingly good, says Martin Svedberg.
Martin Svedberg works as a field assistant at the County Administrative Board in Jämtland County.
During the summer, he is regularly out on the mountain trails in Åre municipality.
Every 14 days, for example, he walks the Jämtland Triangle to see what it looks like in the rest cabins along the 45-kilometer-long trail.
Tents were left behind last year
Last year, the Swedish mountains got a real boost.
The pandemic meant that many people vacationed at home.
At the same time, many more visitors led to a lot of problems.
In Kebnekaise, for example, more than 100 tents were handed over.
In Stekenjokk, stressed visitors reindeer when they tried to get close to the animals and along the Jämtland Triangle, visitors left over 20 kilos of rubbish that the County Administrative Board had to pick up when the season was over.
Clear improvement this year
So what is it like this summer?
When SVT calls around to different mountain destinations, everyone states that there are many visitors again this year.
But in several places it is stated that tourists behave significantly better this year compared to last year.
- We have not received a lot of alarm reports from our cabins and mountain stations and that is positive.
So our general feeling is that it has gotten better, says Maria Ros-Hjelm who is CEO of the Swedish Tourist Association STF.
At Kebnekaise mountain station, three abandoned tents have so far been taken care of.
- There are three tents too many, but at the same time it is a noticeable improvement compared to last year when we had over 100 abandoned tents there, says Maria Ros-Hjelm.
Information has helped
In Jämtland, Martin Svedberg believes that all information has helped.
Ahead of this season, both authorities and associations have tried in various ways to inform about what applies.
For example, signs have been put up on all rest cabins.
- It seems to work and it is fantastic fun, he says.